focus question: How do yoga Balls affect how children learn? Passion project by: Ella And Mia

introduction Many of our classmates have yoga balls.Our teacher, Mrs. Gestrich assigned what we call our “classroom yoga balls” at the beginning of the school year. Each week two students get yoga balls. Then, on the the next Monday two different students get yoga balls. After about the first week of school everybody started to buy their own yoga balls to sit on. Now most of the students in our class have a yoga ball. The students that don’t have a yoga ball just sit in a regular desk chair. The two of us think everybody wants a yoga ball. Everyone thinks sitting on yoga balls is fun but we don’t think they know why.

We chose to do this project because we wanted to know why Mrs. Gestrich gave us the permission to use yoga balls in class. Yoga balls are supposed to be used as learning and focusing tools in classrooms. The two of us wanted to know why. According to the websites that we did our research on, a lot of teachers in the USA use yoga balls. On the website a child stated that he was thankful for his yoga ball and it helped him on his tests. Another child said that her yoga ball helps her focus on her reading and writing.

the benefits of having a yoga ball ●assists to improve posture ●improves learning through movement ●promotes “active sitting” with little to no disturbance ●strengthens core and back muscle groups ●adjusts for custom fit to the individual ●enhances attention and concentration ●incorporates health and wellness into the routine ●improves blood flow to the body especially the brain ●improves balance and coordination

Yoga Balls: how do they affect our learning? We interviewed some of our classmates to see what they think about sitting on a yoga ball during class.

yoga ball vs. desk chair According to a study children who sat on a yoga ball in class showed higher word productivity in a language arts session than children who sat on regular desk chairs. What Sofia thinks: Question: Why do you think yoga balls are better than regular chairs?Answer: I think yoga balls are better than chairs because yoga balls allow you to bounce and that keeps you less hyper. Also chairs are sturdy and don’t move around unless you move them, yoga balls move around when you want them to. What we think: We think yoga balls are better than chairs because they let us get our energy out and it keeps us moving around, which is good for you.

According to when a child sits on a yoga ball both sides of their brain are engaged in keeping their bodies centered on the yoga balls. When the brain is stimulated it is more focused on learning.

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