Hello dear Educators, (teachers, school administrators, school board members)
We hope this message finds you enjoying your latter part of the summer.
A new school year is soon upon us. Are you ready?
Perhaps you might be asking yourself these questions:
- How do you get kids to warm up to each other during orientation?
- What to do when students are not engaging in the classroom?
- What do you do when kids are nervous about taking tests?
- How to get kids to communicate better?
- How do we celebrate little goals/successes/
accomplishments in a fun way? - How can we build more trust and collaboration?
- How can we foster more self confidence and resilience?
- How to increase interest and personal achievement?
- How to harness the energy in the room and ground the students so that they can focus better?
- How to create more playfulness and joy to foster creativity and out-of-the-box thinking?
- How to reduce the stress and bring in the calm?
These are only a few of the many ways the Educator Relief Squad can help. We offer simple, effective and quick exercises which can be sprinkled into your school day.
Here are more details about our program: https://laughteryogausa.org/
Who we are: We are the Educator Relief Squad (ERS), a volunteer program for health and well-being in the classroom, sponsored by the non-profit LaughterYogaUsa.org.
The Educator Relief Squad committee is made up of six experienced and certified Laughter Yoga (LY) professionals – Cynthia Paris (Milwaukee/Chicago), Cathy Grippi (FL) , Neeta Merchant and Hillary Willett (CA), Marina Herrera (Mexico) and Alexa Fong Drubay (Philadelphia Area), who have developed this wellness program designed especially for the classroom. The ERS Team is a roster of certified Laughter Yoga professionals throughout the USA on standby to collaborate with educators.
How does it work? We seek to collaborate with educators by offering our complimentary support services.
Yes, FREE of charge, no strings attached.
What type of support services? Please visit: https://
How can we afford to do this? This fits in with Laughter Yoga USA.org’s commitment to sharing more laughter in various communities. Over the years we have held various fundraisers and during the pandemic our expenses were low, enabling us to now focus on this very important “laughter for health” project. Through our volunteering efforts, we are able to reach groups of all ages and backgrounds, educators and students. This is something we are willing to put the time and effort into because we truly believe that this program can make a difference in the quality of each day.
What are the benefits? The earlier we can expose children to our program, the better they can learn, grow, mature into healthy and resilient adults. Students and teachers can feel less stressed, empowered and at their optimum when practicing our wellness program regularly. Just imagine if kids in Kindergarten used their LY skills all the way up to grade 12. Of course, colleges and universities are also welcome to link up with us. Teachers who are already using these simple and effective techniques are thrilled to have this new skill in their toolbox.
How would this be applied in the classroom?
We realize that academic time periods do not allow for full LY sessions. This is not what we are proposing.
Due to time constraints and tight scheduling, gym classes and art have been removed in many schools. Yet children need to be able to move. LY is great because we do not need a lot of space or time. All it takes is a minute to feel refreshed, focused, connected and reengaged. Frequent laughter and breathing exercise breaks or a quiet meditation or visualization is sometimes the best way to get back on track.
How do we build it? Our objective is to connect LY pros with educators. These Laughter Yogis will become the teacher’s support buddies, as they begin using our program at school. If the teacher gets stuck, they can reach out for advice and guidance. An ongoing collaboration and sharing of ideas and experiences helps to keep the program strong and allows us to build these new relationships.
As more laughter pros join the ERS team, we can link educators with people in their region, either virtually or in-person.
Once Laughter Yoga USA’s Educator Relief Squad becomes more recognized in the classroom, schools may welcome us in to hold longer sessions and possibly in-service trainings and presentations at assemblies. This can lead to a stronger presence in the school system and a lasting positive impact.
This FREE August zoom workshop is for Laughter Yogis to learn more AND for Educators to find out about this wonderful program. Please join us on Monday, August 21, 2023, 12:00 Noon-1:00 PM ET (11:00 AM CT/10:00 AM MT/ 9:00 AM PT)
for a special Introduction to the ERS, a 15 min powerpoint led by Cynthia Paris, followed by an ERS LY experience (see what these exercises feel like! ) followed by a Q & A.
To register, please email Cathy Grippi at laughteryogavenice@gmail.com
We will begin small and organically and hope to build up some excitement.
This first workshop will be recorded so that people unable to attend the zoom, can watch later and also share with others.
Help us get the word out! Please share this information with other educators who might be interested.
Thanks so much.
Warm laughter regards on behalf of our ERS team,
Alexa Fong Drubay
Director of Laughter Yoga USA
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