Young Yoga Masters

Kids Yoga Teacher Training and Certification

You are here: Home / Archives for problem solving

problem solving

Problem Solving Naturally

problem solving naturallyTrue Success with Tweens


Tweens (10 – 12 year olds) can be a real handful to teach. If you haven’t worked with this group then read my post for a preview of what you may face. But when you know how to teach tweens you can have a lot of fun.

Trying to Control Them?
Trying to make the kids behave a certain way is like swimming upstream. They are not adults who will sit and do whatever you tell them. When the urge to control a group of tweens (or any age group) hits, take control of your thinking and remember what you really want. You want a class where the kids are doing yoga, calm and relaxed.

“Success in life is to take control of your thinking process.
To think the thoughts you want to think
and bring them into physical manifestation.”

 

Success as a Yoga Teacher
A teacher must take control of their own thinking instead of trying to take control of the students. When you look at your own thinking and find out you are feeling frustrated, upset, or angry you see that was likely how the class felt too.
If you want a class where everyone is doing yoga in a calm relaxed way –think that way.
What is a calm relaxed way of dealing with a group of tweens? I find using their natural tendencies to my advantage works very well. For instance:

 

Solutions that are Natural
Natural Tendency: They like to talk to each other.
Natural Solution: Partner Yoga
Natural Tendency: They want to make their own decisions.
Natural Solution: Give them lots of choices (everyone doesn’t have to do the same pose all the time).
Natural Tendency: They like to play games.
Natural Solution: Ask them to turn their favourite game into a yoga game (you can play in your other classes!)
Tendency: They want to be independent.
Solution: Have them teach the class.
Tendency: They want to follow the leader of the tweens.
Solution: Ask the tween leader to demonstrate the poses.
Taking Control and Creating the Class You Want
This summer I have a tween class in a daycare and I remind myself often to take control of my thinking every time the kids start interrupting or talking to each other. Having a good yoga class depends on my ability to take control of my thinking and not get upset or angry.

 

Being firm with the kids is important, but being firm with myself and showing kids how to think the thoughts they want to think, well, that is more important.

 

 

Upcoming Kids Yoga Teacher Training Courses and Dates in Toronto at this link
Our next Kids Yoga Teacher Training starts soon!

Beware the Tweens in Daycares

beware the tweens in daycaresTweens and Daycare

Teaching Yoga in Daycares is a great way for kids to discover yoga. You can have short (30 minute) classes with all the different age groups in the school. Personally, at first I found the most challenging of these to be the tweens.

 

Yoga with tweens (aged around 10 – 12 years old, between kids and teens)requires a certain knack, especially when they are in daycare. Unlike most kids in studio yoga classes, the kids have not chosen to be in the daycare. Many of the daycare kids are a few months away from being home on their own, close to independence.

In a studio class this age group is usually no problem. But in a daycare setting, somehow the hormones, group setting, and classroom dynamics can morph into a real pain in the asana. So how do you get them onboard?

 

First let’s study tweens in the daycare habitat:
    • They won’t be told what to do.

 

    • They want to make their own decisions.

 

    • Talk to their friends,

 

    • Play their own games,

 

    • Talk to their friends some more,

 

    • Play games while talking to their friends

 

    • Start a new game in the middle of the game you are playing

 

    • Get their friends to play the new game too

 

    • Find out what their friends think of what they did

 

  • Talk to their friends about it all

All this can happen with eyes rolling, whispers under the breath, and glances to each other or to the teacher to see how much they can get away with.

Get the idea?
Basically they want to do the exact opposite of daycare, which is all about following a routine, structure, and group activities.

In daycares, tweens require a special finesse. They may have had a year of yoga but not want to do it that day.

I’ve found that once they start the yoga that day, they like it. I’ve seen the most belligerent groups start laughing and smiling once they get into it. Yoga is a natural mood improver that works for all ages.

But before I get into effective ways to teach tweens, here are few samples from actual daycare tween classes, just to give you a taste of what may be “normal” culture.

One is a story from a daycare teacher, the other I witnessed as I was setting up for yoga class.

Ex. 1: Who Wants to Do Yoga?

Daycare Teacher (to the class): Who wants to have yoga this summer?

Each tween answering: I do…I do… I do… I do… I do… I don’t…. now I don’t either… no I don’t want to any more either… can I change my answer?

Ex 2: Can We Play Tag?
Daycare Teacher as I set up for class: Now it’s yoga time, we’re going to start yoga so everyone come and sit down.

Tween: Can we play tag?

Daycare Teacher: No we cannot play tag, didn’t you hear what I just said, come and sit down.

Tween (same one): cough cough

Every other kid there: cough, cough, cough, cough …..

Daycare Teacher: I said that’s enough!

You Can Do It!
Don’t get intimidated from working with this age group. Once you understand how to do it, they get into the yoga (or any activity) and put themselves totally into it. The trick is learning how you can get them interested.

In fact, I just started the summer program with a tween class and used a strategy that had everyone so into the yoga we went 5 minutes over time.

 

Upcoming Kids Yoga Teacher Training Courses and Dates in Toronto at this link
Our next Kids Yoga Teacher Training starts soon!