Kids love to go camping! Try our free Let’s Go Camping Yoga lesson plan with kids. It has everything you need minus the bugs! It will be an adventure for sure!
Included in our Let’s Go Camping Kids Yoga Lesson Plan:
Practice Smore Breath
Sunrise to Sunset Salutations
Go on a Bear Hunt
Learn Yoga Poses such as Tent, Canoe, Fire, and Compass
Play the fun Bears in the Forest Yoga Game
“Create a Campground” group challenge pose
Make a Campfire with yoga mats
Rest and restore on your yoga mat sleeping bag
Included are step by step directions on what to do and how to play. Enjoy your yoga camping adventure with your friends and family!
One of my favorite things to do is to visit schools and introduce yoga to the students. Recently I was invited to a nearby city’s elementary school for their Literacy Night. This included the students coming back to school in the evening, with their parents and in their pj’s. How cute and fun!
The kids got to visit an author in different stations, learn about their books, and do an activity. Go Go Yoga for Kids was thrilled to be a part of Literacy Night! It includes three of my favorite things; kids, books and yoga!
I had six different groups come through of all varying sizes and ages. I had planned for this so knew that my yoga activities would be good for large sized groups and for varying ages.
Spring had just sprouted in our area and the children were excited about the upcoming Easter Holiday so I made sure that our yoga poses and games were theme related.
First I read aloud one of my favorite bunny books, The Very Bad Bunny. Children are memorized with this story of a bunny that tries to be good, but makes some mistakes. His family is upset with him until they realized what a bad bunny truly is.
Spring Poses That We Learned and Practiced:
Tree Pose
Bunny (Chair Pose)
Flower (Lotus Pose)
Bird (Warrior 3)\
Boat Pose
Raindrop Pose (Partner Poses)
I had each of these pose names placed in an Easter Egg. I called on individual children to draw out the egg and read the pose. I then showed the pose visual using The Kids Yoga Challenge Pose Cards and we practiced the pose.
Each session lasted about 20 minutes which was just the right amount of time to introduce yoga to children in some fun and engaging ways.
Summer is here! Let’s celebrate! One of my favorite things to do is teach yoga to children. I enjoy taking the yoga poses that we know and practice as adults and making them kid friendly with yoga games to play, learn, and have fun with yoga.
Yoga games are a favorite part of class because kids naturally love to play games. Games are also another great way to get kids moving, which is important for growth and health. I love taking favorite childhood games I played as a kid and recreating them into yoga games.
Summer provides the perfect opportunity to get kids up and moving while getting fit, flexible and having fun with yoga. Here are some of my favorite games that work well for summertime fun!
Yoga Beach Ball
Yoga Beach Ball is all time favorite game of kids! There is something so memorizing and fun about a beach ball. This game also provides the opportunity to work together and practice many different yoga poses. Find out how to play Yoga Beach Ball.
Yoga Beach Ball
Yoga Triangle Tag
Tag is always a favorite game of kids and they love this twist with Triangle Pose. Begin by practicing Triangle Pose with the children.
Begin standing with legs spread more than hip distance apart. Turn one foot so it is pointing to the side.
Keep your arms straight and bend through your hips over your foot with your toes pointed out.
Rest your lower hand on your ankle or shin while your other hand points toward the sky.
Hold this pose for a couple of breaths and lower hands to your side.
This yoga game is a wonderful mental and physical challenge for kids. It also promotes creativity and teamwork. No worries about knowing the actual yoga pose names. It is much more fun to think outside the box. The Opposite Yoga Pose Game is best suited for ages 7+.
Tag is one of the classic yoga games for kids and often a favorite. They love playing with this twist by using Triangle Pose. First, learn how to safely teach Triangle Pose to the children and practice this pose with them.
Once everyone has practiced Triangle Pose then you are ready to play Triangle Tag!
How to Play Triangle Tag:
Ages: 5+
Players: 8+
Materials: None, but sometimes when playing tag with children I recommend using these “pool noodles” as they help with tagging and any accidental pushing. I cut the pool noodles to around 12 inches which provides the perfect size to whoever is “It” to safely tag the other children.
