The Impact of Daily Yoga in a Kindergarten Classroom

Date of Award

Spring 5-14-2021

Document Type

Project (696 or 796 registration)

Degree Name

Master of Science in Curriculum & Instruction

Department

Graduate Studies

Committee Chair

Aaron Peterson

Keywords

yoga, kindergarten, behavior, attentiveness

Abstract

This action research project examined the impact that daily yoga had on seventeen kindergarten students' behavior and attentiveness. The study took place over five weeks and followed an A-B-A single-subject design to include baseline, intervention, and reversal periods for data collection and comparison. The daily yoga videos were free and came from the Cosmic Kids Yoga channel on YouTube. Quantitative data was gathered from the students by coloring a chameleon to represent their feelings of happy, mad, sad, or tired. The students recorded their feelings three times each day. Each feeling color’s weekly percentage for the three different times was calculated and recorded in a bar graph. Qualitative data was gathered through observational notes made by the researcher and the instructional coach. When reading and coding the observational notes, there were similar themes throughout them. Most students increased their attentiveness in whole group lessons and improved their stamina in independent writing. Students with minor behavior or attention difficulties increased participation and engagement while decreasing inappropriate behaviors. A few students with more significant behavior and attention needs refused to participate in yoga and showed few improvements. While yoga did not improve behavior and attentiveness for the entire class, it was beneficial for most students by increasing their attention spans, participation, and ability to ignore distractions.

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