Grk , iiii,j771: kik ,StoAc.`5 IA, JEWELRY ,,lendo r — 6881 Orchard Lake Rd. au, on the Boardwalk (248) 851-5030 ;3. Olivia Bertoi, Bertoi, 5, Audrey Jodoin, 5, Laura Rosin, Jakob Hughes, 6, and Sully Dooley, 6 Mindful Learning j ?" Yoga instructor takes kindergarten curriculum to a new level. Best tc tgan MOETxo ~ r,EW ~ SHNrw, ri 2014 Allie Jacobs Special to the Jewish News I NIew Nierditzualk7e Arrixt.itflaiet 2010750 Bridgeway Care Management Sz Home Care A Division of Feinberg Consulting, Inc. Overwhelmed by caring for an aging family member? Pam Feinberg-Rivkin RN, BSN, CCM, CRRN, ABDA Interventionist Founder &CEO e r..; We Can Help More than just home care... Our professionals will coordinate and support all of your needs Call: 248.702.6510 Care Managers: • Holistic Assessments • Detailed Plans • Management of Care • Oversight and Monitoring Caregivers: • Companionship • Help Around the Home • Meal Prep for Special Diets • Attending Appointments For additional services visit: www.BridgewayCare.net 2000430 12 June 25 • 2015 n Laura Rosin's pre-kindergarten and kindergarten classroom at Franklin Academy in Southfield, her students know the rules: "Kind thoughts, kind words, kind heart, and a kind touch to myself and others:' In addition to practicing their ABC's and numbers, Rosin teaches her students yoga and mindfulness techniques each day to help them through the challenges they face in the classroom, on the play- ground and in life. Growing up, Rosin lived in both West Bloomfield and Southfield, and now resides in Birmingham. After becoming a certified yoga instructor and practicing for nearly a decade, she finds that yoga helps her to live in the moment and remain calm during challenging situations. To determine if her students might experience the same benefits, she started experimenting with teaching basic yoga and mindfulness techniques in the class- room. As she started integrating yoga, she began observing some positive side effects. "I especially noticed that for the chil- dren who are getting bullied and are full of anxiety and fear, yoga helps center them',' Rosin says. Rosin finds that teaching the "tree pose" is especially helpful for children who are being bullied. "I teach them how to hold that pose, and that's where they really learn how to be strong and work through something that's hard:' Rosin says. She emphasizes that yoga can be used on and off of the mat, and encourages stu- dents to share with her how they use yoga in everyday situations. Rosin is even able to weave in yoga techniques with academics. She developed a yoga pose for every letter of the alphabet and emphasizes breathing techniques such as "bluebird breath" while learning about science and nature. When Rosin notices that her students are becoming distracted, she will engage her class in "river meditation:' During this practice, Rosin instructs the children to stay calm like a river while distracting paper fish, such as the "bully fish' and "the come-play-with-me-while-I'm-working fish:' swim by them. "The kids really like the river medita- tion:' Rosin says. "It gets them to really know how to focus and helps them feel confident:' For the upcoming academic year, Rosin plans to create a "mindful moments cen- ter',' where students are instructed to use their five senses to observe animals, sea- shells and other objects in nature. Rosin fmds that yoga principles reso- nate with her children on a spiritual level. Throughout her own life, she has been a member of Temple Israel, Shir Shalom and Temple Beth El. She has also spent time volunteering at Yad Ezra with her two daughters, Brooke and Stephanie. In the classroom, she teaches her chil- dren kindness and compassion, and feels that these values coincide with many reli- gious belief systems. Outside of the classroom, Rosin dedi- cates herself to offering free yoga to any child who has been bullied or who is ter- minally ill. "Ifs my own personal mitzvah project," she says. "I hope to stop bullies and empower victims to believe in them- selves:' Based on the positive feedback she has received from students, parents and her fellow teachers, Rosin plans on growing her yoga program even further at Franklin Academy by continuing to share her skills with students and educators. As Rosin points out, her true aim is to touch one child at a time. If she is success- ful in that, she feels she is making a difference. ❑