Teaching kids yoga classes requires creativity, energy, and variety. Children will soon grow weary of a class that is the same every single time. While you don’t have to reinvent the wheel for each class, it helps to have an arsenal full of ideas. There are many ways to spice up a class that has gone stale. Just like real life, children accept change easier than most adults. Changing themes because of weather, holidays, and seasons is easy for children to identify with. Some teachers change class themes because of the time of day and the day of the week.
Mix it Up
3. Kids also love to feel like the expert. Give children the opportunity to teach a pose, pick a pose, or choose the order of events for the class period.
1. Keep kids yoga classes motivated and reaching toward a goal by creating a class challenge. You might use a large sticker chart, where kids earn a sticker each time for attendance, good behavior, or for trying a new pose. Offer a reward after obtaining a designated number of stickers, like a class dance party, the opportunity to teach the class, or free time at the end of class.
2. Create an ongoing story, where you act it out and tell only part of it each class period, to keep kids interested in what will happen next.
Developing classes around a theme is another fun way to keep kids’ interest piqued. An animal theme might include a series of classes focusing on all of the animal poses, telling stories about animals, dressing up like animals, and becoming different animals through visualization exercises. You might even throw in some animal-themed snacks. Nature poses also fall into place nicely, as you talk about the animals’ habitats.
Remember to have fun. Check out books and videos to see what other teachers are doing. Kids Yoga classes have story time and many different games. If the yoga instructor is feeling stale, then the kids probably are, too. Spice up the class by doing what you love, and the kids will follow suit. When all else fails, kids let you know what they like – just keep it safe.
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