Wellness Classroom

PLEASE PASS THIS INFO ON TO YOUR TEAMS……..SPECIALLY PEOPLE WITH SCHOOL CHILDREN!
Many of you read the first part of this experiment using the Nikken technologies in a Grade 3 classroom in New Mexico. Here is the information again with an update as of May 2007. Please share with anyone who would be interested in incorporating these products into their classrooms (or office!) We truly do make a difference!

Subject: Wellness Classroom
I am an elementary school teacher (3rd grade this year) who has taken the concept of a Wellness Home and downsized it just a tad, transforming my classroom into what I'm calling a Wellness Classroom. A fire ravaged a section of my school, and residues from the smoke and fire are still running rampant through our ventilation. I've been suffering from migranes since shortly after the school year began in August, and I began wondering if the ventilation/heating system was playing a part. SO over our Christmas '06 break, I bought an Air Wellness Power 5, a water cooler and an Aqua Pour to fit, and to start with, 4 of the smaller Kenko Seats. I have 20 children in my room and would have loved to have been able to afford 20 seats, but the reality of my teacher's salary sank in. My students are in 5 groups of 4 kids, so each day a different 4 get the seats, and by Friday, the entire class has had one day of benefit. All of the technologies were in place when they returned from vacations in January.
To spread the word of what I was implementing and to try and get some parent involvement, I held two "Open Classrooms" after school inviting my students to bring their parents to see what this was all about. I showed the Wellness Home video, so they had a feel for where I was getting the ideas, and then opened it up to testimonials of the kids and questions from the parents. I've definitely generated interest. In a week I've sold 11 more seats (8 of them for my students, 3 for their siblings in other classrooms), 3 magstrides, signed up two consultants (so far... I have a few families still with information that are working towards an informed decision - say yes, say yes!!!), loaned out a sleep system, hooked a mom on Body Balance, and if nothing else, put the idea of wellness and healthier classroom environments for our children into the minds of dozens! I've even had donations of seats offered from members of my upline - people I've never even met - I love Nikken people! =)My opinion is that there's no way I'm the only educator out there that wants to reap the rewards of an attentive, well-behaved, happy, healthy and balanced room of students. This classroom is great not only for me and my headaches (GONE!) but great for the one or two children that really try my patience throughout the day behavior wise. The Kenko Seats cut down on the restlessness and constant in and out of otherwise hard plastic chairs. My students report that they feel comfortable and calm and focused - nine year olds!! Imagine that! Wow, it really is incredible the change I've witnessed in my kids – and the changes they've witnessed in each other! They understand that they learn in a healthy environment; that their teacher truly cares about their wellbeing and their academic achievement. We have state testing coming up soon that everyone seems to be dreading, and our classroom attitude is "bring it on!" My students have been healthier - great point to make when we are practicing and reviewing for this test - and genuinely enjoy coming to school.... I've seen an improvement in their overall moods (yes, third graders can be moody!!).I know that I'm genuinely interested in my students' wellbeing and success for as long as I am making a difference in their lives and their academics (bonus - the kenko seats go with them to whichever classroom and grade they progress to!).Shalyn RochaGallup, New Mexicohttp://www.blogger.com/ym/Compose?To=smilebutterfly@yahoo.com
PS My mom and I spent the past 24 hrs sewing and altering Kenko seats so that tomorrow morning, Monday, I'll officially have a COMPLETE Wellness Classroom! Yea! ALL 20 of mystudents will be sitting on magnets from tomorrow until the end of the year at least! Yea! I would love to be able to give you an update in a few weeks, or next month sometime to let you know how it goes - I just may be the happiest teacher in McKinley County Unified School District!
May 2007 update…
Shalyn Rocha's 3rd Grade Wellness Classroom Update:
(20 kenko seats, PiMag Water system with cooler, Power 5)
Products being used for 4 months and counting!
I introduced the wonderful world of Nikken to my third grade class in January of 2007, when they returned from their Winter Holiday Break. It started with 4 Kenko Seats that rotated each day to 4 different students. By the end of the week, all students had a one day turn sitting on them. I also brought in one Power 5, a water cooler, and a PiMag system to go on top of the cooler. A month later (with some help from my upline- thank you!), I had 16 more seats - one for each student in my room. I made a "Welcome! You are entering a Wellness Classroom!" sign for above our door and held two "open classrooms" for the parents to educate them on why I had chosen to do all this.
The bottom line is that the products worked for everyone in my classroom. The first day the kids noticed a difference in themselves and in each other's behavior. Each day, each week, more results were noted. The technologies worked from the get go, and the kids were behind it 100%. The students always have a choice whether or not they want to sit on the Kenko Seats, and if they want to take them with them when they change rooms for different subjects. Nine and a half times out of ten, even if they are rushing and late, they will make sure they have their seat cushions with them. The kids know they feel better when they have them. They don't need to be convinced. For most of them, they felt it the first day they used it. More relaxed. More focused. Simply more comfortable.
