Yoga Kiddos With Gaileee

Rainbow Kids Yoga Lesson Plan contest!

2012-02-09T05:46:00.000-08:00

If you *like* my lesson plan for a kids yoga and I'm the top winner, then I may win a 3 day training with Rainbow Kids Yoga!

http://tinyurl.com/7kcptwf
or

https://www.facebook.com/notes/rainbow-kids-yoga/class-plan-contest-brown-bear-brown-bear-what-do-you-see-by-gail-pickens-barger/310112035701516

and *like*.

Here is a summary of the plan that I submitted....


https://www.facebook.com/notes/rainbow-kids-yoga/class-plan-contest-brown-bear-brown-bear-what-do-you-see-by-gail-pickens-barger/310112035701516

Beginning of class

Yoga books and Children -- YogaKiddos

2012-01-25T10:17:00.000-08:00

Worked the Highland Park book fair this past winter and found this excellent book, for using in YogaKiddos.

S for Snowman - God's Wintertime Alphabet

S for Snowman - God's Wintertime Alphabet

Written by Kathy-jo Wargin and Illustrated by Richard Johnson.

One of the pages tells us, "E is for Evergreen" The Evergreen branches will twinkle with light to tell us God's love is eternally bright. And the kiddos can do Tree pose for this particular page in the book.

Q is for Quilt. A Quilt on our laps as we sit down to rest, each square tells a story of how we are blessed. We'd act out being shivery, and then pulling on our toasty quilt!

Lovely book.........but wait.

Then Ms. Tammy J, gave Grace a book for
Christmas.....I kept wondering why she'd ask, if I had this book or not.....

Animalia by Graeme Base

Animalia by Graeme Base. Okay page one. "An Armoured Armadillo Avoiding An Angry Alligator". Wow, just limitless possibilities is using this book in YogaKiddos classes.

Another page, has, "Great Green Gorillas Growing Grapes in a Gorgeous Glass Greenhouse." Gorilla Pose, Greenhouse...again, lots of imagination to explore, in using these books with kids and yoga!

Can't wait to figure this one out!

Gaileee

Now I have a facebook page for YogaKiddos

2011-10-04T05:39:00.000-07:00

Go check it out at:
http://www.facebook.com/YogaKiddos
Here is some of our fun during the summer YogaKiddos program at the YMCA of Port Arthur!!

New material for YogaKiddos

2011-08-15T15:03:00.000-07:00

While in Indiana, found some more new material for me, for doing YogaKiddos!

ABC by Jacqueline Rogers
A, My Name is by Alice Lyne.
Five Little Sharks Swimming in the Sea by Steve Metzger.
Alien Alphabet A Mix and Match Book.
Alpha-Critters by Rod Funston.
Usborne Farmyard Tales Alphabet Book!
Merrigold Press's Animalo Alphabet From A to Z.
Extinct Creatures Dot-to-Dot - Handouts!
Dinosaurs at your Fingertips and Jungle Life at your Fingertips.
AlphabAtics by Suse MacDonald.
A fav... my first rhyming picture abc and,
Somewhere in the Ocean by Jennifer Ward.

Yoga for Small Spaces by Christine Ristuccia & Lynn Geddes-RYTs & illustrator Charles Beryl

2011-06-20T08:09:00.000-07:00

Yoga for Small Spaces by Christine Ristuccia & LynnC Geddes-RYTs & illustrator Charles Beryl
The folks over at Addriya (Yoga * Learning * Wellness) www.addriya.com have a great product. I just recently received my Yoga for Small Spaces Deck of Cards by Christine Ristuccia, RYT & Lynn Geddes, RYT, Illustrated by Charles Beryl. Targeted toward kids, I believe, but I think I'm going to use them also for my Adaptive Yoga for MS class. There are illustrations and descriptions of doing yoga in the chair, and some other yoga poses, that can easily adapt to in the chair too!

According to the insert in the box, Yoga for Small Spaces deck was originally designed to use in the classroom, where space, time and resources for equipment are in short supply. It also goes and talks about that, one of the most important aspects of yoga is that is does NOT have to be done in a studio or on a mat. Yoga can be done virtually anywhere with results obtained in as short as one minute.

The insert goes on to say that everyone can do yoga, even those with special needs or those who are non-ambulatory. Many of the poses are done seated or can be modified for use while seated, which makes these cards extremely adaptive. Yes! I can visualize this with my MS folks.

