This guest post is by Bekah Starr of Sproutin’ Yoga. She explains why she registered for our training this weekend even though she’s been teaching kids for five years. She also gives you two new classroom management tips and shares the challenges she still experiences as a teacher (and she’s not alone!).
Be Clear on What You Want in Kids Yoga Training
by Bekah Starr, Kids Yoga Teacher
Even though I’m trained as a Hatha/ Vinyasa yoga teacher for adults, I’ve been teaching kids yoga for about 5 years now instead. Why? I find it to be lighter, less serious, more fun!
The joy and excitement that kids bring to everything lights me up everyday and I feel truly blessed to offer the teachings of yoga to kids in “kid sized” portions.
I also have to admit; I understand yoga and the philosophies of yoga much more since I’ve been teaching kids. Somehow breaking down the concepts for kids makes it easier for me to understand too. Maybe it doesn’t have to be so complicated after all…
Challenge: Kids Off their Mats and Running Around
Don’t get me wrong; teaching kids also has its challenges. Children can be much less forgiving than adults. If I don’t plan well and keep them interested they get bored VERY easily. And once they’re gone, they’re gone. They’re off running around the studio, playing tag and such, even though there is a rule to “stay on your mat.”
While it is nice to keep it simple, less complicated, and less serious then you might with adults, the rules can get lost with all the innovation and creativity.
So this weekend I’m excited to be traveling from Buffalo, USA to Toronto, Canada for the Young Yoga Masters Kids Yoga Teacher Training.
I want Training for New Games and Classroom Management Tips
I’m making the weekend investment because I gotta find lots of creative ways to impart new ideas and concepts. My hope is that at the Young Yoga Masters weekend I’ll learn some new ways to share yoga with kids, new games and fun ways to teach. And to discover how to keep the children on their mats! Is that possible? J
One thing I use now that works well is breath. Doesn’t that work for you too? Take a deep breath. It’s universal, it really is. I use breathing a lot in my classes and it seem to work well, especially when I have the kids make wind with their breath. Sometimes I use books to illustrate a theme in class and I have them stay focused by making wind with their breath and blowing the next page open.
A Handy Tool I Use Now for Classroom Management
Let’s take for example my 3-4 year old classes, I teach 3 of these a week. This past week particularly has been a hard week to follow the “stay on your mat” rule. It’s warm and sunny out, I get it, they want to run outside, like little wild animals. Which can be really cute, if they would just stay on their mats for a few minutes so I can teach a few poses.
I have one little boy in particular who likes to lead the others around. He happens to be the oldest, so the others follow quite readily. He also happens to be the most rambunctious.
Responsible Kids Make a Calm Kids Yoga Class
In the beginning, these two qualities added up to a lot of frustration for me. Now, I’ve given him an important job. I’ve made him responsible for leading us in a deep breath between each pose.
We learn a new pose, move around in it and feel how our bodies can make lots of shapes. Then when it’s time to focus again I ask this little boy to lead us in a deep breath.
It’s hard to move around and lead a deep focused breath at the same time for a 4 1/2 year old. He’s got to stand still to do it, so the other children follow him and stand still as well. It’s centering and calming for everyone and I can teach whatever I need to.
I invite you to try this too. When your feeling a bit out of sorts refocus yourself with a deep breath. Teach it to others too, it’ll change your world!
Watch for my follow-up blog, coming after the training where I share my experience of the course and how the tools worked with my rambunctious kids.