I received a phone call from the parent of my student who takes his seat cushion home every night to sleep on it. She was nervous because she had discovered that his ADD medication had only one pill missing out of 45 pills. She was worried her child had been keeping notes home from me to her stating that her child's behavior was out of control or something to that effect. Because what could be the reason for him to not take his pills for over 2 months!!?? She was skeptical when she invested in the technologies that she did for her son. She so desperately wanted him off medication for his ADD, but nothing was working. I assured her that her son was not lying to her. There were no notes that I had sent home. I was not concerned for his behavior at all. He was getting his work done. He in fact, was behaving quite like the others in class, wonderfully! Her sigh of relief nearly broke my heart.
"Finally," she said, "Finally something has started to work.....It must be those magnets.... I wondered why he brought his seat home every day....I guess those things really do work!... I had better talk to you about a sleep system then, I can't let him sleep on that little pad forever!"
That was one of the best conversations I have ever had with a parent about a child who was finally getting some relief using something that wasn't causing any pain or side effects in another area.
The PiMag water continues to be a hit. We had to work into our list of class jobs a "water boy" or "water girl" for each week, because they were literally fighting over who got to be in charge of keeping the tank full. The water in the room does not cause the need for more restroom breaks. The kids are constantly drinking it, and you'd think otherwise, but no. Heaven forbid one of them forgets their water bottle from home. I'm not sure you could pay them at this point to get a drink from the water fountain in the hallway. The looks of dread on their faces when they ask me for a cup and I tell them we are all out, is so sad. But they are resourceful!! I have seen them constructing Origami paper cups for a drink, or even borrowing a friends water bottle and then washing it out in the class sink before returning it. When we walk down the hallway as a class to go to lunch, P.E. or Music and pass other students drinking out of the fountain, a collective gasp can be heard as my students watch in mock horror and comment to each other that someone needs to get a PiMag water cooler for their class, too (so cute!).
The Power 5 is on the side of the room next to the majority of kids who have allergies and asthma issues. It is still kind of chilly in New Mexico where I am, and I don't know much about winter allergies, but to my knowledge I don't have any kids on medications for them, nor have the ones with inhalers had to refill their prescriptions. That is pretty cool, I think! The machine remains a mystery to the kids and it was a bit of a science experiment in the beginning to see what smells would "set it off" (to turbo mode) the fastest. The students tested everything from perfume sprays to sweaty post P.E. feet, burps, sneezes, and what happens after eating bean burritos from the cafeteria... They had to make sure it works, of course! The unanimous ruling was that the Power 5 could stay!
As far as how do all these technologies work together on the whole? Well... the students believe in these products, which probably makes them work better! They talk to each other about magnets and the water and the "magic" in the Power 5 that makes the turbo kick in and suck the crud out of their air (and then go back down to a low setting). There is a routine of respect in my classroom for all these components. They know they don't come cheap, they know they work, and since I believe in what they can do for all my students, all my students trust me and believe in what the products can do for them, as well. The antsy kids really are able to sit still through lessons and discussions. They don't feel the restless need to move about the room and disturb other students - as much! The children are less sleepy and more alert all throughout the day. The ones that come to school tired, relish in that first opening hour to rejuvenate on their seats and have a drink of Pi Mag water to bring back some energy to their bodies.
The end of the year is drawing to a close. We still haven't heard back on state test scores to see if the products provided them with the ability to excell over the other two third grade classes. I was so proud of my students throughout their two weeks of testing. We relaxed, we visualized high achievement and we approached each test component with a "We can do this!" attitude. We also taped up "water words and phrases" to our PiMag system with sayings such as, "I believe in myself", "I am a winner", "I am prepared", "I am smart", and "I can figure out the answers", "Nothin but A's!" and a class favorite, "Bring it on, I'm not afraid." I can tell you that they wonder what next year will be like in a room WITHOUT all their wellness products.... A few parents have asked if I would transfer to 4th grade (as if it's that easy!). The students who have purchased seats of their own are very thankful to their parents for the investment. They know they will be off to a good start for their next school year!
I'm excited as a teacher to have the products to use for my next batch of students. I have yet to bring aboard any teachers to invest similarly as I have, nor have I found someone to work with me on a grant so that these products can be for more than just one room of students. But I'm still working on that. Perhaps next year, when my kids are all 4th graders; when they and their parents see how much they really did benefit on all these wonderful technologies, and now they don't have them, it will be realized that they need them! It's a whole new ballgame when the parents get involved and the needs of their children are met. I can be patient! It all works. Everyone benefits. Now the students believe. As far as I am concerned, my students are Nikken Wellness Classroom Experts. They have Discovered It. They have Lived It. And now, happily I report that they don't want to be without It!
Thank you to everyone out there who has contacted me, and has shown a true interest in these products for our children. Hopefully Nikken will take this to heart and work on some lines more dedicated to the little ones and the younger generations out there.
Kids love this stuff!!!