Next Step Teaches & Facilitates

With more than 75 years combined experience in classrooms, camps, hospitals, afterschool and church programs, the Next Step team collaborates with schools, individuals, and organizations to help kids and grownups learn new stuff.

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Whether it’s a special yoga class for a targeted population, a workshop at a conference, or a series of classes, our team confidently steps into the seat of the teacher and facilitator. We start our planning with insight into where the group begins.

To teach is to bring a group along in knowledge or skill. To facilitate is to make something easy. We teach so that learning comes easy, and we make it exciting and satisfying for our learners.

Poverty Simulations

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group of individuals playing the roles of family members discussing during poverty simulation

We’ve used the MACA Poverty Simulation since 2011; during the pandemic we developed an online version of this powerful tool. If you have a large group (50-80) the in-person version is ideal, but if your group is small, or spread over a wider area, or your time is limited, the online simulation accomplishes a lot of the same goals as the roleplay. Our team that can put together a powerful experience that will:

  • Give your group a glimpse at the challenges faced by people with limited incomes every day and month
  • Increase your group’s empathy toward others
  • Open new lines of communication among participants

Take half a day to give your group a powerful experience of how it feels to survive on less than a living wage.

Blog posts related to the Poverty Simulations
  • Day of the Girl
    October 11 is International Day of the Girl. This is an opportunity to celebrate the power of girls, discuss the challenges girls face worldwide, and take action to advance the rights of girls everywhere. The statistics are staggering: International Day …
  • Awareness, Understanding, Perspective, Change
    A poverty simulation is an interactive experience where folks try to survive the day-to-day realities of living with a low income.
  • Soulmates
    As I plunge the depths of art and yoga, as I travel more, and find new next steps, it’s great to have a team member that can finish my sentences, and pick up my work where I leave it.

Would you like to be more empathetic?

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Yoga classes and programs

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Martha and Ashley teach yoga at local studios and for organizations like Polk County Conservation, Drake University and LICA. Shelly is a regular teacher at summer programs in Urbandale. We’re pros at making the many benefits of yoga accessible to every body through:

  • The use of chairs and props
  • Controlled breath and pranayama
  • Adapting yoga practice and myth to the needs of diverse groups
  • Yoga for mental health

Imagine calming yourself just by changing the way you breathe. Can’t touch your toes? We can get you there! Think yoga is something you have to BE strong to do? Yoga will MAKE you strong!

Blog posts related to Yoga
  • Central Iowa Yoga Retreat
    The Central Iowa Yoga Retreat is a day for yoga. It’s a day to ground in community, to grow your knowledge, and to let curiosity bloom.
  • Storytelling with Drake Students
    Martha and I bundled up on a very snowy morning in early January, and drove to the Hotel Pattee in Perry Iowa. Lopso, the resident dog greeted us warmly at the back door. His name complements the fact that he …
  • All Day Long
    Some soreness in my upper back is reminding me to do that five-minute slow Cat/Cow pose she recommends. Squats. Side body long. And after a walk stretch quads and hamstrings. Yay! Oh! and don’t forget the hips, pelvis and psoas.

Would you like to be strong AND flexible?

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Mindfulness & Movement

Mindfulness is such a buzz word these days, but the team at Next Step delved into the concept before it was on magazine covers! We use and teach many techniques; some are collected in our Mindfulness & Movement Activity decks, but we’ve already added enough to start another deck. Let us bring you a fresh take through approaches like:

  • Walking meditation
  • Journaling
  • Controlled breath & pranayama
  • Developing your own mindfulness practice
  • Gratitude practice
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Girls playing ball

The benefits of a mindfulness practice are priceless. Learning to be in the moment, stay where your hands and feet are, enhances everything from enjoyment of everyday chores and routines to remembering where you set down your glasses. Being mindful in the 21st century is a big challenge, but our team can help you develop a regular practice that will make your life a better place.

Blog posts related to mindfulness & movement
  • Just breathe
    What comes to mind when you hear the word “breath?” Do you have a memory of getting the wind knocked out of you when you did a belly flop in the pool? Or holding your breath when you were scared? …
  • A Mindful Spring
    I’ve been determined to really pay attention to spring this year, and to share it with some folks who seem to have an easier time being mindful than most.
  • Central Iowa Yoga Retreat
    The Central Iowa Yoga Retreat is a day for yoga. It’s a day to ground in community, to grow your knowledge, and to let curiosity bloom.

