유아를 위한 자연건강 프로그램 개발 및 적용

The Development and Application of nature-friendly health program for children

본 연구의 목적은 몸․마음이 건강한 유아를 기르기 위하여 유아교육기관에서 실천할 수 있는 자연의학에 기초한 자연건강 프로그램을 개발․적용하고, 그에 따른 유아들의 변화과정을 알아보는데 있다. 본 프로그램의 적용 대상은 부산시에 위치한 A어린이집의 만 3․4세 혼합반(만 3세 12명, 만 4세 5명)과 만 5세반(19명) 유아들과 담임교사이다. 본 프로그램 적용에 따른 유아들의 변화과정을 요약하면 다음과 같다. 유아들의 몸의 변화로는 “자연건강법에 익숙해진 몸”, “따뜻해진 몸”, “바른 자세의 몸”으로 범주화되었다. 마음의 변화로는 “집중하는 마음”, “편안한 마음”으로 범주화되었다. 이러한 연구결과는 자연건강 프로그램의 개발․적용으로 유아들의 면역력과 자연치유력이 향상되어 몸과 마음의 건강이 긍정적인 방향으로 변화되었음을 의미한다.

The purposes of the paper are firstly, the development of a nature-friendly health program, secondly, the application of it to infants, and lastly, to observe the change of their health and mentality. The nature-friendly health program for young children is developed on the basis of naturopathy. Because naturopathy stresses the preservation and improvement of health condition through the lifestyle adapted to the order of nature, the program is composed of right-eating, right-breathing, right-acting, right-sleeping, and right-keeping mental attitude. The program runs in two classes of A nursery school located in Busan for eight weeks. One consists of young children aged from three years old to four years old; the other consists of five-year-old infants. The result of the program is summarized as follows: firstly, the young children get easily used the nature-friendly health program, the program that stresses the importance of keeping body warm because it believes that keep warming strengthen immunity improves the young children health, even the ratio of catching cold goes down, and they get a good pose in behavior such as walking, sitting, sleeping, and etc; secondly, the program develops the young children ability of concentration. Even some infants who can easily distract others and themselves get better while they are in the program. And they can get and keep a restful mind after the practicing the program. The paper shows the necessity of the spreading of the nature-friendly health program to increase infants health in the field of infant education.