Summer is here! Get ready to play a favorite Summer Yoga Game!.
One of my favorite things about teaching yoga for kids is that there are so many fun and creative ways to introduce poses. I love creating a yoga game for kids and Beach Ball Yoga is one of my favorite summer games to play wiht kids. This yoga game can be played with any size group of any ages. Family-friendly and fun! All you need is a beach ball to get started!
Looking for a little beach ball challenge? Have everyone sit in the circle and pass it around the circle again, but not with their hands – with their feet!
I like to explain how this is similar to a group Boat Pose. It is a good core workout as well especially with holding that pose and all the laughter.
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I have such great memories as a kid with creating May Day baskets with my sisters on the first day of May. We would fill our homemade baskets with little candies, popcorn, and flowers. We would then deliver them to our neighbors. This involved sneaking up to our neighbors’ house, placing the May Day Baskets in front of the door, ring the doorbell and run around to the side of the house to hide. We were almost always seen by our neighbors because our high pitched giggling was sure to give us away.
It was then so much fun to get back home from our deliveries and discover May Day baskets left by neighbors on our front step. It was a sure sign that the other neighborhood kids were celebrating the start of May as well.
Years later, I kept this tradition going with my own children. Although we live in a bigger city, we try to make our own little community by knowing our neighbors and surprising them with this somewhat forgotten tradition.
May is such a beautiful month filled with new growth and life. Celebrate this month and Spring with the children that you love and care about.
Get out your plastic Easter eggs ready and celebrate Spring with this fun kids yoga lesson plan, games, and activities. Easter Egg Yoga is for kids of all ages this holiday.
On small pieces of paper write the following poses and put one in each egg.
Robin: Airplane Pose
Duck: Duck Pose. Encourage the kids to flap, quack, and waddle around like a duck.
Sun: Mountain Pose with arms outstretched to the sun
Spring Hat: Down Dog
Spring Tree: Tree Pose
Rainbow: Bridge Pose
Spring Basket: Boat Pose
Flower: Lotus Pose. Make petals by having the children hold their arms above their heads.
Caterpillar: Locust Pose. Have the students raise and lower their heads as if eating leaves.
Butterfly: Butterfly Pose. Fly butterflies fast and then slow.
Bunny: Hero Pose. Have the children make bunny ears with their hands.
Kids love to try the partner poses that included in our Kids Yoga Challenge Pose Cards.These 40 Yoga Pose Card Visuals include starred level of difficulty (1-5 stars) and mantras for mindfulness.
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This is also extra exciting because you are able to easily print out sections that are important to you. You know how much I love writing and putting together kids yoga lesson plans. Now you can easily find which lesson plan you want to use and print it out for your personal use. This is also true for our lesson plan templates, guides and games that are found in our books!
Another great reason to purchase your e-books directly from the author is that it does help me out. You know how kids yoga is my passion and I love being able to get resources and ideas straight to you. When you purchase directly from the author this allows a great connection and helps small businesses such as Go Go Yoga for Kids.
Thank you for checking out our Go Go Yoga for Kids E-Store and directly supporting me, the author. I have changed my shopping habits with so many small businesses feeling the impact from the coronavirus. I so appreciate your support.
Will it be an early Spring, or will there be six more weeks of Winter? The groundhog gets to decide with this fun yoga game for kids! Decide if it will be spring or winter with yoga poses such as Snowflake Pose and Warrior 2.
Select one child to be the lead groundhog. Have everyone begin in Child’s Pose with their foreheads to the ground as if they are hibernating groundhogs waiting for February 2nd.
The lead groundhog will emerge first from slumber, look around, and announce to the other groundhogs if it is Spring or Winter. Based on what the lead groundhog selects, then choose from the following poses:
Winter Groundhog Yoga Poses
Snowflake: Begin in Mountain Pose with arms outstretched above. Next dive forward and bring your arms to the ground as if you are a snowflake falling. Repeat this several times to represent lots of snowflakes falling.
Snowboarder: Stand strong in Warrior 2 with arms outstretched and your front leg bent. Try jumping and switching directions while landing in Warrior 2. Try to get a little hang time in your 180 degree jumps as if you are a star snowboarder!
Snowball: Lie on your back and hug your knees into your chest. Rock and roll back and forth as if you are a snowball being rolled. Do this several times. It is almost like getting a back massage.
Spring Groundhog Yoga Poses
Tree Pose: Get your Spring tree ready for leaves! Bring your foot to your calf and place your hands at heart center. As you become more steady, bring your foot to your thigh and move your hands overhead for tree branches. A tip for holding tree pose is to focus on a spot on the ground that is not moving.
Butterfly Pose: Sit on your bottom with a tall spine, bend your legs, and place the soles of your feet together. Flap your legs like the wings of a butterfly. How fast can your butterfly fly? Then try to go as slowly as possible.
Frog Pose: Come down to a squat position and bring your arms to heart center. Can you hop like a frog?
Take turns being the lead groundhog so everyone can practice several Winter and Spring yoga poses. Finally for the final resting position or Savasana have the kids roll up in a yoga mat or blanket as if they are quiet slumbering groundhog.
I love creating new games to use in my kids yoga classes. Kids naturally love to play games and they are a good way to get them moving. Games also lead to laughter and fun which helps build community and friendships. Yoga Games such as the Kids Yoga Obstacle Course are also the perfect way to practice all of the fun yoga poses that the kids have been learning.
How to Create a Kids Yoga Obstacle Course:
Kids LOVE obstacle courses and this is one of my favorite ways to get kids moving in healthy and good ways. This is exactly what kids need as their school days involve a lot of sitting as well as the national increase of video games and screens.
Every kids yoga class that I teach follows the Go Go Yoga for Kids Lesson Plan Format. This lesson plan framework ensures that kids are getting exactly what they need with breathing exercises, poses, movement, teamwork, mindfulness and more.
Select 4-5 poses that you want to introduce to children. I use the Kids Yoga Challenge Pose Cards as visuals for the poses. I will place the selected cards into a colorful gift bag and allow the students one at a time to draw out a pose to learn. After the yoga poses have been introduced and practiced, it is the perfect time to begin The Yoga Obstacle Course!
Be creative with this! Please do not go out and buy anything. Use whatever objects you have available to make an obstacle course.
Obstacle Course Prop Examples
Hula hoops laid on the ground to do high knees through
Jump ropes laid parallel so kids can jump across them like a river
Cones to jump over or hop to
Yoga blocks for stepping stones
Yoga mats placed end to end for bear walks, log rolls, frog hops, etc.
The ideas are endless for using creating different obstacles and I do like to change it up to keep things fresh and fun.
Place the objects in a large circle. Between each obstacle I place a yoga mat and a Kids Yoga Challenge Pose Card.
Get Ready to Go!
First, I demonstrate how to go through the obstacle course. I make a big show out of hopping through the “rings of fire,” (hula hoops) or carefully crossing over the “icy river on blocks of ice” (yoga blocks).
Kids are completely mesmorized as they watch you carefully navigate through the obstacle course. Be sure to pause after each obstacle to hold the pose on the yoga pose card.
Next, I put on some fun music and it is the kids turn to move around the obstacle course and perform the yoga poses that are shown on cards. They love this and would do it forever if allowed. I recommend not letting the obstacle course go on “forever” as you want to keep things fresh and fun. Learn more Secrets to Teaching Yoga to Children here.