Stick Art is a creative meditation and mindfulness activity which develops focus and attention in kids. You can use Bendaroos (such as in the video example), toothpicks, straws or any other collection of sticks you can find.

One at a time, each player adds their stick to a central design which can be either abstract or specific (house, animal, etc). It takes concentration and cooperation to carefully place each stick into an ever evolving larger picture. This activity also develops the pincer grasp and fine motor control essential to learning how to write.

Meditation Activities for Kids: Stick Art

Stick Art is a fun art combined with meditation activity.

To do this activity you need a number of sticks. In this case we’re using multicoloured Bendaroos because they help us to make circles.

The idea here is that each person participating takes a turn to put down one stick. They do it silently, without verbal communication.

This activity helps to develop the pincer grasp which is a fundamental grasp needed for writing. So if you have a child who is struggling with their writing abilities, or has poor penmanship, this is a really great game to help them develop better writing skills.

And you can kind of discern what these ladies are working toward as they do their Stick Art. Sometimes its an abstract picture. In this case we have a gentleman with really funky hair.

So thank you ladies for showing us how to do Stick Art.

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Welcome to Shark Week! Yoga for Kids

Here is a fun version of Shark Pose (Dolphin Pose) especially for kids. Once you know how to do Shark Pose combine it with a favourite camp song for an engaging kids yoga activity.

This activity develops numerous skills in children such as turn taking, language ability, musical intelligence, and kinaestetic learning. Plus it’s simply lots of fun.  And, you may find yourself unable to stop singing the song.

My favourite part is at the end when they go from the frenzy of SHARK ATTACK to the calm of Namaste.

“Hello. My name’s Donna with Yogainmyschool. Today I have three young yogis with me.

Hi, I’m Greer and I’m 6 years old.

Hi, I’m Ellie and I’m 7 years old.

Hi, I’m Alea and I’m 8 years old.

Today these young ladies are going to show us how to do Shark Attack!

Baby Shark, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na

Momma Shark, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na

Grandpa Shark, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na

Daddy Shark, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na

Shark Attack! na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na

Two notes. That’s all you need. And everyone knows they are in for Shark Pose. The Jaws Theme  Song continues to terrify and kids far and wide can’t wait to get into this basic inversion.

Shark Pose/Dolphin Pose

Hello, this is Donna from Yogainmyschool and I’m here today with Alea to show you how to do Shark Pose, known in most adult yoga classes as Dolphin Pose.

Hi, my name is Alea and I’m eight years old.

• The first thing you need to do, to do Shark Pose is come onto your hands and knees. Do you see how her hands are below her shoulders and her knees are below her hips? That’s perfect.
• The second step is to lower yourself to the ground on your elbows, intertwining your fingers.
• The third step, curl your toes under and lift your hips high in the air. Let your head hang loose. You can shake it ‘yes.’ You can shake it ‘no.’ And do you see how her body forms a triangle. That is supposed to be the fin of the shark.

Shark Pose is a really good pose for strengthening the shoulders, the chest and building stamina. After a few breaths, you can come on down, and return to sitting.

Thanks Alea for showing us how to do Shark Pose.

Visit the Alphabetical List of Yoga Poses for a complete listing of yoga poses that kids love.

Puppets work especially well in yoga class. Even the shyest child will engage with a puppet and they are a valuable way to introduce topic work or to vocalise feelings. Puppets are great for asking questions, for injecting humour, and for providing a ’safe’ place to interact. They are also wonderful at bringing stories to life and can be found in all shapes, sizes, and themes. It is best to choose puppets with a welcoming face, who can become a confidant, amabassador or friend. The key to being a good puppeteer is to make the audience believe the puppet is alive by looking at the puppet when talking to it, using gentle movements, and having the puppet display emotions.

• happy: mouth open while rocking side to side
• sad: head faces down/hands wipe tears
• shy: look up slowly , then away slowly, repeatedly
• worried: glance quickly back and forth
• angry: head tilts to one side away from puppeteer  
• tired: make the puppet yawn or move slowly

Aruna Kathy Humphries, of Young Yoga Masters, has these suggestions on using a puppet in kids yoga class from her experiences with Mr. Moo Moo.

Mr. Moo Moo: In case you haven’t guessed Mr. Moo Moo is a cow. But he is a very special cow because he loves yoga. He’s a black and white puppet that I’ve had for about 10 years.

