I walked into the community center to 8 very energetic 4-6 year old children (& a few younger siblings) & for a brief moment, I pondered if they would pay attention & engage in the activities I had planned for them.
As I was putting down my bags, one curious young man (about 2 years old) wandered over to me and started to pull the colorful kid sized mats out of the bag.
I got down on his level and began to talk with him, and suddenly, not wanting to be left out, the others came over to see what we were doing.
"What's that?", asked one "can I have it?"
"I like the teal one!!" said another (and yes, he actually said "teal"!)
"What are those for?" asked the third as he was munching on Fish Crackers.
I seized the opportunity to explain (briefly) that these were my yoga mats and asked if they would like to play some games with me on the mats? They all said "Yes" excitedly (thank goodness!)
"Now let's all pick up a mat and sit on the floor together so we all can see. " I had them sit in a semi circle in front of me, and (while they were still paying attention) I began the adventure!
We started with "The Om Song" (From the CD "Come Play Yoga!" Thank you Shari From Karma Kids! ) and then used a technique I use to bring focus: we rub our hands to make heat & "wake up" our eyes, (to see better) "turn on" our ears (to listen well) & "find" our voices ( to sing, speak clearly & use nice words to our friends).
"So who likes to play in the snow?" I asked and all of their hands went up! I continued with "What do you like to do in the snow?" and they each, one by one told me their favorite snow activity.
Then, I suggested we did some of those things right now and turning over on our bellies, on our [imaginary] sleds, we went on a "Sow-Ga" adventure right there in that room...we went sledding really, REALLY fast! We stood up carefully [on our imaginary snowboards] & began swooshing up & down & over big hills & deep valleys. We put on our skis, and went skiing cross country, down mountains and around the trees, to the left and right. Then finally, we went ice skating, gracefully balancing steadily on one leg on our 'ponds' . (*The actual yoga poses used were locust, warrior 2, warrior 1, chair and warrior 3.We used "Wipeout" to set the musical mood!)
Since there is still snow on the ground, and more predicted, I selected "The Mitten" (an old folk tale of Russian origin.) For those of you unfamiliar with this story, a young boy, Nickolai, begs his grandmother, 'Baba', to knit him a pair of white mittens. In spite of her warnings that he will lose them and that they will be hard to find in the snow, he insists and she finally knits him a pair.
It isn't long before he has dropped a mitten and goes to look for it. A mole is the first to discover the mitten lying on the snow and crawls inside, followed by a rabbit, and a hedgehog, then an owl, a badger, a fox, a bear and, finally a mouse. As I began to tell it and as this magical story unfolded we became the story, acting out each animal in yoga poses. We even took turns calling out other different animals (not in the story) that may have climbed inside the mitten too. (We did this by each child randomly drawing a plastic animal toy out of a special red velvet "grab bag"!)
The story ends with a tremendous sneeze (they liked that part!) from one of the animals who's nose was tickled and the mitten flies up in the air & is finally found by the boy.
We played one last game, "The Bell Game" (instructions found below) before cleaning up our mats and saying goodbye.
I knew the class was a success when one young man boldly walked up to me and stated matter-of-factly that he wanted me to come next time and play with them. I told him I would enjoy that very much. Hopefully, I will be invited back to share another adventure with these wonderful kids!
You don't have to be a master and learn all of the poses at once, or the Sanskrit names for them, to enjoy yoga & movement games with your child or students. The ancient Yogis moved their bodies like the animals and trees & other things they saw in nature. You can start the same way, a little at a time, by simply selecting a book, a favorite story or activity and seeing what types of movements you can come up with. Release the idea of how it "should" be. Embrace your own inner child, play, have fun & just see what unfolds.
The practice of yoga is said to 'bring together' all aspects of ourselves, body, mind and soul & when you motivate, engage, play and move with children a little bit every day, that is exactly what will happen naturally!
To learn more about children's yoga visit: http://www.bodylogique.com/
To find templates and activity ideas for "The Mitten" click here
Players begin by sitting on their mats, (or at their desks). Each player then will take a turn to carry the bell carefully (as not to ring it!) and set it down gently in front of the next player. Play continues until each player has had a turn.
*(I don't "keep score" in this game. The objective is to improve concentration, motor planning, self-control and a steady hand. I keep the kids motivated by saying things like , "Its ok-you are doing great/your best!", or "Just have fun & do your best!" and "Keep going, just a little more!", "This is hard work and you guys are really concentrating!" etc.)
I learned this game from my first children's yoga teacher, Shakta Khalsa at Radiant Child Yoga. The kids LOVE this game and ask to play it often.
To find more Sensory & Skill Building Movement Game Instructions, Click here.
Your feedback is welcome! have you tried this in your classroom or at home with your child? Tell us about it in the comments below.
.
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment