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Get your kids off the screen and up and moving!! Nothing beats or replaces old fashioned exercise!
Let’s face it, children these days would much rather play games or watch videos on a computer or smart phone, than go outside and play. It is so important for children to get outside daily; their overall mental, physical and emotional development depends on it!
Children are engaging in less and less of Fitness related activities every year. Many Children are not even interested in fitness related activities, and that is something that definitely has to change. I remember as a child ALWAYS playing and being outside constantly, every day, for the entire day. As adults, it is our responsibility to be the example and set a standard when it comes to prioritizing the importance of fitness. Regular fitness activities can aid in a child’s mental focus, concentration, and attention span.
Find out what happened when I first introduced yoga into my classroom…you’ll be amazed!!
Years ago, while looking for teaching resources, I came across an interesting find. I found a book about introducing Yoga to young children. I found The Yoga Kit For Kids by Imaginazium. It came with:
- 25 yoga cards
- 24 page activity and instruction book
- Music for Yoga CD
The individual yoga cards teach a simple yoga pose on the front, and a poem describing the pose on the back. It also comes with a CD with two tracks on it. One is a gentle, slow tune; and the other one is a little more quick and upbeat. There is also an instruction book with pictures as well. At the time, I wasn’t really that in to yoga, but decided to purchase it anyway. It seemed fun and inviting, and just different enough that it kind of intrigued me. Over the years, I have used the yoga cards periodically, but never on a consistent basis. But when I did use them, the children seemed to enjoy participating.
Fast forward to about three years ago. I had always noticed that every year, around the end of March all the way through the end of May, the children in my classroom would start to get a little rowdy. There was definitely a change in behavior from the beginning of the school year, to the last few months of the school year. At the time, I had asked around and other teachers had shared similar experiences in their classrooms as well. The children would be louder than normal, not as focused, and would have a slightly difficult time “relaxing their bodies” as I say. I had the idea to incorporate the yoga for kids cards into our morning routine, as a way of starting off our day on a good note. Obviously when I mentioned this to my Assistant Teacher she thought I was nuts, but I told her that it wouldn’t hurt to give it a try, and what if it actually worked…
And work it did…
At this time, my classroom went to the playground first thing in the morning before we started the traditional “Montessori Work Time”. We were outside for about 30 to 40 minutes, and then went inside to do circle time, and begin the Montessori Work period which lasts for 2 hours. When I decided to introduce yoga, I decided that it would be best if it was done immediately after the children came in from the playground. As soon as we entered the classroom, I would leave the lights off and instruct all of the children to go find a space on the blue tape(our circle time is designated by blue tape). I turned on the slow, gentle music from the yoga CD, and instructed them to lay on their backs, relax and close their eyes. I also told them that it was a no talking time, a time to relax their bodies and their voices, and to just listen to the quiet music.
After about 2 minutes, I would turn off the music and choose 3 to 5 yoga cards for them to do. I would hold up one of the cards for them to see the pose, and once everyone was in the pose, I would read the poem on the back. Some of our favorites were Mountain, Tree, Peacock, Mouse…and my personal favorite, Do Nothing Doll! I always ended our yoga session with the Do Nothing Doll pose. The children enjoyed doing yoga and asked on a regular bases if we could do yoga! I noticed that when we started our day with yoga, they seemed to be more focused, relaxed, attentive, and calm. ISUCCESS! Since we were so successful with this and the children really enjoyed it, we did yoga 2 to 3 times a week. NAMASTE!
The main goal and purpose is to get children moving and active. Any fitness activity is better than no activity. Sometimes the least likely activity will be the one that interests your children. The most important thing is to get up, get moving, and have fun!!
Yoga Resources
Learn With Yoga ABC Cards for Kids, Set of 52
Yoga for Children – Meditation & Relaxation Music, Soothing Sounds of Nature, Yoga Music for Yoga Classes, White Noise for Hypnosis
Not too sure about incorporating yoga? Don’t think your kids will enjoy yoga? No problem! I’ve got you covered!
If you’re looking for other fun fitness activities for your children, check out this post, Simple Ways to Foster Kids Fitness, from fellow blogger, Rebecca Carr. Rebecca runs the blog Innate Moves. Go check out her website, she has great fitness ideas and activities for children!
Do you have any favorite fitness activities that have worked well for your children? Have any fitness activities that have not gone over so well? I’d love to hear about them, good or bad! Share them in the comments!
NAMASTE…
Anitra
