Back to School with NaliniKIDS!

It's Back To School Time. Here at NaliniKIDS, we feel like that's a season all on its own! In the spirit of this bubbling, academic fall excitement, here's a simple math equation for you to solve:

Q: STEM + Physical Fitness + Social/Emotional Learning = ?

A: NaliniKIDS!

With those three elements seamlessly at play in our organization, we can solve even bigger equations; we can solve a myriad of problems we can all face (our kids included!) in our lives.

With accessible and practical communication and connection, not only can mathletes, athletes, wordsmiths, and visual artists all speak the same language but so can teachers and students, parents and children. NaliniKIDS is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to teaching kids the value of physical and emotional fitness. Our in-school program for middle school and elementary students combines a physical fitness regimen with an emotional literacy component that is customized and integrated into all academic disciplines with over 250 lesson plans. Each multidisciplinary lesson includes discussion topics, vocabulary lessons, activities (ranging from STEAM to nutrition to writing) and an online physical workout that integrates strength training, yoga and breath-based exercises. This practical mind/body approach makes NaliniKIDS truly unique. With each lesson, students learn to become aware of and articulate their emotions. On any given day, a child can own their mood and use it to enhance or turn the day (and hopefully school year!) around--sounds like a job for the Anger, Empathy, and Perseverance workouts to name a few!

But students aren't the only ones seeing the daily effects of the program. Parents of NaliniKIDS students report increases in family communication in the home. Teachers in the NaliniKIDS program report improvements in classroom management and student relationships. Overall, everyone involved with NaliniKIDS, from staff to volunteers and administrators to students, report feeling more connected to themselves and the community around them, allowing them to better navigate their emotional and physical lives.

What we're learning and nurturing is that everyone can connect. Everyone can be active. Everyone is a student. Everyone is a teacher.

So what comes next? NaliniKIDS has been selected to be a part of a research study by Teacher's College at Columbia University. In the 2016 school year, they will evaluate how combining physical fitness with emotional literacy impacts school climate and the emotional and physical health of students. Bringing these principles out of the classroom and back to the home front is just as important to us as the results of this study and improvement on report cards. As parents, you can bring the benefits of an emotional and fitness literacy program into your home with the NaliniKIDS Emotional Workout Library.

This series of 12 videos (geared towards elementary-aged kids) help young children learn the value of physical and emotional fitness. Each video is hosted by Oopa, a character who connects kids to understanding common emotions. Each 3-minute video contains both a physical and emotional workout that helps kids connect their bodies and minds. Older children, teens, and parents can also participate in a more challenging at-home emotional workout with the NaliniKIDS ONE WORD Workout.

It can be challenging to bring topics covered during the school day into dinnertime chatter, but that's one of the many benefits that this video series offers: it jumpstarts conversation because everyone can easily participate. And when everyone has the same toolbox and vocabulary to find solutions that improve their emotional and physical life, the whole family wins. If you can name it, you can tame it. It really is that simple. Problem solved.

Connect with us: NaliniKIDS Emotional Workout Library, NaliniKIDS Facebook Page, NaliniKIDS Twitter Account, NaliniKIDS Instagram Account