How Teachers Create More Effective & Nurturing Learning Environments
We previously shared about Love Peace Harmony volunteer Bev Pergl’s community in Melbourne, Australia in another article. Now we will take a look at how Bev and her fellow teachers have been utilizing the Love Peace Harmony Field in classrooms, to provide emotional regulation and support for children.
“As a teacher,” Bev shares, “I wear the Love Peace Harmony MP3 player, which plays the Love Peace Harmony song, every day around my neck. We use it in a number of ways at my school. The children are often intrigued and come up to ask, ‘What is that?’ I show them how the player works and they will usually hold it to their ears, listening for a little while, before they ask, ‘Can I have a turn?’. While listening to the song, the children often just stop and stand there, holding the player to their ear for a minute before moving off to play again. Our team notices the children are calmer and definitely more relaxed after listening to the song. One of the children who has autism especially likes to listen to the LPH song when we are on the swing together. She is calm and restful for around 15 minutes before we are ready to rejoin the play. It works wonders for her regulation. Children from the daycare here are also interested in the LPH song, and those children who need help to regulate their emotions have especially benefited from it. There are a couple of very busy and disengaged children at this daycare who have started to come and regularly ask for a turn with the LPH player, wearing it around their neck and holding it up to their ear as they walk around by themselves or sit quietly listening to the song. Our staff certainly notices a change in their regulation afterwards. The Love Peace Harmony MP3 player has become one of my key tools when children are upset, guiding them to tune into the song they are hearing through the player – it’s a concrete tool to help calm and regulate the emotions and I don’t leave home without it!”
Bev further shares, “I also use the instrumental version of the Love Peace Harmony Song in all of my art classes, playing in the background. I connect to the field and silently sing along throughout the classes. My adult’s watercolors class has transformed a lot, and the children’s art classes are usually very calm. Some children comment that they like the music. I used to carry my CD player when I worked as a casual relief teacher and played Love Peace Harmony on the lowest volume each day. One teacher continued this in her class – the rule was the class had to be able to hear the music or the noise level was too loud! This was amazing. Years ago, prior to the Pandemic, I had the opportunity to hold regular Love Peace Harmony Field sessions at the school I was working at. When the lockdowns lifted, the principal was happy to start again, but I had moved from the area. I also held sound healing sessions with singing bowls, accompanied by the Love Peace Harmony song, at a nearby kindergarten. They still continue to use the music every day as a part of their program. The kindergarten director uses the LPH MP3 player now and wears it around her neck during sessions.”
The kindergarten’s director shares, “The Love Peace Harmony player is hanging around my neck all the time. Many children approach me, turn it on and put it to their ear for a minute, and we stand or sit together for a pause, listening to the song. That’s nice. Others borrow it, putting it around their neck and spend time walking around, holding it to their ear, listening to the LPH song. It’s amazing how it calms and resets. I feel so privileged to have this to use with my children who have autism, and with everyone. It’s something that everyone can get calm with. I use my LPH player daily and it is one of my favourite tools to use with lots of our children, but particularly those with additional needs. I had one child transfer from another service this week with global language delay – doing a lot of key word signing and communication is a challenge for us, but he LOVES the Love Peace Harmony song and asked for the player straight away this morning on arrival. It’s magic. Also, I know that a previous teacher of ours uses the Love Peace Harmony song and her LPH player at her new daycare.”
Another teacher shared with Bev, “I use the Love Peace Harmony song and player in my class for children with autism. Due to high level needs, there are 4 children in our class each day. Having the song playing works really well for me to stay grounded and calm while working. I absolutely love it! Most days I turn it on as soon as I get up, and most times keep it on until I drive home again. It’s so soothing. All 4 students like the music, as they touch the MP3 player on a regular basis, and put it against their ear while cuddling up next to me. Sometimes they tap it when the battery runs out before I even realize it.”
These are just some examples of how the Love Peace Harmony song is utilized by teachers to help regulate the emotions of their students, creating peace and calm in environments where the opposite is often the norm. This, in turn, can help the learning process, improving focus and retention in students, as well as cooperation and healthier relationships between classmates, which ultimately creates a more effective, happy and healthy learning environment, for teachers and children alike.
