Motivating Each other!

This morning was my second class.

The students looked ready. They were there before I arrived! And they were smiling.

I reminded them to pick a spot on the floor, and we were ready to go.

Two of the students in my class need a little more direction - one has cochlear implants on top of his autism (I'll call him L), and one guy, who I'll call D (who I knew when he was little) needs reminders to focus and follow directions. I called their names a few times to remind them to watch, and gave them praise when they were following me.

By the second song, they were focused, smiling, and even adding some of their own "flair" to the choreography (an extra jump here, a clap there).

Another young man, who I'll call X, who is verbal and really enjoying Zumba already, took my lead. Throughout the class, he would see if one of these students was not following or looking at me, and call their names, reminding them to focus and watch!

All throughout the class, you can hear him praising them. "Great job L! D! Watch the teacher!!! Good job D!"

Not only was X participating, but he already is showing his leadership skills in class. He follows along beautifully, and laughs, whoops it up, and hollers throughout every song! But even more amazing was seeing how he cared for the other students, and pushed them to stay with the choreography every step of the way!

I noticed that L, who is a bit self-directed, was not always watching me, but seemed to be on the right step. I watched him to see what was happening. Turns out - he was watching the others around him - especially X. Later, when his mother complained he wasn't watching me, I explained that what L was doing really was ideal. He was watching and learning from his peers, which is ALWAYS the goal when teaching an individual with a disability - especially autism. People with autism tend to have difficulty imitating their friends and peers around them. To see L do this so easily is icing on the cake. An When I work with students outside of Zumba, getting them to imitate and follow their peers is a challenging feat. To see this happen effortlessly is worth it's weight in gold....

I was curious to see how the class would evolve week to week. While I knew I would see changes occur, I was not expecting to see them by week 2.

Last week, although the students were following along and seemed to enjoy the class based on the fact that they stayed with me for the entire hour, I really saw a difference in HOW they enjoyed it this week.

For starters, I saw them really follow the patterns (aka - the Zumba formula). They even anticipated what the next move was going to be before relying on my cue, which really impressed me. They also repeated to themselves some of the verbal cues I threw in, which helped them stay focused and follow a move that challenged them. They were more on the beat, and during a song where there were three steps and a clap in the choreography, they all fell in sync perfectly! To hear a class of students with disabilities completely on beat and in sync with each other is truly a magical experience!

Also.... They are starting to sing along to the music!!!!

I also really felt this week, I had friends with me. They were not just "students". I saw that I was able to make eye contact, give a nod, a smile, and it meant something to them. Not just because it was praise, but because they connected with me and wanted to join me in this experience.

The one young lady in the class, B, was beaming by the end of the class (last week - she just complained that she was sweaty!). And before I left, I saw her looking at me, still smiling. I waved goodbye to her, smiled, and told her again what an awesome job she did. She looked exactly how I felt.... Bursting with energy and joy.