Would you like to develop or enhance your own mindfulness practice?

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Nutrition & healthy eating

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Eating Asparagus

Sometimes it’s hard to keep up with all the recommendations about what to eat and how to be healthy. We do a lot of teaching as part of our work with the farm to school work. Shelly teaches Pick A Better Snack at elementary schools for Des Moines Public Schools. At Next Step we stick to the basics:

  • Eat lots of fruits & veggies
  • Eat local
  • Get plenty of exercise
  • Go outside
  • Eat sweets, fats, and processed foods in moderation (or not much at all? well, maybe not)

Farm to school programs help kids develop healthy eating habits to last a lifetime. Research tells us students pick more fruits and vegetables when they have high quality, farm-fresh produce to choose from. When kids are well-nourished, they learn better.

Blog posts related to Nutrition & Health
  • Farm to School Science Lessons
    We are often asked, “How do we bring Farm to School teaching into our classrooms?” There are barriers. Time is short. Teachers are stretched. There is no “free time” in the day to add something extra. Fortunately, Farm to School …
  • Growing Food in Science Class
    By including school gardens in science, students learn through hands-on activities with countless real-world applications.
  • Validation and Inspiration
    I’ve been feeling like I needed a reset for a while. Like my teaching wasn’t always hitting the mark. There were students in my classes that I just felt I wasn’t reaching. So, I’ve gotten my reset.

Would you like the kids in your life to learn about nutrition & health?

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Hands-on science

Science and math often show up on surveys as the most difficult to teach. When the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) came out in 2011, there was a mix of excitement and terror!

But the basic scientific skill is asking questions, guessing what the answer might be, and then testing your guess. Setting up simple experiments can be done in any classroom, and they will keep students engaged in learning. Next Step staff can help you:

  • Develop simple science experiments using inexpensive supplies and equipment
  • Help with step-by-step instructions
  • Tie your favorite activities to science standards
  • Teach science concepts outdoors
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Making a sediment jar

There are a variety of science teaching methods you can draw upon when helping students understand their world.
Whilst there are several approaches to try, the most important thing to keep in mind is that our role as science educators is to help students understand how the scientific method actually works and why science impacts upon their own lives.

https://www.fizzicseducation.com.au/articles/methods-for-teaching-science/
Blog posts related to teaching science
  • Just breathe
    What comes to mind when you hear the word “breath?” Do you have a memory of getting the wind knocked out of you when you did a belly flop in the pool? Or holding your breath when you were scared? …
  • Farm to School Science Lessons
    We are often asked, “How do we bring Farm to School teaching into our classrooms?” There are barriers. Time is short. Teachers are stretched. There is no “free time” in the day to add something extra. Fortunately, Farm to School …
  • Nature Study
    I heard grumbling on the short walk to the restored prairie. “Why do we have to do this?” “I don’t like to draw.” “Plants are boring.” I did not respond but wondered if the prairie and I could win them …
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Teaching, Parenting, & Youth development

Boy on a unicycle

Being a parent or teacher is more challenging than ever in these post-pandemic, digitally connected times. Not that it hasn’t always been a tough job!

We need to pull out all the stops on what we know about how young people grow and learn to meet the challenges that they are presenting. There is so much we can do to help them grow strong and resilient. teaching and youth development.

The Next Step team draws from experience and experiments in education and youth development:

  • The experiential model, and hands-on education
  • Research on resilience; protective factors and other youth development research
  • Learning styles research
  • Best research and practice on parenting throughout life

“Every truth has four corners. As a teacher I give you one corner and it is up to you to find the other three.”

Confucius
Blog posts related to Teaching, Parenting & Youth Development
  • It’s been a while
    …since I’ve dug deep into my experience in youth development. Being an educator is hard these days; I think it always has been. Kids, parents, counselors, administrators, teachers face criticism every day. I was excited to share some time with …
  • All Day Long
    Some soreness in my upper back is reminding me to do that five-minute slow Cat/Cow pose she recommends. Squats. Side body long. And after a walk stretch quads and hamstrings. Yay! Oh! and don’t forget the hips, pelvis and psoas.
  • Validation and Inspiration
    I’ve been feeling like I needed a reset for a while. Like my teaching wasn’t always hitting the mark. There were students in my classes that I just felt I wasn’t reaching. So, I’ve gotten my reset.

Do you want to enhance your teaching? Deepen your knowledge of youth development?

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