“I am Yoga” bedtime 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)
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)

Extend and Stretch
Frere Jacques
Extend and stretch (sit in sukasana – easy seated pose, or crisscross applesauce- and do seated side bends)
Extend and stretch
Twist and turn (seated twists)
Twist and turn
This is yoga, (hands overhead on “this,” then bring to prayer position on “yoga”)
This is yoga
Om sweet om, (hands in prayer, bow forward)
Om sweet om
Source: I got this from Kids Yoga Guide teacher training, but here is another from Be Grace Yoga 

The Moon Shines
The moon (bring arms over head) is shining all around.
It shines on land (standing side bend) and sea (standing side bend other side).
It shines on cars (dandasana/staff pose, pretend to drive car).
It shines on boats (navasana/ boat pose.) 
It shines on you and me. (hands at heart)

Crown, Heart, Tail. I saw this when I observed a Kids Crave Yoga class. Ask the kids where their head or crown is. Then where is their heart. Then tail (or where their tail would be). Repeat. Shake up the order: Heart, tail, crown. Tail, tail, crown, heart. Go faster and faster, and then slow it down. I love that these movements correspond to the 1st, 4th, and 7th chakras.

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 – I am Yoga by Susan Verde
This book goes over all the poses included. 

Animals Yawning
butterfly – baddha konasana
owl –  seated twists, saying “hoo” like an owl on each side
cat/cow 
puppy – anahatasana

Savasana
Song: Kira Willey’s “When You Sleep” 

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

Namaste!

Yogibrarian is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

“When Lions Roar” 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

Sun Salutations

I used these sun salutations from Yoga Games for Children as posted by Breathe. Flow. Grow. Yoga. 

We talked about calming yourself down using your breath when you are sad or scared or angry. We talked about how sometimes your feelings can feel like a storm. Your breath can make the storm go away.

Song: “Rainstorm” – Kira Willey

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 – When Lions Roar by Robie Harris
lion’s roar – lion’s breath/simhasana
lightning – jump from crouching into extended mountain/urdhva hastasana
thunder – stomp on ground
sirens – staff pose/dandasana
dog – downward facing dog/adho mukha svanasana
daddies yell – camel/ustrasana
mommies holler – 5 pointed star
the scary is near – turtle pose
quiet is back – sukhasana/crisscross applesauce
wind – standing forward fold/uttanasana, come up for sun
flower – flower pose
ant – crawl on mat
puppy – puppy pose/anahatasana
swings – rock and roll pose
daddy dances – natarajasana/dancer pose

Song: “Crazy Monkey” – Kidding Around Yoga

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

Yogibrarian is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

“Under the Sea” little ones event

In June and July, I have storytimes and/or events literally every day for our Summer Adventure Program. Mostly I hire performers so that I don’t go insane, but we still run many of our own events. This week we went Under the Sea.

We made paper plate jellyfish like this post from Nontoy Gifts.

We hopped around sharks.

We performed an octopus ink experiment like this post from Learn Play Imagine. Some kids LOVED this and stayed at this station, repeating it over and over.

 

We counted and added fish like this post from the STEM Laboratory.

We ate a gone fishing snack like this post from Blue Skies Ahead. We used sunflower butter to be safe.

By far, however, the most popular station was the sensory table with beach sand slime and water beads with ocean animals. Fair warning , the beach sand slime was a beach to clean so be prepared for that. It was worth it. The water beads went EVERYWHERE and created a very slippery floor. Next time I will put a tarp under the table. Still worth it.

Yogibrarian is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

“Tea Party” little ones event

In June and July, I have storytimes and/or events literally every day for our Summer Adventure Program. Mostly I hire performers so that I don’t go insane, but we still run many of our own events. Our Outreach Librarian and I joined forces for an outdoor tea party at a nearby park.

Miss Kat set up a lovely table with cream cheese sandwiches, lemonade, water, and tea.
  

She also set up a “match the tea bag to the scent table.”
 

We made edible necklaces like this post from Repeat Crafter Me.

We painted with tea like this post from Teaching 2 and 3 year olds.

We sang “I’m a Little Teapot” and colored tipping teapots like this post from Danya Banya.

We gathered items from nature to make a collage like this post from Busy Toddler. They tried items like rocks and pinecones but quickly realized they don’t stick.

Yogibrarian is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.