I love teaching yoga to kids. I appreciate how each class and interaction is so different. We are busy, active, engaging, and playful. Teaching yoga to children is definitely different than teaching yoga to adults for many reasons.
One of the biggest differences is the use of yoga accessories and props that you use in kids’ classes. Children are very visual and having a few surprising and fun items on hand while introducing yoga poses, breathing exercises, and mindfulness will really help keep your students engaged throughout your time together.
What Are Yoga Props?
First of all, what exactly are yoga props that you would use with children? Yoga props are items that you introduce and use with children to help keep them engaged and interested. Do not overthink this. Yoga accessories can be simple and inexpensive items. You probably already have several on hand that you haven’t even thought about.
I cannot wait to share with you some favorite yoga props to use with children!
Now, I need to let you in on a little secret. I am slightly obsessed with utilizing yoga accessories with children. There, I said it. You would definitely be able to tell this if you came to visit me and would see my office at my home. I have balls, hula hoops, read aloud books, puppets and more tucked in spaces throughout the room. Now please understand that I do not use all these props at once. I select 1-2 to use per class and rotate through them to help keep your yoga bag fresh.
In our online Kids Yoga & Mindfulness Teacher Training, all participants are invited to be part of our private Facebook Group. In our group, we talk about all things kids yoga related. One of our topics a few weeks ago was favorite props that they love to use with children. Based on the response and discussion, I guess I am not the only one infatuated with yoga props!
Favorite Yoga Props to Use With Kids
Beanbags: These are a great tool for balance work and can be used for breathing exercises.
Pom Poms: These colorful little puff balls are the perfect lightweight size to practice controlled breathing as you breathe your puffball up and down your yoga mat or across the room.
Stuffed animals: These are wonderful to use with the younger ages when you are introducing a yoga pose such as Cat Pose, Cow Pose, Down Dog, etc. They also work well as breathing buddies and for getting the attention of your students.
Pose Cards: I use the Kids Yoga Challenge Pose Cards for every kids yoga class that I teach. I select 4-6 poses that we will be focusing on and practicing. These visual cards help demonstrate the pose and they can be used for all of the favorite yoga games including Musical Mats.
Scarves: Scarves are wonderful to use in many different ways for breathing exercises, Freeze Yoga Dance, and for games.
Kids love partner yoga poses! Partner yoga poses help teach children the importance of teamwork and working together plus they are fun to do and build trust and community with one another within the group. These partner poses can be done at home, school, camp, yoga class or anywhere you have kids ready to try something new and have fun.
I do try to incorporate partner or group poses in every kids yoga class as it gives everyone a common goal to work toward and builds confidence when mastered. I kept this in mind when I created the Kids Yoga Challenge Pose Cards, I purposely incorporated partner poses for some of the yoga challenge poses. The partner poses are built on progression so gives the children a goal to work toward and it makes it so much fun to achieve together!
Tips on working with partners in a kids yoga class
Try to have kids partner up with those of similar size. All partner poses can be modified, but it is a good idea to start this way.
Have the partners get to know one another before practicing the poses. Take a moment for them to introduce themselves to one another and pose a few questions that they need to answer as something they are good at or a favorite game to play.
Have one pair of partners demonstrate the Partner Pose before everyone tries it. As the partner pair is demonstrating, this is a good time to talk about proper form and any safety concerns. Although yoga partner poses are safe and fun, it is still a good idea to remind kids to take it slow. They will naturally be excited to get right into the pose so this will help them remember.
After the partners have practiced the featured yoga pose for 1-2 minutes. Have one group demonstrate the pose one last time. Kids love to show off the poses with their partners.
Kids Yoga Partner Class Lesson Plan
I recently taught an All Partner Poses kids yoga class and the kids loved it. Here is a little taste of how I broke down the lesson plan.
First I had the students get into pairs. It is helpful to have a partner of similar size, but not necessary. Modifications can be made for any of the partner poses.
Have the partner pair get to know one another (if they don’t already) and think up a Team Name. They love doing this. Refer to their team name throughout class. They LOVE this and will absolutely motivate them.
Explain to the students that they will be working through a series of partner poses. Talk about how being safe is the number one priority and how they need to look out for their teammate.
l used the Kids Yoga Challenge Pose Cards for this kids yoga class because these yoga cards include leveled partner poses. It is important to begin with the easier “one starred” levels and work your way up to level 5. 5.
I began with See Saw Partner Pose and showed the students an example pose card. This Partner Pose is perfect to begin with because it really warms up your legs and truly allows the children to work together. I invited a pair to come and demonstrate it to the group. I had them model how you begin nice and slow in a see-saw fashion. Legs can be made into a diamond shape or bent if you have some children that are taller or different heights.
I allowed a few moments for the children to practice this first partner pose before moving on to the next pose with the Kids Yoga Challenge Pose Cards. Each time, have a pair model the partner pose as you explain to the students about how to safely get in and out of it. You could also use the Kids Yoga Challenge App for pose visuals, but keep in mind that they poses are randomized for fun with the app.
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I understand. I am right with you! You love yoga. You enjoy kids. What could be so different about teaching yoga to children compared to taking or leading an adult yoga class? There are definitely similarities between the two with breathing exercises, poses and ending with rest and relaxation, but that is where similarities end. Kids yoga is busy. We are moving, breathing, and interacting with one another pretty much the entire time.
