Mindfulness is not something I ever learned about or even thought of using when I started out as an SLP in 2008. Yoga and mindfulness were things I dabbled in but they were hard to come by in my community and absolutely not talked about them where I worked, let alone used in a classroom or speech room. But things have changed, and as these have become more mainstream and the benefits of them are more well-known, they are used more often.
Last year, I started branching out and teaching some yoga for kids classes, and finding ways to use mindfulness in my speech room, and sharing strategies with others. It is what my new course “Mindfulness in your Speech Room”, launching later this September, is all about.
If you have ever thought about using these in your class, needed mindfulness activities to use in your speech room, or wondered how to incorporate them into a speech session, it is probably a lot easier (and more fun!) than you ever imagined.
Here are 5 Types of Mindfulness Activities to Use in Your Speech Room:
Games: If you like to play games in your therapy or class, to help foster receptive language skills such as following directions, with social.pragmatic groups, to build up some vocabulary, or as a simple reward/positive moment, there are several ways to bring in yoga and mindfulness. One way is to play a game like “Yogi/Simon says”, using yoga poses. Call out a pose and demo it, and see if they follow when “yogi/Simon” says. You could also try using some yoga dice and take turns creating a mini sequence. Another fun game is to have a hoberman sphere have students take a few breaths with it or name a pose then throw it to another student to do the same. It builds community, works the brain, creates play, and can be something new for the students.
Breathing Breaks: If you need something to help students find their focus or to regain self-control or calm, breathing breaks can be helpful. You can use tactile cues, like a hand on their chest/belly, toy on their belly, a hoberman sphere, or color-changing apps. It can be a pause that helps students to regroup, much like it does for adults.
Yoga Poses/Names: If you are working on articulation or language skills, using yoga pose names can be a fun way to practice sounds and build sentences. Write down a few on a board to choose from, grab some yoga cards, or give the students a new pose to try doing and name.
Check-In: Having a mindful moment when you first step into the class can be a great way to check-in with students and help them get settled for the session. It could be breathing, choosing the “color” they feel emotionally, or shaking it out on a wiggly day.
Books: If you love to incorporate books into your speech therapy sessions, there are a TON of yoga and mindfulness books that you could use, and then create activities, movement, vocabulary, articulation, etc from. You can search on google, head to the library, or reach out to me for some suggestions. Personally, I like the “I am” series by Susan Verde.
There are so many ways that you can infuse yoga speech sessions with mindfulness, either a little bit here and there or with the activity itself. They can help students to find a new way of learning, a new way of having fun, or to get settled and prepared for the session, shifting their brain for speech time.
Which one do you think you are going to try? Share in the comments and let me know! Or DM me on IG at jessiandricks.
Want to bring some mindfulness to your classroom? If you are looking for some fun and out of the box ways to connect, that can help you to feel truly authentic and supportive of your students, make sure to sign up for the waitlist for my newest course “Mindfulness in Your (Speech) Room”. It is a course for SLPs and educators that will share who you can bring mindfulness and yoga into your classroom, as little or as much as you’d like, and how it can change everything – for the better. You can sign up for the waitlist here (and snag an exclusive discount when doors open later in September).
With Love and Light,
Jessi