Mindful Classroom Management
There are some very grounded and practical reasons why Heather & I joined forces with Kate Bartram-Brown to bring Mini Me Yoga to Canada and New England, respectively. We are Mini Me Yoga Ambassadors. We want all children-regardless of background and income, to feel Joy and Safety that mindfulness and kids yoga facilitates at school and at home.
Children living in poverty have extreme behaviours, at times, because they are living in extreme circumstances. It is completely understandable for hungry children to be restless and hyperactive. This can also happen when they are exhausted from not sleeping. There is significant stress around their basic physical needs being met, let alone their emotional needs being satisfied, as children often will accommodate to their surroundings- ignoring their own needs for the sake of feeling safe even if that means accepting the adults are not physically, mentally, or emotionally present.
Mini Me Yoga in its incubation stage was created for children in war torn Middle East; where children were exposed to traumatic experiences and left with PTSD. In its incubation stage, it was so successful that it was retooled and redesigned for every child around the world, regardless of their circumstances- including children with autism and special needs.
In Heather’s words: “Hindsight, as they say, is 20/20…If I had known what I know now, in terms of skills and tools, I would have had a lot more to offer my at-risk students when I was a Special Education Teacher in Griffin and Atlanta, Georgia.” And I couldn’t agree more, when I taught at-risk students in Detroit, Michigan.
The children we are raising and teaching today are far more sensitive and require us adults to be fully present and able to give, and accept them exactly where they are. Mini Me Yoga does not have rigid expectations for children in meditation or doing yoga poses. Children are natural experts in yoga- which they tend to forget as they observe us adults more and more. Children will do the poses however is perfect for their body. It is we adults who come loaded with expectation of what it looks like. As much as the children benefit from Mini Me Yoga, we adults benefit from learning how to be mindful and accepting towards the children in front of us as well as nurturing and encouraging our own inner child. The more we nurture a welcoming relationship with our own inner child, the better we can show up as mature, joyful adults.
We believe the tools we offer educators help them to stay calm, relaxed and laughing, so they can handle the stressors the children bring everyday with a greater sense of detachment, empathy, and joy.
We are both passionate about our work, because we know the difference it makes in the life of a child. Join us, won’t you?
Meet Heather McCrae & Kate Boucher!
We train parents and educators both, on our core 15 minute program, because it’s important. As parents and educators, it’s so important to stay relevant and also to seek out the most gentle and clear methods of classroom management. There are very gentle ways to manage kids, especially little ones, that are fun and not stressful. We teach Teachers how to use Mini Me Yoga as a classroom management tool. If we had Mini Me Yoga when we were teaching it would have been much easier for everyone, including the children!
Mini Me is modified Yoga. The poses are modified to be appropriate for growing bodies without stressing muscles or joints. There are games that absolutely are appropriate for a classroom setting, and can be used whenever there’s a last-minute schedule change or even at the end of a class period or the end of the school day. This is constructive fun. From a health perspective, Mini Me Yoga teaches healthy breathing and heart-centeredness.
Contact info@minimeyoga.com to connect with a Mini Me Yoga Ambassador in your region of the world.