Toe-ga Kids Yoga Sorting Game

Toe-ga Kids Yoga Sorting Game

by | Curriculum Applications, Kids Yoga, Yoga Games, Yoga in School

This easy to play kids yoga game develops the dexterity and flexibility of the feet while also working on core stability and balance. Add in a sorting/classifying element (an early math skill) and you’re golden!

How to Play Toe-ga

For years I’ve been playing Toe-ga with my kids yoga classes. This is where you scatter a number of craft pompoms on the floor and then have children pick them up and put them into a container using only their toes. Toe-ga is always a hit and is often requested again & again. Usually I use small plastic baskets or cups as the container.

Then I found this creative use of a muffin tin to sort by color and develop fine motor skills on Raising 4 Princesses. I knew immediately that this would work like a charm for Toe-ga. So I dug out a mini-muffin tin and my pompoms and got to work.

I’ll be using my fine new Toe-ga Kids Yoga Sorting Game whenever I teach a colors kids yoga class. For tons of great yoga ideas to teach colors check out My Many Colored Days on Omazing Kids.

Toe-ga and over 100 other fun and creative kids yoga games will soon be available for download in our fabulous new resource Yoga Games Galore, scheduled for release late September 2012. Like us on Facebook and watch for the announcement.

Yoga in Schools: Turning Research into Effective Programs

Yoga in Schools: Turning Research into Effective Programs

by | Business of Yoga, Interviews, Kids Yoga, Yoga in School

One of the most often asked question for school-based yoga programs is “Does it really work?” The International Association for School Yoga and Mindfulness (IASYM) responds with a resounding “YES!”

Our distinguished panel of quests will discuss some of the current research being conducted and how that research is translated into powerful school-based programs, bringing calm, focus and learning readiness into today’s classrooms. Karma Carpenter, Director of IASYM, Lynda Meeder, Director of YogaKids, Anne Buckley-Reen, OT & founder of Get Ready to Learn, and Cheryl Crawford, founder of Grounded, join us to share their experiences in researching the effects of yoga and mindfulness in schools. Discover how yoga is impacting kids, teachers and administrators through innovative programs proven effective by University research.

 

 

 

Our panel of amazing guests can be found at:

Karma Carpenter

Facebook

 

Anne Buckley-Reen

Facebook

 

Cheryl Crawford

 Facebook

 

 

Lynda Meeder

Facebook

 

 

 

itunesYoga In My School podcast on iTunes

If you enjoyed this interview rate and review the show so others can find it.

+100 more on the Yoga In My School podcast on iTunes.

Benefits of Music in Kids Yoga Class

Benefits of Music in Kids Yoga Class

by | Kids Yoga, Teaching Tips, Yoga in School, Yoga Teacher Training

Music serenades our lives, adding significance to moments, people, and events, connecting us to our experiences, emotions, memories and dreams. Truly the soul has an innate love of music. In addition, sounds have a profound influence on our cognitive functioning, motor skills, emotional development, behavior and social skills. There is scarcely a single function of the human body which is not affected by musical tones.

Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything.  ~Plato

Using music in a children’s yoga class is a wonderful way to allow them to develop their bodies and minds. From simple nursery rhymes to custom written kids yoga scores, children will respond positively to melodies and movement.

Benefits of Music in Kids Yoga Class

Music:

  • connects and brings people together, helping us interact one with another
  • engages our emotions and has a powerful impact on mood and energy levels
  • teaches rhythm, timing, orientation and coordination
  • focuses the mind and increases concentration
  • develops language and speech skills
  • improves listening skills and phonetic awareness
  • encourages creativity and self expression
  • enhances overall health and a sense of well-being
  • increases intelligence and brain connectivity

Best of all kids don’t really care is you can sing or not. So let lose, crank up the tunes, sing a favourite song and dance like no-one’s watching.

For inspiration check out these samples of using music in a kids yoga class: Star Pose, Bug Yoga (spider pose), Shark Attack. Or fill your mp3 player with catchy tunes and enjoy these musically inspired yoga games: Freeze Dance and Musical Mats.

Some valuable resources for your kids yoga class include:

 

Always Adding More on Pinterest

pinterest32x32Visit the Music for Kids Yoga Class Board on Pinterest for lots more ideas.

CTV Interviews Donna Freeman: Bringing Yoga to Schools

by | Curriculum Applications, DPA Requirement, Featured In, Videos, Yoga in School

 

A local yoga instructor is doing her part to promote healthy living for children. Donna Freeman is the author of the new book Once Upon a Pose and today she joins us in studio. She’s also brought along some kids.

We are talking about yoga and kids and how fun it can be. But you’re specifically looking at how to get yoga into schools.

Yes, yoga in schools is a really wonderful combination of bringing the health benefits and the intellectual and emotional training into the classroom. It’s just vital to bring it into the classroom these days. Kids need these skills.

Q: What’s some of the stuff you are able to do in the classroom?

You can use what we are doing today which is a whole lot of partner poses. Partner poses develop cooperation and team work and they get kids talking with one another and working together in a really unique way.

Another thing that is nice about a school is you can use what’s in a school, a desk and a chair, to do yoga. A lot of people don’t think of that because in their typical class, which is in a studio, and there is a mat and they aren’t sure how to adapt it to a school.

Q: What are some of the benefits for kids?

Increased focus, improved concentration, their creativity skyrockets, their impulse control is greater. As well, it reduces their stress so that they are in a mental and emotional place where they’re ready to learn.

Q: And you think you can use this in different subjects?

For sure. You can use yoga in a science classroom, mathematics classroom, language arts classroom, even in an art classroom. Y0u can incorporate yoga poses in all those subject areas.

Watch video for more …

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