Make the most of your classroom space! Learn about different active classroom management styles, how to overcome common barriers, and more.
New year, new you, right? Seems like a common theme for people to want a fresh start in the new year. Interestingly, I read that less than 10% of Americans make resolutions that they actually keep (van Bavel & Packer, 2022). Almost a quarter drop theirs by the end of January. I’m guilty. I’ve tried [...]
As winter break approaches and students get more and more excited about the holiday season, incorporating some common festive songs into your daily movement breaks is easy! Using the movement bank concept, draw stationary activities out of a hat (or simply preselect these movements). These may include squats, neck rolls, marching in place, touching toes, [...]
As Thanksgiving approaches, gratitude and thankfulness trickle to the forefront. We know that gratitude can improve physical and mental health through better sleep, higher immunity rates, lowered depression and anxiety and reduced risk of disease (UCLA Health, 2023). Following are some ideas for how we can integrate gratitude with movement for our students: Complimentary Post-Its [...]
After students have breakfast and get settled into class for the morning routine, often teachers find themselves having to keep students from dozing off or laying down their heads. To get the day started with increased blood flow to the brain, teachers can try different types of mindful movements to begin the day for students, [...]
In anticipation of holiday events with your students, it’s always a good idea to plan out some movement ideas to go along with the food and more stationary activities during parties and celebrations. Most schools celebrate Halloween. The day is typically associated with candy and sweets, so it can be a great opportunity to educate [...]
Now that the school year is underway, your protocols and procedures are probably established, and there’s room to add some movement breaks for the students to get their wiggles out! Allowing children to move and be active helps facilitate learning with memory retention and increased concentration. Below I share some of Moving Minds’ top products [...]
Back to School Night (aka Meet the Teacher or Open House) may be approaching soon for you, and one effective way to engage your students, family members, and parents/guardians is to grab their attention with movement breaks during their visit to your classroom. Depending on how the event is organized, there are various ways to [...]
Summer break is here! Enjoy a little time away from the classroom. But… as you mentally prepare for the coming year, the most sound advice I can give is to spend ample time in behavior management and organization. The more effectively this is done at the beginning of the year, the more time that can [...]
Having a sensory space in your classroom provides students with a quiet and calm area to re-focus. Sometimes all a student needs is something to distract them from the current environment/situation in order to reset the brain for the task at hand. As a teacher, if you notice a student needs to have a break [...]
Encouraging middle school and high school students to move can be a challenge, especially in a classroom setting. Anything high intensity or vigorous may be de-motivating. One suggestion to get them at least moving at a light intensity level is seated yoga. Below are some seated yoga poses that you may lead your students through [...]