Read on for three important things to keep in mind while introducing yoga to children.
Here are just a few secrets about teaching yoga to children:
Kids Yoga is Not Adult Yoga
Kids are obviously not adults, and they will not behave like adults. As obvious as this may seem, I really want you to understand. Kids are not going to follow every pose in a structured Vinyasa flow type adult class. Kids are busy, spontaneous, and they love engaging with one another. My kids yoga lesson plans always contain 9 proven and important components. That may seem like a lot, but this keeps the kids active, engaged, learning, and in the moment.
Ease Up on the Alignment
Don’t take this the wrong way. Above all, be safe but not picky. Demonstrate the pose yourself or with yoga pose cards. But be aware that if you spend a majority of time making sure Venya has a complete 90 degrees with their leg in Warrior 1 or that Dylan’s Plank Pose includes a perfectly flat back, you will lose the attention and enthusiasm of the kids. Yoga is a continued practice. Children, like adults, will continue to learn and grow with the poses and their practice.
Yoga is a Life-Long Journey
There is a reason that yoga is referred to as a practice. There is no such thing as perfection in yoga. By introducing yoga to children you are helping to give them the skills they will have for life.
I know you can do this. Are you wondering how you can even begin? If you are ready to dip your toes into learning about how to teach yoga to children, then I recommend Go Go Yoga for Kids: A Complete Guide to Yoga with Children. This book covers in great detail about the important 9 components of a successful kids yoga class. It will completely prepare you to teach successful and memorable kids yoga classes.
If you are ready to dive in deeper with your learning, our online Kids Yoga and Mindfulness Teacher Trainingis the perfect place to find out everything you need to know about teaching yoga and mindfulness to children complete with teaching videos, guides, class management, lesson plans, yoga pose cards and much more. Learn more here.
There are many important components to a successful and memorable kids yoga class, but can you guess what the most important part is? This only takes a couple of minutes and is found right at the beginning of your kids yoga class. It is The Welcome! While all parts are important in their own way, The Welcome is the very first part of your class and is the first real class interaction you will have together. The Welcome helps set the tone for how your class will go and helps explain to your students what they will be doing and learning as well as what you expect of them.
When you establish and make a connection with your students right from the start, it makes such a difference throughout your class as you introduce and teach breathing exercises, yoga poses, games, challenges, relaxation, and more.
I think about this in my school classroom as well. Children need to know that they are safe and cared for. When you have a connection and a trust established, then you can truly teach the content.
In the beginning of my kids yoga class, I like to gather the students in a circle and welcome them warmly while having them introduce themselves. This will help you get an overall sense of their mood and abilities from the start. It is also the ideal time to reinforce their names with their faces which comes in handy with the management of the class.
I like to have my students share their name and answer a question.
For example:
Sharing something that they are good at
What do you already know about yoga?
Share why yoga is good for you
Demonstrate any yoga poses that they already know
Ask a theme related question such as “Which superhero would you be and why?”
I also like to briefly go over my 3 No-Fail Rules at this time. You only need these three rules to keep your class running seamlessly which is a big deal for the success and involvement of your classes.
If you are ready to dive in deeper with this, I cover the 3 No-Fail Rules and other important class management strategies in our online Kids Yoga and Mindfulness Teacher Trainingas well as our Teacher Training Workshops that are included with this master course. Ths master course guarantees to give you the confidence and resources to truly make a difference with the children that you love and care about.
Remember, you only get one chance to make that first impression. The Welcome does not need to be long, but it is the best opportunity to let kids know how excited you are that they are there and to introduce them to the theme and format for the class.
It was such a pleasure to be invited to lead a Kids Yoga and Mindfulness in the Preschool Classroom workshop for early childhood educators about yoga for preschoolers in the Dallas, Texas area.
Our 2.5 hour teacher workshop included tips and resources for teachers to be able to implement right away into their classrooms this school year.
Here are just a few of the topics we covered:
Breathing and calming exercises that truly work with this young age group
How to utilize movement and yoga during classroom transition times
The best yoga poses for these young growing bodies
Incorporating yoga and mindfulness into existing preschool themes
Classroom yoga games and mindfulness exercises
The best read aloud books for this early childhood age group
How to bring about stillness and relaxation within the classroom
These teachers were engaged, enthusiastic, and ready to bring mindfulness into yoga for preschoolers.
I know that you are passionate about reaching children through yoga and you are in the right place! Creating kids yoga lesson plans is one of my favorite things to do. It must be the teacher in me, but I love putting what kids are interested in and tying in yoga poses, games and mindfulness exercises to help teach yoga to children while providing moments that they will remember.
I want to help you be successful, confident, and ready to enrich children’s lives through yoga. We can do this together! Our FREEKids Yoga Lesson Planning 101 Training begins with the heartbeat of kids yoga which is how to plan an engaging and memorable kids yoga class.
You can have all the desire in the world to teach yoga to children, but if you don’t have a plan in place then there will be opportunities missed and it will not be as impactful for your children.
First of all, what exactly are yoga props that you would use with children? Yoga props are items that you introduce and use with children to help keep them engaged and interested. Do not overthink this. Yoga accessories can be simple and inexpensive items. You probably already have several on hand that you haven’t even thought about.
