CEDAR RAPIDS -- From basketball practice to music lessons to dance recitals, kids get pulled in many different directions every day.

Now, one Eastern Iowa school is trying help children learn how to calm down.

Students at Cedar Rapids' Arthur Elementary have a new after school option. Teachers say the activity is stretching the kids in a variety of new ways.

It's easy to forget children can feel just as stressed as adults. And, kids don't always know how to cope.

"It's usually loud around my house, so I usually want to be in a quiet place," 8-year-old Clay Linge said.

Arthur Elementary recently started offering yoga classes after school.

9-year-old Blake Emig said, "Learn how to be quiet instead of running around and being crazy."

The goal is to teach children how to handle stress before they become adults.

"They're so willing to try anything. They have such a sense of wonder, so it's fun," yoga teacher Marsha Nieland said.

Yoga instructors tweak their teachings to the younger crowd. They keep the stretches simple and the exercises easy.

"I don't know why we have to breathe a lot. Maybe she just wants us to be calm when we do it," Linge said.

The students may not understand how yoga helps them, but they seem to like it.

"I want to be quiet because then I can relax and pretend I'm at home," 9-year-old Blake Emig said.

Nieland said, "It offers something for every part of their being -- physically, mentally, emotionally."

Teachers also say yoga helps kids become stronger, more flexible and more coordinated.

By the end of the lesson, a mellow mood puts everyone's mind at ease.

The children say their stress slips away and they leave with a calm, relaxing feeling.

Arthur Elementary also offers a variety of other after school programs to keep teaching students after the final bell rings.

They have everything from sign language lessons to a Lego club.

E-mail Mark Geary at Mark.Geary@kcrg.com