 When I introduce him he hides his face in my neck (he’s shy). He often whispers things in my ear and then I’ll ask the kids, “He wants to know if you are kind?” “He’s wondering if anyone will grab him, he doesn’t like that.” If people are sitting quietly he will come over and whisper in their ear. If they are doing a yoga pose he may sit on them, under them, or go through them. He likes to wake kids up from their relaxation too.

If they are not quiet or doing the pose he doesn’t come. Great incentive to get kids (even 11 year olds) to pay attention and do what we’re doing.

Aruna Kathy Humphries is a certified Kundalini Yoga Instructor whose teachings and life has been influenced by Tulshi Sen. She can be found on her website Young Yoga Masters.

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Summertime is for playing outside. These kids recently took their yoga out of doors and played with various props (rocks, statues, and benches) found along a river. The inspiration came from the gorgeous First Nations themed statues by Stewart Steinhauer found beside a local river: eagle pose, then bear walk. From there exploring some nearby boulders was a logical next locale for some yoga poses: tree pose, dancer, camel, rock the baby, downward dog, and lizard on a rock. Finally double boat on a park bench before heading off to the library to find some more great books for summer reading.

eagle pose

bear walk

tree pose

dancer pose

camel pose

rock the baby pose

downward dog

lizard on a rock

double boat pose

Be inspired to do yoga wherever, whenever the mood strikes. The park, the playground, the botanic garden, on the beach, or at the cabin…get your yogi on and strike a pose, or two, or ten. Happy summer!

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Guest post by Sarah Herrington.

Bringing out a bag of colorful soft feathers adds instant excitement to yoga class.   Feathers allow kids to see the breath, add a fun twist to bird poses of any kind, and make for some fun yoga games!  Feathers can even make savasana more special.

Pranayama Practice

Even the youngest of yogis can become more aware of breath and the connection between breath and emotions.  Simply holding a feather in front of your nose during kid-pranayama practice (which might consist of Bunny Breath to energize or Take Five Breath to calm down) makes breath visible.  Try blowing soft enough to move the fluffy part of the feather and then hard enough to move the stiff part of the feather.  Can you see your feather move, fast or slow, depending on how you’re breathing?  How does “fast” breath make you feel?  How does “slow” breath make you feel?  Practice Ujjayi breath by holding the feather under your nose and keeping your lips sealed like an envelope.

Floating Feather Game

Celebrate the power of breath by playing this game with yourself or a friend.  Using only your breath (no fingers or toes), keep your feather afloat.  Don’t let it touch the floor!  Try playing a little feather-volleyball with a friend.

Find the Feather Game

“Find the Feather,” is an intuition game.  Invite one yogi to be the “seeker”, and ask her to hide in the corner of the room, with no peeking.  Then, hide the feather under another yogi’s mat. Invite the seeker back and ask her to guess where the feather is hiding.  Talk about what it means to “go with your gut” and use your intuition.  You’d be amazed how many times the yogi will find the feather on the first or second try!

Bird Asanas

Feathers make learning our bird poses even more fun.  Hand out feathers when working on Eagle pose or Flamingo.  Let the kids be inspired to feel the source of their asanas even more fully given the feathers.  Decorate your pigeon with a feather or two or allow your swan to ruffle its feathers in movement.

Savasana

Feathers are great to use during savasana/ relaxation.  You can give your savasana-students “Feather Massages.”  As always, ask kids if they want to be touched.  (I have students put a thumb up in the air during savasana if they want an adjustment or massage.)  Lightly move the feather across the third-eye area.  Kids will lie really still in anticipation of a feather massage, so this helps in savasana management!  You can also gently place a feather on the belly or chest during savasana so there is an awareness of how breath effects the body when it enters and leaves.  You may even want to place several feathers around each relaxing yogi and lead the class through a “Bed of Feathers” guided visualization.  All of these techniques keep young yogis more still during savasana time.

Let your imagination soar as you and your students invent even more ways to use feathers in yoga class!  Even hanging some feathers in the yoga space can act as a constant reminder of this important, but invisible, part of the yoga practice.  Breathe deep, and let the feathers fly! 

Sarah Herrington is a full-time kids and Vinyasa yoga teacher in Manhattan.  For the past several years she’s taught 25 kids yoga classes a week in the public school and charter school system in NYC.  She has completed trainings through KarmaKids Yoga, MiniYogis and YogaEd, along with the training of teaching daily.  Her kids classes are infused with the joy and fun of yoga, and her Vinyasa classes with the power of intention, mindfulness, and breath.  She can be found online at: http://www.sarahherrington.com