Introduction
The Curriculum Unit will consist of two parts. The first part will be between a fifteen and thirty lesson program on how to teach children "Quiet Time," starting with stretching and yoga exercises led by a teacher. The structure and format of the "Quiet Time" will be based on the one used by the Progressive School of Long Island, though the types of yoga, songs, and "quiet" reflective time will be taken from many different sources. Students will then sit on the floor on mats and sing simple songs with positive messages of peace, caring and love led by a teacher. The students will then be led through a "Quiet Time" activity that will consist in the early lessons of a guided imagery activity and later on of a simple meditation exercise. This technique will continue throughout the year with new stretching and yoga exercises, new songs, and meditations.
The second part of the unit consists of extension activities that are completed right after "Quiet Time". They will include reflective reading and writing activities, higher order thinking activities, and art activities. The connection between guided imagery and art is a natural one. To draw or paint what you imagined and then to talk or write about it will be a way to start connecting the students' inner selves with the outer world. The books children are reading and their verbal and written responses about those books can be powerful tools. There will be a list of books at different grade levels that will be used for reading, discussion, and reflective writing. The books chosen will help enhance emotional and interpersonal skills and the children's view of the inner self and interactions with the outside world.
A short section on parent involvement and permission will be included with some resources for how to introduce this concept to the general public. Many additional sources will be used including books about teaching yoga to children and teaching guided imagery and meditation to children. Stories and children's books that could enhance these experiences will also be included in the lessons and teacher resources.
The culminating product is a built-in morning quiet time at arrival time for approximately 15 to 20 minutes every day. This will be followed by an extension activity that will include either reflective reading or writing activities or an art activity.
Unit
Gardner (1983) states "it is an unusual individual who does not try to deploy his understanding of the personal realm in order to improve his own well being or his relationship to the community." This may be the key to accessing, that which is potentially inside of us and which affects how we use ourselves and our intelligences or competencies in the world, specifically for school children under the constant stress of testing, achievement, evaluation and performance.
Introducing a unit on Yoga, music and "Quiet Time" relaxation techniques and meditation can seem challenging in the public school arena. Unlike in previous decades, these techniques have become more and more mainstream. Many athletes and famous people are using these techniques in their psychology of success. The head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, Phil Jackson, is one example. The recent explosion of brain research has lead to research on the effects of meditation and the brain. Correspondingly schools are now looking for new approaches to help create the best environment for learning. In this endeavor, it is critical to define what we are teaching. We are teaching a tool, a technique to help reduce stress, increase self-esteem, and create an optimal internal learning environment. Public school teachers can teach a technique, not a religious or New Age practice. These techniques can be introduced slowly to the school population. My suggestion is to start with a small group of parents or teachers and train them in the technique on a voluntary basis. Then train or teach a small group of students, the children of your set of parents or another small group. Parental permission should be obtained in either case. If this small group meets with positive result, bring the program to a larger workshop, teacher meeting or parent meeting. The support of your administrator is vital. You can then expand the program to a grade and go from there. This unit is geared towards a 4/5-grade level, but all the techniques and resources can be adapted for any grade level.
Setting the stage for the unit can be accomplished through already existing curriculum. In the fifth grade in New Haven, the students learn about the parts of the human body. Healthy living and nutrition are introduced and there is a social development course throughout the K-12 curriculum, which emphasizes problem solving and stress reduction. The teacher could start with a mini unit on the heart and the relationship between stress and life style and heart health. A mini unit on the parts of the brain and the effects of stress on the brain could also be a great introduction. A class discussion on the actual technique can be helpful. The part of the "Quiet Time" technique that is the most challenging to get students comfortable with is closing their eyes and practicing an exercise with their minds.
Brain Gym
(Dennison, 1994) has some wonderful warm-ups that can be tried in class ahead of time.
Teaching the technique
The teaching of the "Quiet Time" technique itself is divided into three sections. There are four parts to each section. The basic structure is the same for all three sections. Each of the four parts of the technique is developed over time. The first part of "Quiet Time" includes the teaching of simple stretching and yoga exercises. The second part involves teaching and singing simple songs with positive messages of peace, caring, and love. The third part consists of teaching relaxation, imagery, and finally a simple meditation technique. The fourth part is a separate extension activity, which consists of art, writing, and literacy activities. Each section is developed slowly over the course of between 5 to 10 days depending on how often the "Quiet time" activity is taught. The ideal method would be for students to have their "Quiet Time" first thing in the morning almost every day.
The first group or section of lessons is the introduction to the "Quiet Time" techniques. The first lesson plan is an introduction to the first series of lessons. The structure of this format is taken from the Progressive School of Long Island, even though the relaxation and guided imagery sections are not taught there and the meditation technique has been modified here to make it appropriate for public school. The yoga exercises are five very basic stretching positions. The same basic five should be used for the first section. The music should be very simple and easy to learn. Just singing the one same song for the first part is fine. The relaxation technique is designed to give students a directed way to become more in touch with how stress is stored in their bodies, how to release that stress and relax the body, and be ready to then relax the mind. In this section, consistency and a positive attitude are important. The students are learning the format and the techniques. The students should write or draw about their experiences and then share with each other. The atmosphere should be positive and calming. Having more than one adult to quietly redirect students during this time is essential. If you find that a whole class has difficulty focusing, try half of the class. There must be provisions made that are positive for students who do not obtain parental permission. The leader should have some experience with yoga or meditation. The teacher can try to take a yoga class themselves first or at least try out the exercises themselves first.
