Author: Little Learner and Mom

This is dedicated to Mrs TaJuana Blakely owner of Tiny Yogis

My son has been taking private yoga lessons for almost 3 years and he has truly enjoyed his lessons with Mrs. T the owner of Tiny Yogis. One the reasons I decided to start yoga with him was because of his medication Keppra for his epilepsy. One of the side effects of Keppra is mood swings and hyperactivity. My son some times could have slight mood swings and he could be hyperactive but it wasn’t anything that was majorly concerning to us when he first started the medication at 1 years old, but then things started to change when he turned 3. He began exhibiting Keppra Rage behavior and getting depressed. We needed to get this under control because I saw him really struggling.  I brought it to his neurologist attention and the first thing she suggested was a different medication that came with an even longer list of side effects. My husband and I said absolutely not, then I asked her about vitamin B12 which I had read could help and she said we could try to see how it works.

As a mom observing my son during those moments of his frustration I felt helpless. All I could do was try to hold and comfort him. There were nights I found myself in tears when he would have these fits of just feeling sad, then the dreaded “Keppra Rage” would hit. His medication was blessing but at the same time it was changing my son and we needed to step in, because going on another medication was not option for us.

Some may say he was just being your typical threeanger, but as a mom and professional who once worked in the field of child development and care, what we saw was not threeanger behavior.

One day I read an article about meditation and yoga for children who had seizures and dealing with the side effects of the medications. I decided let’s give this a try , I contacted Tiny Yogis and explained what we were dealing with and that we wanted to establish a calming routine for him. I was relieved when the owner told me she had experience with working with kids who were epileptic and she could work with him. She came over and we all went to work and I couldn’t be happier.

Studies have shown that kids who practice mindfulness have the ability to self regulate their behavior and can better deal with conflict resolution among their peers. Mindfulness also lowers stress levels, improves concentration and builds self-esteem.

The good in me sees the good in you!

After a month of yoga and implementing the mindfulness routine, one day he stopped right in full frustration mode and closed his eyes and said in a calm voice “peace begins with me” and taking mindful breaths. Imagine my expression seeing my frustrated child completely shut it all down and calm himself and after 3 mins he was at peace and calm and ready to restart. Talk about WOW!!! Not only had he learned to calm himself he also learned to recognize when he needed to take a few minutes and step away. To watch my 3.5 year old do something most adults are not able to do at 30 was astonishing.

My hope in writing this is that a parent who is dealing with the side effects of any medications or behavioral issues will give mindfulness a try before making the decision to change medications. I am not doctor so this isn’t me giving medical advise it’s just letting you know do your own research first.

Peace begins with me…the student has now become the teacher.

Almost 6 and no longer taking Keppra and approaching his 3 years seizure free anniversary he is doing great. We incorporate mindfulness in our home school day and every night before he goes to bed. I have even picked up doing daily meditations early in the morning before I get out the bed. There are days when he can sense I am having a hard day and he will say Mommy you need to take a break, close your eyes Mommy and repeat after me… 😉

So all is well 80% of the time, he is still a typical kid and has his moments but its all about growing up and how we as his parents handle those little moments. Not saying this may be the answer for all children , but it has worked for us. I understand all too well what it means to have a child with health issues and if I can help ease that stress just a little for another family then this post was worth writing. If you happen to be in the Atlanta surrounding area check out Tiny Yogis , she host classes all over the city and she is great with kids!

Here are few of our favorites mindful materials:

• Mindful Kids
• Good Morning Yoga
• Goodnight Yoga
• I Am Peace: A Book of Mindfulness
• Mindful Moments for Kids
• Moshi Twilight
• Think Fun Memory Yoga Action Game
• Think Fun Yoga Spinner Yoga Game for Kids

Until Next Time,

Little Learner and Mom 📿

The post contains affilate links at no additional cost to you.

This past school year we tried our hand at Morning Baskets…. epic fail on my part!

I liked the idea of having a special little ritual that could help jump-start our day, but for some reason I just couldn’t get it together. I honestly think the name of the basket is what was throwing me “Morning Basket” and I needed to really fine tune this area or drop it.

Our days start pretty early my son is up by 5:30 -6:00 am and I am up at 5 am most days myself. You would think a morning basket would be perfect for us right? Wrong🤦🏾‍♀️!!! We just couldn’t find our rhythm to add it to our mornings.

Traditionally a “Morning Basket” has a devotional, read aloud, fun activities and some sort of learning activity.  All the items that are supposed to be in the basket we did at the table or in our work boxes, so I felt like it would be repetitive and my son very much dislikes repetition.  He definitely called me out on it several times during our attempts of Morning Basket time !

So this is what I decided what was throwing me off…

I love the morning basket concept and I think it would really be a good addition to our home school, but I needed to think outside of the box and really figure out what worked for us. The first thing I did was change the name, our basket is called the “Knowledge Basket”, by removing the name I know longer felt pressured to have to do it in the morning or everyday. We do our “Knowledge Basket” 3 days a week anytime of the day. I also slimmed off the items typically found in a Morning Basket. Our Knowledge Basket consist of these subject areas:

1. African American Studies- A Child’s Introduction to African American History: The Experiences, People, and Events That Shaped Our Country
2. Interest led topic of his choosing (National Geographic Readers: Lizards and Fly Guy Presents: Snakes )
3. Big Journal and Mindfulness materials
4. Art and Music Appreciation
5. Poetry

The time spent on these items would only be 30 mins, so if we don’t get to something that’s okay we can just save it for the next time. I also decided to rotate our items every 2 weeks or sooner if it needed. I also enlisted my son help and asked him what he wanted in the basket. Now some may say where is the read aloud and all the other items that is supposed to be in the basket. Those items are spread out over the course of our day. Almost 60% of our curriculum has some sort of literature that goes along with it and we read from 3 chapter books every night before bed. We also read at meals and have prayer throughout the day so we are covering everything but just not throwing it all in the basket.

Here is the $50 dollar question, has the new basket been a success? You bet it has been not only has it been a success my son now goes to the basket every single morning and pulls his Mindfulness Kids Cards and Breath Like a Bear book. He also revisits the basket on his own throughout the day looking over the materials. So our Knowledge Basket has now transformed into the interest led basket and he knows he has the freedom to go to it anytime he wants and because his interested materials went in it, the basket is more appealing.

So what is in this weeks basket?

• Slickety Quick: Poems about Sharks
• Beauty & Beast Volume 1 Vocabulary and & History Flashcards
• Urban Intellectual Black History Flash Cards
• Why, Fly Guy?: Answers to Kids’ BIG Questions

I love our version of the Morning Basket, it is a perfect reflection of our family and our needs. The most important thing is my son had a hand in its creation and he LOVES IT!!! So if you are thinking about implementing a Morning Basket in your home school, I highly recommend that you make the basket your own and limit the amount of things you put in it and realize you don’t have to do it everyday or even in the mornings. The way I look at it this basket it’s just another way of bonding with my son and letting him know I value his contribution to his learning and our family.

Until next time,

Mom