I wanted to share an outline of my Yoga Lesson Plan that I do with my preschool class. It is easy and fun to do with any age group, especially on a rainy or cold day. If you are not familiar with yoga or yoga poses, there are millions of videos, tutorials, and charts that are available online.
Preparation
- Move all furniture out of the way to create a large open space
- Implement some type of yoga mat or defined space for each child (carpet squares as yoga mats)
- Turn off or dim the lights
- Play soothing music
Each yoga practice can range between 15 and 30 minutes with a variety of age groups
Suggestion: Smaller groups of children (6-8 children per one teacher/adult)
Materials Needed
- Yoga mats or carpet squares for each child and teacher
- Calming music
- Print-out of yoga poses or visual for teacher and children
Activity
I try to mix up the poses and make them interactive. For example, prompting children to "use their airplane arms" for extra balance. Another thing I like to do is use creative names or incorporate sounds that children can imitate. This will sustain their attention for a longer period of time and give them something to relate to. For example, animal poses are popular and help children remember poses and their names. Some people assume yoga has to be serious or quite, but our yoga sessions can get very silly and loud. There is no 'wrong way' to approach yoga, and each session should be somewhat individualized for the group at hand.
- Standing poses - balance on one foot, 'tree pose', ‘airplane’
- Sitting stretches - make ‘pizza’, ‘cat & cow’, make ‘thunder’, ‘butterfly’ fly away, 'happy baby'
- Sun salutation ('Salute to the Sun') - our ‘flow’, done two times (continuous motion transforming through multiple poses)
- Resting pose ('Savasana') - ‘Lady bug’ pose
- Closing - we all say, “Namaste” and thank you to our bodies
- Reflection (optional) - ask children how they feel, what they liked or disliked, favorite poses
Personalize your own yoga session! It is relaxing, fun, and a great form of exercise that can be done inside or outside. My preschool children love yoga and request to "play yoga" quite frequently. I enjoy participating with them and coming up with new poses and ideas to add to each session. Try it out for yourself!
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