Yoga and Mindfulness at William Howard Taft Elementary

Project Yoga taught kindergarten and first graders at Cincinnati Public School, William Howard Taft Elementary virtually throughout the 2021-2022 school year. What follows is her testimonial and a gallery of artwork from students sharing the impact of yoga on their lives!

It has been an honor and privilege to teach the First graders and Kindergarteners Yoga and Mindfulness at William Howard Taft Elementary. The success of the program could not have been possible without the partnership of the dedicated teachers of Lauren Reed and Bailey Spears as well as school Psychologist Tara Lindberg and principal Dana Jason. We partner with Cincinnati Public Schools to support their Social and Emotional Learning Standards.
The 2021/2022 school year classes were taught via Google meets every Friday morning. A virtual format was used to meet the needs of the classroom teachers and support the changing policies through the year for health and safety concerns due to COVID. We gathered in person on May 20, 2022 to hold the final class for the school year live and in-person!
The success and impact of the program was captured in both teachers and student testimonials. Bailey Spears, Kindergarten teacher thanked Project Yoga and stated the skills learned in Mindfulness and Yoga help her give the students tools to De-escalate. Lauren Reed, first grade teaches stated her students love Yoga and Mindfulness and she utilizes the breathing skills with her students daily in her classroom.
The students stated that Yoga and Mindfulness skills help them, “be less nervous”, “concentrate”, “feel happy”, “calm down” and “feel ready”. They also reported doing Yoga at home and outside. The students’ adorable drawings and written testimonials they made and compiled into a "Thank You Project Yoga" book is below!

THANK YOU PROJECT YOGA BOOK DRAWINGS FROM STUDENTS