teamwork

5 Ways to Use Themed Lesson Plans in Kids Yoga

Who doesn’t love themes? It’s fun to dress in green for St. Patrick’s Day, put out spooky decorations for Halloween, and let kids pick heart shaped affirmations on Valentine’s Day. Here are some benefits you may not have thought of when you plan a lesson around a theme. The pictures in this article are all from our Kids Yoga Teacher Training practicum, the part of the training with real kids.

1. Avoid Boredom and Get Inspiration for Yoga Class Plans

Themes can help get you through those 52 classes every week of the year! Whether it’s inspired by a seasonal event, special occasions, or yoga concepts, using themes gives you a starting point for what to teach. With Valentine’s Day approaching use the theme to teach about the heart, love, and friendship. These themes can last a few weeks and vary throughout the year. If you go in without a theme your classes might get boring or repetitive.

Here are some lesson plan ideas based on themes we’ve written about already:

2. Help Students Progress in Their Learning

You can use your themes to build on ideas, even if the theme is very loosely tied in. For example, the theme of meditation for children can be taught for weeks adding a different component each class. The theme of alignment lets you build up to harder poses. Themes can be used to teach difficult concepts over a period of time, they allow you to introduce concepts that would be lost when working without a class theme.

3. Delight Teachers by Integrating School Themes into Yoga

School and daycare often have a theme each week, and you can integrate them into your classes. Some themes are school wide, like character education like kindness and appreciation. Many Daycares post a monthly schedule at the door of the classroom. Ask your students what they’re learning about, they will appreciate how you’ve taken an interest and may participate more.

4. Increase Student Participation

When you have been teaching a class for a while, you can let the kids teach the class! The more they get involved, the more fun they’ll have, the more they will learn, and the more they will want to come back.

Themes give youth structure for planning their own classes. Themes help you choose poses and decide what to talk about. I’ve had tweens and teens plan a short class from start to finish around a theme of their choice. They really get excited about it. When they’re done planning, both of you have learned something new.

5. Lesson Plans Save You Time and Become Your Legacy

If you write your lesson plans down, you’ve got something to look back on for future years. Themes can be reused and added to — especially seasonal themes and yoga concepts. They come in handy when life gets busy. As a bonus, you’ve also got something to put in your blog or future book! : )

So go ahead, get creative! Use themes in your lesson plans, and you’ll add fun and excitement to learning!!

Stay tuned for our next post: When to Throw Your Lesson Plan Out the Window!

Congratulations to the Branching Out Graduates!

Upcoming Kids Yoga Teacher Training

Kids Yoga Teacher Training Yoga Alliance Registered Childrens Yoga School — Click Here for Upcoming Dates

The More We Get Together – a Yoga Song

After the Kids Yoga Teacher Training last weekend a couple of teachers were very honest about feeling stuck in their business development. They felt like they knew what they were supposed to do, but they just couldn’t seem to go ahead and do it.

I’d like to dedicate this post to all those who have a dream but don’t know how to get started making it a reality.

Life needs purpose. No Matter what has happened in the past, it has brought you to today. There are no mistakes. Live today from the inside out. Let your creativity bubble up from inside. Follow your heart’s passion and it will lead you to your destination.

david_jumping4 — Use your passion to get un-stuck!

Keep your mind on a short leash. Don’t let your mind distract you from going where you want to go. Don’t let the puppy set the course for your walk!

Then when you go to bed at night you will feel the exhaustion of a life well lived. When you lay in bed at night, drift into sleep imagining what you want tomorrow to be, not what you are afraid it will be.

Spend your time with people who uplift and inspire you. When you are around like minded individuals creativity and inspiration abound. Like this song that spontaneously grew during the practice classes at the training. Everyone thought it was a great song to end a kids class with. Even though it’s a traditional kids song, there is truth there.

Here are the lyrics to the traditional version and the Yoga version:

The more we get together, together, together,
The more we get together the happier we’ll be.
Cause your friends are my friends and my friends are your friends
The more we get together the happier we’ll be.

The more we do our yoga, our yoga, our yoga
The more we do our yoga the happier we’ll be.
Cause your pose is my pose and my pose is your pose
The more we do our yoga the happier we’ll be.

Cause your breath is my breath and my breath is your breath
The more we do our yoga the happier we’ll be.

Cause your light is my light and my light is your light
The more we do our yoga the happier we’ll be.

Got any suggestions for new verses for this song?

Cause your ______ is my _______ and my ______ is your ______.

What do you do when you feel stuck?

Character Development: Teamwork

( In my city, Toronto (Canada), school teachers have been given a monthly theme to teach in the classroom. The Toronto District School Board calls it Character Development. I went to the Yoga In My School specialist – Donna Freeman for some insight into the monthly themes. Thanks to Donna for this monthly series on Character Development.)

Teamwork In Partner Yoga

Teamwork the Ultimate Aim of Yoga

By Donna Freeman
www.Yogainmyschool.com

The word Yoga comes from the Sanskrit word yuj meaning ‘yoke’ or ‘union.’ The very foundation of yoga is a joining, or bringing together, of the body, breath, and mind. Flexibility, strength, and good health are all wonderful benefits of this practise, but its ultimate aim is to create more togetherness, personally and universally.

