Join Go Go Yoga for Kids on August 4, 2017, for one of two sessions on using Yoga in the Preschool Classroom during the Iowa Preschool and Early Childhood Conference.
Get ready to jump in, learn, and have fun with this engaging session of how to use Yoga in early childhood conference. The many benefits of yoga make this a wonderful addition to any classroom setting. Yoga provides a way to keep children engaged, provide meaningful transitions for one activity to another, and reinforce learning and mindfulness. Yoga is also excellent for promoting a sense of well being, creativity, and teamwork. Learn how to get kids fit, flexible, and focused by using yoga in the classroom.
Introducing young children to yoga for preschoolers through games, poses, and props is one of my favorite things to do.
This young creative age group loves to try new things and is up for any new adventure. Through yoga, we can teach mindfulness, patience, cooperation, and much more.
Stillness and Savasana definitely becomes a favorite part of any kids yoga class. Be as still as a starfish or quiet as a mouse in this pose. Kids love it. Get your tips here on how to easily get kids still and quiet.
Learn how to Teach Yoga to Young Children in our fun and easy to follow online course. Discover how to introduce kids to yoga through breathing exercises, poses, games, and calming techniques. This course is designed for those that want to change the lives of children. Perfect for home, preschools, nursery schools, day cares, camps and clubs.
One of my new favorite items to use in teaching kids yoga is the Breathing Ball or Hoberman Sphere . It provides a great visual for teaching kids to slow down their breath, and take long and even inhales and exhales. We also talk about how the Breathing Ball is similar to the the work our lungs or diaphragm does.
How to Use a Breathing Ball with Children:
As a teacher or leader, model using it together as a whole group. As you stretch the ball out, take a deep long breath, together as a group. Then as you squeeze the ball together, let out a long deep exhale. You can experiment with the pace and show what happens when we breathe in and out too quickly. Talk about the difference in how your body feels when you take short quick breaths compared to long deep breaths.
If it is a smaller group, pass the ball around the circle and let each child take turns opening and closing it in time with their breath.
The ball is also fun to toss around the circle as it opens and shuts. Have the children participate in a team building and cooperation exercise to see how many times they can catch the ball without it dropping. This is also a good exercise in building mindfulness.