Determine out of bounds lines dependent on the size of the group. Select one person to be “It.” The person who is “It” chases the other kids and tries to tag them.
When she successfully tags a player, the player must freeze in Triangle Pose.
Triangle Pose creates a tunnel which another player must crawl through to unfreeze them.
If a player is tagged while trying to unfreeze another, they must stand in front of the person and do Triangle Pose as well. This creates a double tunnel for someone else to crawl through.
The game continues until all runners have been frozen, and then a new person becomes “It.”
Welcome to Our Kids Yoga Lesson Planning 101 Training. Congratulations! You have made it to the end of your Kids Yoga Class. No worries, if you are just joining us. You can get all caught up here.
“Miss Sara, I can’t wait to do the “sleeping pose” again.” That is what I hear time and time again at the end of our Kids Yoga Classes.
Savasana often becomes the children’s favorite part of yoga class, which I think is incredible since it is the part of the class where they are not doing a thing.
The children begin class so eager, excited, and full of energy. After moving and working their bodies in such good and healthy ways, they are truly ready for rest and relaxation. I tell my students that their bodies deserve this rest and that taking this time helps them repair and build the muscles they just worked.
Please do not get the idea that I simply call out, “Everyone get into Savasana,” and that the kids readily roll onto their backs, shut their eyes, as they go into deep stillness. Instead, slowly get kids into Savasana.
Savasana comes at the end of your class after you have practiced breathing exercises, learned yoga poses, played yoga games, practiced balance, built community with one another, and are now ready for a bit of stillness, relaxation, and time for some mindfulness.
Yoga is about movement and poses and postures but it is also about being still and quiet and mindful in savasana. This is such an important skill to learn in our busy lives and especially a wonderful one to model with children
Here are a few ways to help promote stillness and mindfulness with kids.
Change the Mood
I like to begin to speak in quieter tones and if possible turn the lights down lower. It’s also easy to play calming music or nature sounds. This change in their surroundings signals to children that a change is coming. As you build this into the class flow, children begin to recognize the signs and signals leading to Savasana.
Be a Melting Ice Cube
As Savasna follows our Building Community component of class we are already seated in a circle. I like to challenge the kids to lie down as slowly as they can as if they are an ice cube melting into the ground. When they get down to the ground have them stretch out as long as they can with their toes pointed and their arms up overhead. See how long they can get by taking deep breaths.
Squeeze and Relax
While kids are lying down on their yoga mats preparing for savasana, I’ll sometimes have them squeeze a body part as hard as they can. Let’s say they squeeze their hands for a few seconds and then they relax it. Or also squeeze their shoulders up by their ears and then relax it. They’re actually able to physically feel the difference their body makes from holding it so tight and then relaxing.
Use Memorable Phrases
I challenge the children to stretch as “long as a pencil” or have them be “as still as a statue” or “as quiet as a mouse.” This gives the children a mental picture of how to pose and act.
Be Comfortable
I allow the children to lay however they feel comfortable. It could be on their backs, on their stomachs, curled up into a ball, but have a realistic expectation for how long the kids can lie still. 15 to 30 seconds is good for the preschool ages while older children can stay longer. The more they get used to Stillness and Savasana at the end of class, the longer they can stay still.
Bring Them Out Slowly
When it’s time to come out of this relaxation, I like to ask them to roll over on their side and use their arm as a pillow. Then they sit up and you can quietly lead them through a couple of big, deep, cleansing breaths while bringing arms up overhead, breathing in, and breathing out and placing your hands at heart center. We’ll do that a couple of times.
Be Encouraging
I like to give a few positive closing words that unite the class and set their path for the remainder of the day or the week. I also like to thank them for coming to yoga, taking care of their bodies, working together, and having fun.
and working their bodies in such good and healthy ways, they are truly ready for rest and relaxation. I tell my students that their bodies deserve this rest and that taking this time helps them repair and build the muscles they just worked.
still and quiet and mindful in savasana. This is such an important skill to learn in our busy lives and especially a wonderful one to model with children