I got a little bonus by purchasing these cards, as they are going to work in my YogaKiddo classes that are being held at the YMCA, and in my National MS Society sponsored Adaptive Yoga Class. We do most of our poses seated in the chair, or behind the chair, and we do a variation of Peggy Cappy's (Yoga for the Rest of Us PBS fame) Sun Salutation series with the chair. The only thing I don't see in the deck is plank/cobra with the chair. That would complete the Sun Salutation series with the chair. A great new resource to use in your classes! Love it!

<3 Gaileee

Elephant, Panda Bear, Seal and YogaKiddos at the YMCA of Port Arthur Texas. Wednesdays

2011-06-19T12:32:00.000-07:00

Wednesdays 10:30-11:15am. 8-12 yr olds. YogaKiddos at the YMCA of Port Arthur. Free for members, $10 youth fee for Non-members. Benefits of YogaKiddos for Kids: Builds strong & healthy bodies; Balances emotions; Calms the nerves; Clears the mind; Enhances focus; Improves self esteem. Come see what fun, animal yoga postures, breathing, visualization and music can be for the kiddos. Taught by Registered Childrens Yoga Teacher, Gail Pickens-Barger. 409-727-3177.

Wednesdays 9:45-10:15am. 5-7yr olds. YogaKiddos at the YMCA of Port Arthur. Free for members, $10 youth fee for Non-members. YogaKiddos encourages children to have fun, focus, and concentrate, improve strength, flexibility, body awareness, and improve coordination. Kiddos come see how doing down dog, cat, rabbit & duck is lots of fun! Taught by Registered Childrens Yoga Teacher, Gail Pickens-Barger. 409-727-3177.

YogaKiddos at the YMCA of Port Arthur - Weds beginning June 15, 2011

2011-06-07T12:55:00.000-07:00

YogaKiddos in Action!

2011-04-04T04:48:00.000-07:00

Breathing in and Breathing out demonstration.

Ssssssssssssssssssnake Pose.

Used the book My First Yoga - Animal Poses, and here are a few poses demonstrated from the book. We use the hoberman ball to illustrate inhalation and exhalation breath. Plus use the hoop to have an animal jump through....today we jumped through making a barking noise/sound for Downward Facing Dog Pose

Photography by David C. Turnley

Flamingo Pose.

Giraffe Pose.

The Light in me, honors the Light in you. Amen.

Barger girls enjoying yoga with mom! Photography by David C. Turnley

Wait just a minute, we did this in YogaKiddos last Thursday....

2011-04-02T03:08:00.000-07:00

Mr. Brown, Can Moo! Can You? YogaKiddos Book!

Wait just a minute, we did this last Thursday in YogaKiddos....and what fun it was! Especially doing the "Boom, Boom, Boom, Splat, Splat"! (For thunder and lightening!!) Plus the kiddos "clippty clopped" through the hoop! Nice book to read, and do in our YogaKiddos class.

<3 Gaileee

Are we going to do Yoga today????

2011-03-29T17:46:00.000-07:00

As I picked up Grace from Mother's Day Out......"Are we going to do Yoga today????", the kiddos asked....

I replied, if you are good for Mz. Rachel, we will do Yoga on Thursday.

I think that is cool!

I think it is time to do Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see, once again!

<3 Gaileee

I won!

2011-03-26T10:41:00.000-07:00

I won the My First Yoga Animal Poses book! I used it this past week in YogaKiddos class. It was just the right amount of poses to use in class.

I did add one pose though, so that the kids could "jump" through my collapsible hoop, tiger pose and making a "rarrrr" noise as they jumped. They look so forward to that. So next time, I'll probably do that with the cat pose instead, just work it in that way.

Also used the hoberman sphere ball for the breathing in and breathing out technique at the beginning and end of class. Grace helps with that little breathing exercise, as she'll expand the ball and collapse the ball, as I say, "Breath Big in through the nose, Breath Out all the air, Whoosh!".

More later on this YogaKiddos Session. <3 Gaileee

My First Yoga Animal Poses - book giveaway

2011-02-26T07:26:00.000-08:00

My First Yoga - book giveaway. See the book at: http://www.myfirstyoga.com/

Now hop on over to http://cartoonlovinmomma.blogspot.com/2011/02/my-first-yoga-book-review-and-giveaway.html to see the location of the giveaway. But honestly, I hope I win it to use it in Yoga Kiddos classes!

<3 Gaileee

Use ABC Animal books for kids yoga classes

2011-02-19T12:24:00.000-08:00

On this website, I've listed some of the books I have used when I've taught yoga to kiddos. It is a great guide in helping you to teach kids yoga.

A combination of reading, and acting out a story and of course doing yoga. Hope you enjoy the site!

<3 Gaileee of Yoga Kiddos!

