A school project, which is realized over a longer duration, offers the opportunity to work with the children in a special way.
I noticed that a few children spoke very very softly. Some could barely be understood. I made the suggestion to the class teacher, that we leave the reading in of the texts to exactly these children.
I asked the children whom I had in mind, which would like to do breathing and voice exercises with me. The children really wanted to take part. (A welcome interruption to the class.)
I showed the children a number of exercises that allowed one to breath more calmly, and to let the voice sound more full.
Two things totally amazed me: children do some of these exercises intuitively. At times I barely had to explain how the exercises progressed.
The other thing was that the success of the exercises was immediately audible. As soon as they consciously firmly placed their feet on the floor, and breathed more deeply, the voices sounded louder.
On that day, we didn't have a large choice of rooms; therefore two comments belong here in the text. The room, in which the exercises are to be done in, should have windows that can be left open. Fresh air is absolutley necessary. There should also be stools (with no back rest). Chairs that turn are absolutely unsuitable, because the children should sit straight and still. Rotating chairs or stools also mean that the beginning of the exercises will be delayed by at least 15 minutes.
With more intensive breathing and vocal exercises, symptoms of hyperventilation can occur, especially with children. Not to the degree that, one is familiar with through the media, but the children could become dizzy. Thus it is important to keep an eye on them during the exercises, and to encourage them to watch out themselves. When one begins to feel dizzy it is important to quickly move the arms and legs, to jump up and down, so that the body consumes more oxygen.
I always start the exercises very cautiously, and take care that the children don't overwhelm themselves. I don't work with the children any longer than 15-20 minutes.