One key way yoga achieves this union is through breathing techniques. Training the body to breathe correctly requires concentration and clarity of thought. As various breathing exercises are learned and mastered, yogis become more in tune with their body and can use their breath to relax the nervous system, improve the body’s use of oxygen and achieve a sense of calm. This turning inward allows children to connect with themselves on a deeper level. Once kids have a solid sense of self they are prepared to interact with others in a positive, giving manner from a foundation of cooperation and trust.

Another way yoga promotes teamwork is through meditation. Meditation means awareness and involves reducing all the scattered activity of the mind to one. Often when meditating, mantras (sounds and words) are used to help focus the mind. Many mantras focus the intention on world peace, happiness and union. An example of this is Loka Samasta Sukhino Bhavantu. Mantras assist in creating greater unity one individual at a time and promote setting aside personal agendas for the greater good.

A third way yoga teaches teamwork is with partner poses. Partner poses develop trust, intimacy and connections. These can be especially fun with children as they interact with others in a social and physical manner. Most yoga poses can be developed into partner poses and can help all individuals experience healing touch, playfulness and the power that comes from working together toward a common goal. The most extreme form of partner yoga is Acro Yoga where one partner is the base while the other flies above doing various yoga acrobatics. A sense of togetherness and connection result whenever partner poses are practiced.

Breathing exercises, meditation and partner poses are but three means by which yoga develops teamwork. When doing yoga, the principle aim is to join your body, breath and mind to produce positive change physically, emotionally and spiritually. This sense of union will benefit the individual as well as the group.

Teamwork the Ultimate Aim of Yoga

The Spaghetti Pot Game for Kids

Networking Game for Kids: Don’t Drop the Ball!

I’ve been talking about the importance of networking for finding new kids classes. I know there are some of you who are already teaching classes or doing yoga with your kids at home. You may want to try this simple yoga game to help kids learn about networking and collaboration.

One of my kids classes at the Bob Abate Community Centre took place in the same room as the Pilates class. It had about 8 big yoga balls lined up on top of the cupboards. Believe me – they are often the first thing the kids saw when they walked into the room.

Why wouldn’t they be excited about massive bouncy balls?
While balls can be fun they need to be handled with caution as it is really easy for kids to fall off them. When I use the balls I introduce them slowly, usually in my game time at the end of our class.

A Networking Game for Learning to Work Together
Kids these days may know Networking more as hooking up your computers together. This game will teach them how to work together as people.

I also like this networking game because the kids can’t fall off the ball, the ball falls off the kids. Much safer when you’re first getting to know the kids and how careful they can be.

What is Networking Anyway?

Networking may seem simple, after you are just talking to people. Right?

A computer network is a group of computers synched to comunicate smoothly with each other. But networking is more than this, when it comes to people, networking is really an Art!

It is talking to people to connect in a positive way and build alliances. Find out what you have in common, what beliefs you share, and also what you do differently. You also discern what the people will really offer as you build alliances.

For instance if I talk to another yoga teacher who teaches pregnant women I can have a nice conversation. That’s great.

Networking is when I start to discover who this person is. Does she teach alot of asanas, does she teach meditation? Which of my students would like her style of class? Would I refer others to her? Do I like her personality? Do I feel good about her skills?

I may refer one of my pregnant students to her. It helps my student becasue I don’t specialize in pre-natal yoga so I can’t serve my student as well. My student is happy to get the info she wants. The pre-natal teacher is happy to have a new student.

Networking is also finding out what my student thought of the pre-natal classes.

Your Network Reflects Who You Are
Networking is building alliances that will also reflect on your businesses. We become like the people we associate with so make sure your network reflects you and who you want to be!

Another cool thing happens as you build alliances. When that pre-natal yoga teacher tells her moms-to-be about my kids yoga classes – it helps my business grow too!

Networking is the Art of Building Alliances
It may seem simple but it is actually a skill that is learned. If kids can learn how to co-operate and work with other kids it will help them in many ways.

Many of the games I play in kids classes are group games that help kids build their social skills. Yoga is often a solitary pursuit so the group games contribute to the skills of building alliances.

Don’t Drop the Ball – A Networking Game

This is a simple game that can be played with 2 player or more. As you can see in the picture above, you hold the ball between your feet and pass it around. It is a simple concept but still challenging and fun.

The kids work together to make the transfers and try not to drop the ball. If they drop it, they pick it up and try it again.

See what happens to your network of kids when they have to pass a yoga ball.

Throw in a Surprise!
You can try passing a big yoga ball, a beach ball, even a tennis ball. Watch their mouths drop if you pull out a golf ball! They will be so excited. And each challenge requires alliances with your neighbour and cooperation to pass the ball on.

This game can be played for around 15 minutes (longer with a large group) if you pass different balls. I wait to see how much time there is before I tell them which balls I have. If you don’t have too much time, you can play with a different ball each week and surprise the kids as they get smaller and smaller.

Even 2 people can pass the ball then touch the ball over your head, then pass it back again.

Have fun with building networks in your yoga classes. And don’t drop the ball in your business networking either!