Kids Yoga Network

From the outside Integral Elementary looks like a regular elementary school, however it is very different and very special. This is new Leading Edge Education in Action. The day starts with meditation. Then the children go to class in small groups of 11 and have a variety of different subjects including- arts, cultural studies, social studies, geography, math, science, values, and literacy. They rotate between four teachers, who teach different areas of the curriculum but work as an integrated team to plan and create individual learning plans for each child. This school is made even more special by including Yoga or ‘Awareness Through The Body’ sessions. This is a truly leading edge way to educate children. Teaching children to honor their bodies while nurturing and expanding their minds and souls. Integral Elementary School, in the UTC/La Jolla area, is a new and innovative private school for children in grades K thru 6. The school’s Integral method, which originated at the Sri Aurobindo International Centre for Education (SAICE) in India over 60 years ago, is described as not just teaching children, but creating lifelong learners. According to Prapanna Smith, the school principal, the United States’ current educational system is obsessed with test scores and this obsession is actually making it more difficult for children to learn. After teaching for a number of years in California public schools, Smith visited India where he saw a vastly different educational system at work. He felt those more holistic approaches to learning should be brought to the US.

Since 2002 Smith has been successfully running Rainbow Kids Integral Preschool, in the Scripps Ranch/Mira Mesa area of San Diego, this school currently has 100 students and is growing annually. The preschool also incorporates yoga and meditation into its program. He and his dedicated team next opened the Integral Elementary School in La Jolla in 2006; this school serves students from Kindergarten to 6th grade. The ultimate vision and plan is to provide Integral Education to kids from preschool to 12th grade here in San Diego.

While still following the California State Standards, an Integral education allows students to create, with the help of teachers and parents, a learning plan that also focuses on the student’s individual strengths and interests, which allows them to experience a true joy and desire for learning. The school uses nontraditional approaches and assessments to let children demonstrate what they know in real-world situations. It also utilizes cross-aged tutoring and cross-disciplined groupings based on ability levels, so that the students can learn from, and help teach, each other.

More information can be found at www.IntegralElementary.com or by calling (858) 450-4321.
Rainbow Kids Integral Preschool - www.RainbowKidsSchool.com call (858) 271-8569
Principal Prapanna Smith, Carla Gerstein, Community Liaison 858-450-4321 x104

Our children need to be nurtured at soul level. It is so important to balance academics with mindfulness, meditation and other ways of increasing consciousness to develop a whole and happy child. Most of us have been raised to focus on the end result, the test score, Integral focuses also on the journey and develops a love of learning.

"Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony." -Gandhi

If you are involved in a school that offers holistic approaches to education, please contact us at Kids Yoga Network™. We have a section in our directory for 'find an enlightened school' so consider joining so parents can find you.

Coming soon on Kids Yoga Network™ we will have more features and teleclasses on ways to incorporate meditation and mindfulness exercises into home and school life.