Creative Yoga for Children: Inspiring the Whole Child through Yoga, Songs, Literature, and Games
Adrienne Rawlinson
Language: English
Pages: 232
ISBN: 1583945547
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
Creative Yoga for Children offers a simple, ready-to-teach Montessori-based yoga program for children age twelve and under. Following age-appropriate classroom themes, the book's forty detailed, one-hour lessons are designed to supplement any learning environment and are accessible to parents and teachers alike--no special training is required. In a recent study by California State University, Los Angeles, yoga was found to improve students' behavior, physical health, academic performance, and attitudes toward themselves. Research also shows that the benefits of yoga are particularly strong among children with special needs. This book demonstrates how yoga can become a fun daily practice inside or outside the school classroom.
Enhanced with over 100 black and white photos, the book's themes, or lessons, are divided by age range (ages four to six, seven to nine, and ten to twelve) and explore topics based on the child's developmental level. For four- to six-year-olds there are twenty hour-long lessons on subjects ranging from colors and the holiday seasons to sounds and words. Ten hour-long lessons for seven- to nine-year-olds introduce such topics as the body, countries of the world, botany, zoology, and the universe. For ten- to twelve-year-olds, ten hour-long lessons cover the environment, geometry, the Earth, fractions, the food chain, and more.
Following the structure of a classroom lesson plan, each lesson incorporates elements of yoga including poses, breath work, meditation, and mindfulness. A discussion of the theme and intention of the lesson is followed by a warm-up of yoga poses. The children then engage in a cooperative "connecting" activity designed to bring them together, and a fun and lively theme-oriented activity that involves movement and awareness. The class winds down with breath work, a craft, and often a story. Finally, there is relaxation time and a guided meditation. With this preset structure, the children feel safe while being challenged and inspired.
Derived from the educational philosophy of Dr. Maria Montessori and the author's own experience in the classroom and yoga studio, Creative Yoga for Children allows children to move at their own pace and to be free to learn and grow within a non-competitive, nurturing setting. An essential resource for the 4,000 certified Montessori schools in the U.S., this book will appeal to yoga teachers, classroom teachers, parents, and anyone who works with children.
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balances the frog on his belly and proceeds to crab walk slowly over to another child, placing it on that child’s belly. That child then does the same and so on. When the frog has gone to all the children, the last child can crab walk the frog over to the lily pad. Time: Five to Ten Minutes Figure 1.11. Transport the frog Activity: A Halloween story. Tell the children a Halloween story that they can act out. Some children can play the part of the pumpkins, some can be cats, and the rest can be
same but each will have one part of the animal shaded in to highlight itself (e.g., one picture will have the gills shaded, the next picture will have the dorsal fin shaded, the next will have caudal fin shaded, etc.). Explain what the function of each part of the animal is. Discuss which part is for breathing, seeing, swimming, and so on. Ask each child in your group to create one part of the animal (each one of them referring to the picture for guidance) using colored modeling clay. Once
Discuss healthy foods. Invite the children to talk about what meals make them feel energetic. Make a verbal list of essentials to any diet (fruits; vegetables; grains; dairy products; and proteins like fish, soy, and meat). Ask the children how it makes them feel when they eat junk food. Do they feel energized or sluggish? Listen to all the children’s input regarding healthy and nonhealthy food, and list the ideas on a chalkboard or paper as you compile ideas and brainstorm. Time: Five to Ten
This will be your imaginary pond. Begin to think of any negative thoughts you may have or any worries or anxieties. Collect these in your mind, inhale through your nose, and exhale vigorously through your mouth into your little pond. Imagine that all the negative thoughts in your mind have been blown away across the pond. Repeat. 9. The giving breath. Sitting cross-legged and have your palms on top of your knees, facing up. Inhale through your nose, and at the same time raise your right palm up
lotion to rub their feet (optional) or lay little stuffed animals on their bellies, telling them that they are taking their animal friend on a ride down a lazy river. They must keep the animal safe by breathing very evenly and slowly and being still. Tell the children that they are lying on soft pillows on a boat that is gliding down a windy, blue river. There are beautiful trees and flowers along the river banks and green, shiny grass. Talk about things we see along the river bank, like rabbits,