Grades 2-3 After-School Group III, Grounding Lesson Plan (Cory)

Children need to feel grounded both physically and mentally in order for learning to occur. Grounding activities help children to feel safe and secure and help to bring them to the present moment.

“Today, you’re going to try out some relaxation and energizing activities to help you experience the feeling of being grounded. As you engage in these practices throughout the year, you will want to call on these grounding activities when you need to improve your focus and concentration.”

Read It’s Hard To Be A Verb! by Julia Cook. Discussion prompt: How does Louis’s mom help him improve his focus and concentration so that he could avoid getting into trouble?

Calm

• Belly Breaths: Observe how your body is very still right now. Put your hands on your belly and feel how you fill up your belly as you breathe in through your nose. Your breath feels like waves of the ocean filling up your belly and traveling up to your chest as you exhale again.
• Hoberman Breathing Sphere: _________ is going to lead us in our belly breathing for counts of 5. We will need someone to count at the beginning of each inhale. Students give compliments to the leader and counter.
• Leg stretch

Activate/Expand

Use words such as: Feel yourself planted like roots under the ground, feel yourself strong and solid on the ground like a mountain, lengthen your arms and spread your fingers like lasers shooting out to the sky.

• Roots: Explain the four corners of the feet
• Woodchopper
• Archetype Game: Warrior, clown, brave prince, angel, courageous explorer; ask children to compare and contrast how they felt and acted with each character.
• Mat 20

Calm

• Finish Mat 20 with the twist and relaxation breathing
• Child pose
• Ready…Set…R.E.L.A.X. guided imagery, Push & Relax, p. 62, or Rainbow Wear, p. 104