I added a new toy to my bag - The Hoberman Sphere! You may or may not be familiar with this toy. Many people know this Chuck Hoberman design from the infamous version at the Liberty Science Center. The one there hangs from the atrium ceiling, measures 700 pounds and expands to 18 feet! The one we used was of course nowhere nearly as big! 
My friends at Yoga Calm gave me the idea to incorporate this toy into the classroom as an effective tool for teaching relaxed breathing and lung capacity. As children are often kinesthetic learners, they may at times need a physical activity to help them get in touch with the world around them. I allowed each of the kids to lead the class in this exercise taking the sphere with both hands and focusing on their breath. As they inhaled, they expanded the the sphere as if it was their lungs taking in as much air as they can. As they exhaled, the sphere contracted. This calming deep breathing centers and relaxes both children and adults - reducing stress, focusing energy. The Hoberman Sphere playfully encourages the use of this breathing...not to mention it's great to play catch with!
I include a breathing activity either in the beginning or end of every class I teach. Today's activity was the Volcano Breath. Sitting in a cross legged position, inhaling deeply, the children were instructed to fill the belly with air followed by the lungs right up into their throats until they couldn't hold anymore air. They were also to move their arms, starting with hands at hearts center, mirroring their breath, until their arms were straight up to the sky when they could hold no more air. And that's when the volcano explodes! They let all the air rush out, folding forward, letting their arms float to the ground. We talked about what our volcanoes could be filled with, if they could be filled with anything. A popular choice was money, but I wanted our volcanoes to be filled with LOVE. I told the children to imagine what it would be like if volcanoes exploded with LOVE instead of lava. To make it personal, I had them focus on somebody in their life who meant a lot to them. When they all had a picture of that person in their heads, they filled up their whole selves with LOVE, and then exploded once again releasing that LOVE out to that someone special. And then we drew....
