Last Updated: July 21, 2023
In kids yoga teacher training there are two questions I get asked a lot.
The first is, “What do I do to keep the kids attention?”
And the second is, “What should I charge?”
Neither question is easy to answer because there are so many factors involved. Let’s spend some time on the second question today.
We devote about 4 hours on tools to grow your yoga business in the Mastermind Certificate of our kids yoga teacher training. You’ll look at business models and what to charge for teaching in a yoga studio, daycare, for a yoga birthday party, or offering your own kids, adult/tot, and family yoga classes.
After starting my yoga teaching career in 1998 I’ve learned there are many different factors that determine how to set prices. Let’s look at them here.
6 Factors: What to Charge for a Kids Yoga Class
- Your Years of Teaching Experience
- Travel and Teaching Time
- The Work to Find or Fill the Class
- Frequency and Duration
- Their Budget
- Your Budget
ONE: Your Years of Teaching Experience
When I first started, I was eager to get teaching experience and felt happy to earn any income. So what I accepted as pay in my first year of teaching was lower than what I was willing to accept after the first couple of years. Once you’ve taught a lot of classes and you know you can deliver a great class, you will probably feel more confident charging more. If you are just starting out and not so sure of your skills, consider charging less so that you get experience. Based on experience, novice kids yoga teachers often earn between $25 – $60 per hour.
TWO: Travel and Teaching Time
Another big question is what is the total amount of time this class will take. I’m talking about including all your time.
- How much time will you spend on the class(es)?
- Are there time gaps between classes?
- How long will it take to get to the venue?
- How busy is your schedule and will it mean dropping another class? Can you fit the class into your schedule?
- Do you have to plan special lessons for their themes or can you use the lesson plans you already have?
If someone wants to book me for a class that’s far from home and starts during rush hour I quote the higher price. Traffic and gas prices are important factors when determining if you can do a class at a certain rate. Remember that if you quote a lower price, and they accept it, you won’t be able to raise your price for a while. If they can’t afford my rate and I don’t get the job, I don’t mind because it wouldn’t be worth it anyway. If I do get offered the teaching gig at the higher price, I may even be able to let go of one of my lower paying jobs.
THREE: The Work to Find or Fill the Class
How much leg work did you do for the class? Did you plan a special theme, special materials, or buy any extra materials for a birthday party? Did you advertise to fill the class or just show up and teach? You need to charge more for your promotional work. If you are doing a lot of promotional work, consider maximizing your profits by renting a room/studio and charging per child. That way you get paid more for teaching a large class. One experienced kids yoga teacher offers classes at her children’s school. She charges $5/class per student and cuts off registration at 20 students. She runs an 8 or 10 week series and makes $100 per class because she doesn’t have to pay any room rental. She does the work of doing registration and advertising, but it is worth it. Other teachers charge more like $15 or $20 per child per class. Crunch the numbers and factor in all your expenses when determining your rate per class. Plus check out the next factor on frequency and duration.
FOUR: Frequency and Duration
How many classes are you getting booked to teach? I charge more for a one time class and less for a regular weekly booking. Plus if you teach a few classes in a row on the same day, e.g. you can bill for 2 or more hours in one visit, that’s even better. These regular classes save you time running around for one hour here and one hour there. Negotiate a rate that the daycare can afford, to keep you coming back on a regular basis. I’ve taught at one Montessori School for over 18 years and I keep my price reasonable ($75 per hour) and go in for 2.5 hours every Friday morning. Getting regular bookings will save you a lot of extra work constantly finding new classes.
FIVE: Their Budget
Sometimes in the end it comes down to how much they can afford. One of my favorite questions is “What is your budget?” Otherwise said, “My usual rate for this type of situation is (give your higher end rate). How does that work with your budget?” It gives you an idea of what they can afford and if you can work within their financial constraints given the other factors above.
SIX: Your Budget
Then sometimes in the end it comes down to what you can afford. You can do a lot of running around when you become a kids yoga teacher. Do the math: if you bill for 10 hours a week at $50 /hour that equals $500 per week. Work 48 weeks a year, you will make about $24,000 per year.
You are not getting rich as a yoga teacher even though for some, $50 per hour seems like a lot. Remember, you won’t be working a 40 hour work weeks, you’ll be spending a lot of time traveling, marketing, and planning. All things you don’t get paid for directly. You’ll be able to keep this up for a while, but eventually raising your prices will be the only way to continue if you want to have a car, a home, children, health care, or savings.
Personally I have been paid, over the years, anywhere from $25 – $250 per hour to teach kids yoga. I’ve also volunteered to teach classes to get my foot in a door, for a cause I cared about, or when it was a good promotional opportunity. Recently a local fitness organization contacted me looking for teachers for an after school program. Their teachers earn $40 per hour.
My Recommendation of What to Charge for those who can Deliver:
Considering all these factors on the financial side of teaching kids yoga, I recommend a new Kids Yoga teacher set their rate at:
- $50-$75/hour for a weekly class that requires no work on your part except to show up and teach.
- $150/visit minimum for a one time class that you sourced and establish on your own with a school or daycare.
Here’s the caveat: this rate means you can walk into the class, with an amazing lesson plan and props and deliver a great class. If you are worried you are going to stumble through the class, then lower your rate till you get enough experience with real kids to feel confident.
Your price go up from this point.
More Qualifications = Higher Charge
If you have other skills or training (like academic degrees, ECE or adult yoga teacher training) you can justify charging more for your services by highlighting your extra qualifications.
If you’ve taken a weekend training with a Practicum like one of the modules at Young Yoga Masters then you have effective tools and techniques you can use in a kids yoga class. And you’ll have experienced what it’s like to teach kids and won’t be surprised or intimidated in your first class.
If you have a 95 Hour Certificate and Yoga Alliance Certification then you put yourself in a higher tier of training and can justify charging more. Your rate will be worth it to the school or classroom because you’ll have a boatload of tools at your disposal to deliver a great class.
Next Steps
For those looking to work on their kids yoga business, consider taking the Mastermind Course with new material on building your Kids Yoga Business. If you have already taken the 95 Hour Training, this can qualify as Continuing Education Credits for RYT Yoga Teachers.
Find out when the next course is scheduled and full details here.
Register Now to reserve your place and build your kids yoga teaching business.
