Monthly Archives: November 2017

“Gratitude” yoga storytime

Opening – How I explain the rules of yoga storytime: stay on your mat, and keep your hands to yourself.
(Skip to my Lou –  from Jim Gill)
Stomping feet, one and two
Stomping feet, one and two
But if my feet were covered in glue
I’d stick to the glue, my darling.

Clapping hands, one and two
Clapping hands, one and two
But if my hands were covered in glue
I’d stick to the glue, my darling
(hands in Anjali mudra, or prayer position)

Are you Ready for Yoga? 
Are you ready for yoga?
If you’re ready, then stomp your feet
Stomp your feet and make some noise.
Let’s stomp our feet and make some noise
And do it really fast
Then stop. Stretch your feet up, up, up
And down.
Repeat with arms then both. 
Source: Next Generation Yoga at the National Kids Yoga Conference

Song: “Tick Tock Yoga Clock” – Karma Kids Yoga

Open the Book
Arms, legs, both
Close the book. Open the book. Turn the page.
Start seated with arms stretched out in front of you, palms touching. To “open the book,” stretch the arms wide. To close it, bring them back together. To “turn the page,” open just the right arm and close it, then the left arm and close it. Repeat “turning pages” until the kids giggle. Repeat the whole sequence using legs instead of arms. Then try arms and legs together. 

Book – Thank You, Bees by Toni Yuly
Sun – extended mountain/uttitha hasta tadasana
Thank you – For all the thanks, we bring our hands to our hearts in anjali mudra and bow while saying thank you.
bee – bumble bee breath
Sheep – downward facing dog/ adho mukha svanasana with kicks in the air
Clouds – start standing and forward fold/uttanasana, making sounds like rain
Tree – tree pose/vrksasana both sides
Dirt – flower pose
Earth – child’s pose/balasana

Song: Kidding Around Yoga’s “If You’re Happy and You Know It” Because expressing gratitude actually changes our brains to be happier! Or if you’re using this for Thanksgiving, check out the “Gobble  Gobble Turkey Wobble” song by KooKoo Kanga Roo!

Hoberman Sphere Breathing Ball

Savasana 

Peace begins with me
Hold both hands overhead. On the word “peace,” touch the thumbs and pinky fingers together. On the word “begins,” touch the thumbs and ring fingers. On the word “with,” touch the thumbs and middle fingers. On the word “me,” touch the thumbs and pointers. Repeat this four times, the first time loudly and hands overhead. The second time, bring the hands down a little and speak a little softer. The third time, bring hands lower and whisper. The last time, bring hands to knees and speak words silently to self.
Source: Kids Yoga Guide Teacher Training

Gratitude Trees from No Time for Flash Cards

Namaste!

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“Boxes” little ones event

We played with boxes for November’s little ones event. We held this event at the library on a Tuesday, at an outreach event  on Thursday, and again back at the library on Saturday.

I collected boxes of various sizes for kids to play with. I had no instructions out whatsover; my goal was for the kids to use their imaginations and problem solving/critical thinking skills to create whatever they wanted.

They made cars.
 

I love that this kiddo was using his yarn to “measure” his car.

This little girl said she was wearing a skirt.

He made a robot.

These girls didn’t want to build and just made crafts instead.

A lot of kids just wanted to sit in the boxes.

In fact, this little guy sat in this box for the entire duration of the program. He seemed happy about it.

Some kids made up a game of dropping balls into the boxes.

This kiddo went surfing on the boxes when most of the other kids had left. Probably not the safest of activities, but Mom seemed ok with it, and I am never one to stop gross motor development, since kids get so little of it now.

As always, I love when the adults get into it.

Some of the child care providers got together to make a tunnel, which they came back for later with a truck.

 

 

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“Stuffed Animal Sleepover” bedtime storytime 2017

Every year, I hold a stuffed animal sleepover in November. The kids come in for a pajama storytime at 6:30 pm.  They bring their stuffed animals, we read a few stories, and then they leave their animals with me overnight so I can “have a party with them.” They pick their animals up in the morning, and I print out copies of pictures for the kids to see what their animals have done.

See the storytime portion of this event here.

I have the kids fill out a permission slip for the animals to stay the night. (See above storytime for the form.) They list on the form some activities their animal likes to do, so I am able to snap some photos of them coloring, or reading about Harry Potter, or playing hide and seek.

The T-rex practiced his roars in a microphone.

The brother and sister llama and lion photocopied each other.

The brothers Dinosaur and BB-8 made each other into toilet paper mummies.

    

They all played follow the leader.

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“Pumpkin Destruction” all ages family event

When I attended the Children’s Museum conference Interactivity this past May, one of the sessions talked about how children need more sensory experiences outside and how destruction was just as important as construction. And Pumpkin Destruction Day was born. I searched for ideas of activities and came across this celebration from Rock Ranch. I modeled some activities after this, but ours was on a much smaller scale (and free!).

Tigges Farm is a local farm that we partner with on many occasions, and they were wonderful in their cooperation and help with this event.

I told parents to bring their Halloween pumpkins and any smashing toos they would like. I also provided a few rubber mallets.

We tossed pumpkins through hula hoops.

We bowled with pumpkins and 2-liters filled with sand.

However, to be honest, if I repeat this event next year, all we need to offer is the pumpkin smashing.

This boy started jumping on the pumpkins. Check out our video! However, some of the pumpkins were pretty rotten already so some sliding occurred. His back end was covered in pumpkin innards here.

This little guy smashed a gooey one that exploded all over him. He told me he was going to need a bath and then proceeded to smash another one.

This girl found one that looked like an apple.

I heard lots of parents discussing the physics of how the pumpkins fell apart, and I heard a family counting pumpkins. So many learning opportunities!

Tigges Farm outdid themselves for the finale. They hired a construction forklift for the pumpkin plummet!

We were even featured in the local newspaper!

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