The format for the second section is just an extension of the first section. The second lesson plan is an introduction to this second series of lessons. The teacher can add one or two new yoga exercises. Adding a second song or a new song is also desirable. The guided imagery must be carefully selected to be appropriate in the public school arena. There are many books on guided imagery and meditation included in the bibliography and the exercises must be reviewed for their appropriateness. I have not selected any passages that contain phrases that included moving or feeling energy, or concentrating on any specific area of the body. An example would be having the children moving their feelings like light through their hearts. First of all, New Age jargon may be very offensive to some parents; also these techniques may elicit strong reactions from children. The idea is to help children relax and feel peaceful and positive about themselves, improve concentration, and imagination. The teacher/leader should try the exercises in this section for about two weeks or 5-10 times.
The structure of the third section is the final technique that can be used for the remainder of the year. The teacher/leader can keep a few yoga exercises that are the same but periodically teach and rotate in new ones to keep the students' interest. The songs should also change with an invitation for the students to also make up their own songs or change words to songs they know with the themes of peace and caring or love for one and others. The words to be used for the concentration meditation technique are just one example. Each school must decide on this themselves. The students can use similar phrases or words. The meaning of the phrase should be loving and positive.
The extension activities are important because the time right after "Quiet Time" is prime time when the best effects of the technique can be utilized. The extensions are of two types. Writing and art activities that relate to the "Quiet Time" experience and separate literacy activities
Extensions
Writing or art activities in the beginning can help children to integrate their experience and utilizes their creativity. These activities are ideal for the first relaxation section of lessons and also as extensions to the guided imagery section of lessons. They are simple to do and can be very short. To make the lesson more interesting for the student, the teacher/leader can mix up the art activities. The art teacher in the school could help with this. Just changing the materials can keep it fresh. Crayon, Craypas, Paint crayons, Magic markers, watercolors, and acrylics are just some examples. Writing and sharing with a partner or a group can be a supporting activity. Writing a letter, or in a journal, writing on special paper or the student's own drawings can make the writing more motivating. Sharing their writing or art is also reinforcing. As with any art or writing activity, it is important for the teacher to report to school mental health personnel any individual student's negative strong emotional responses to any of the exercises.
Literacy activities can be combined with character building exercises to build a nice bridge between internal experiences and academic work of the school day. The teacher can use younger age books as writing story starters such as in Lesson two with The River that Gave Gifts by Margo Humphrey. The teacher can also select books that not only integrate with the Social Studies or Science unit, but also have some important developmental character issues. There are some suggestions in the bibliography. The students should not just read the stories, but write and discuss about the issues brought up by the books. The teacher can use short guided imagery activities after starting the third meditation section of lessons as an extension after lunch. For an example, the teacher can use the snorkeling guided imagery in
Earthlight
(Garth 1997), as a beginning introduction to a science lesson on marine life. If using the imagery lesson after lunch, the teacher can do a "Mini-relaxation" by having the students close their eyes, slow their breathing, and listen to the imagery and to soft music. I would also advise against overusing these techniques-they should be special.
Resources for parent and school information
The most important aspect of teaching relaxation or "Quiet Time" techniques is educating parents, staff and the community about research, benefits and reasons for the techniques. The Mind/Body Institute in Boston has experience teaching these techniques to a variety of public schools. They do charge for their program, but also have worked with schools in order to appropriate funds. They have research backing up their claims and have worked with a variety of ages of children. They have a packet of information, available to the general public, which has good resources to share with parents. The meditation technique they teach is similar to the one proposed. They first train and teach the teachers the technique and then the teachers use the technique in their classes. They have training available and video and audiotapes for sale. Their website is www.mbi.org.
The Progressive School of Long Island is a private school. The school has an enormous diversity among its students in cultures and backgrounds. The "Quiet Time" is part of an integrated, comprehensive Neo-Humanistic curriculum. This unit has used their structure for "Quiet Time" and modified their techniques. They boast of the enormous success of their students in all curriculum areas. There are many Neo-Humanistic schools around the world. Many are public schools in their countries. There are some other initiatives to teach relaxation and meditation techniques in the public schools for example in Italy. Not all their curriculum is suitable for American Public Schools. There will be a CD released with songs from around the world soon from Innersong. The general Neohumanistic education website is www.gurukul.edu/nhe.
The resources for schools and parents for yoga books, guided imagery, and meditation are numerous. This bibliography gives recommendations that are all available through www.amazon.com. The literature and writing extension suggestions have been extensively teacher-tested. For more information, you can contact Linda Baker at Vish2Vishaol.com.