Peaceful Classroom: Meditation Table , “Switzerland” Per Mediation, Sun Salutation Yoga Morning Poses

Celeste Baucom
I shall share the use and purpose of classroom senatorial materials from a Meditation Shelf. The focused mind benefits from a little break in concentration leading to a rebirth/burst of imagination. This idea was inspired by a suggestion in Aileen Wolf’s popular book, “The Spiritual Nature of the Child”. The Elementary child responds most to peer mediation rather than an adult. Each year the class elects two peer mediators termed “Switzerland” from whom they may request help resolving differences. Lastly, the quiet Sun Salutation poses create a set of peaceful group sequences the children enjoy following at the start of the day or during a break in standardized testing weeks.
Celeste Baucom has been guiding the Upper Elementary class at Aquinas Montessori School for 24 years. In 2014 she accepted the additional role of Montessori Director upon the passing of the school’s longtime director and founder,  Kathleen Futrell. She graduated from Virginia Tech with a degree in biochemistry, worked as a biochemist at the National Institutes of Health, decided to pursue teaching, received her Montessori certificate from WMI in 1994, and us been at Aquinas ever since. 
The Virginia Montessori Association is a non-profit (501(c)3) that was established in 2015 to bring Montessorians in Virginia together and to offer a community from which we all could benefit.  Administrators, educators, parents and other supporters can connect, inform and communicate in a way that is of value to all.