New book in the Yoga Kiddos Library: Mammals at your fingertips

2011-02-19T11:53:00.000-08:00

On Thursday at Yoga Kiddos, we did Mammals at your fingertips, written by Judy Nayer and Illustrated by Grace Goldberg.

We opened up with the expanding ball breath, and during some of the poses we jumped through the hula hoop during the Kangaroo and Tiger poses.

Kids liked getting back into the yoga, and didn't want to leave when some of the moms came to pick them up early. Sorry Kiddos!

Interesting to talk about the largest "land" mammal, then to talk about the largest mammal and to do those poses (Elephant and Whale pose)!

ABC Animal Jamboree by Giles Andreae and pictures by David Wojtowycz.

2011-02-03T13:33:00.000-08:00

ABC Animal Jamboree. By Giles Andreae, pictures by David Wojtowycz. I found this in my daughter's Scholastic Book order for February. Think I'll get it, as it looks to be good for YogaKiddos!

Yeah! Another Find!

<3 Gaileee

Curious Creatures: Thunder In the Jungle

2011-01-29T10:51:00.000-08:00

Curious Creatures: Thunder In The Jungle

by Jean Christie, Sally Chambers (Illustrator)

Listen, listen--there's a rumble in the jungle! All the animals hear something in the air, but they don't know what's there. Chimps chatter nervously, hippos hide, and turtles tuck their heads inside their shells. Even the zebras take a break from lunch to look around. Everyone's wondering what's that sound? Only the lions know, and soon you'll see, that the thunder's here...moreListen, listen--there's a rumble in the jungle! All the animals hear something in the air, but they don't know what's there. Chimps chatter nervously, hippos hide, and turtles tuck their heads inside their shells. Even the zebras take a break from lunch to look around. Everyone's wondering what's that sound? Only the lions know, and soon you'll see, that the thunder's here and the lightning, too! A reassuring book for any child who fears the noise of a stormy night.

A good one for doing Yoga Kiddos too!

Finger Felt Puppets - Animals for Yoga Kiddos

2010-10-06T20:49:00.000-07:00

Amber gave Grace these little felt finger puppets made in Mongolia for Christmas last year. We are going to use those finger puppets in Yoga Kiddos at Wesley MDO program on Thursday. We've lost one of them, so only going to use 9 little puppets.

One of the puppets is Santa Claus, so that should be an interesting yoga pose to do!

hoo hoo hoo~!

Animal figurines

2010-09-20T08:05:00.000-07:00

Went to one of my favorite stores in Ponca City, Oklahoma. Brace Books and More. Plus I used to work there on the weekends, when I worked at Conoco as a computer scientist.

Bought these little baby animal figurines. I "figure" (ha) that I can use these minature animals shapes to do animal yoga with the kiddos at Mothers Day Out program at the church.

Just another way to do yoga. We did yoga with the felt animal shapes, that were A to Z earlier in the summer and that went well.

When the kids see me, they ask, "Are we going to do yoga story time?" Yeah, this upcoming Thursday!

Brown Bear, Brown Bear....Let's do Yoga!

2010-09-06T19:23:00.000-07:00

Let's do YogaKiddos on Thursday at Mother's Day Out with the 4 & 5 year olds with the "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do you See? " book! It will be fun to go through the book and do the yoga poses of the animals!

I didn't know that there were other elements to the book, until I was looking for a graphic today.

We'll be doing of course, Brown Bear, Red Bird, Yellow Good, Blue Horse, Green Frog, Purple Cat, White Dog, Black Sheep, Gold Goldfish, a Teacher and Children in the class! It is lots of fun. See you Thursday!

When we went to the Zoo - by Jan Ormerod

2010-09-03T07:18:00.001-07:00

Yoga Story Time with Alfred's Alphabet Walk by Victoria Chess

2010-08-19T06:58:00.000-07:00

Introducing, Victoria Chess's, "Alfred's Alphabet Walk Book". Alfred's mom wants him to learn his alphabet, but Alfred hid his ABC book. He goes for a walk and encounters all things from A to Z.

"Alfred walked on and came to a grove to Quince trees. A Quarrelsome Queen bee came buzzing by, so he did not pick any Quinces."

The yoga poses you could do with your youth, *just* from this page could be:

Tree
Queen (plough) Pose
Bee Breath
Quinces (pretending to eat a quince)

How cool is that? Another book for you to hunt up and use in your yoga childrens class!

Click here to find this book on Amazon!

Kids will love this book! Gaileee

Another good book for use in childrens yoga class!

2010-08-18T06:38:00.000-07:00

Another great book to use in your childrens yoga class. Albert B. Cub & Zebra, an alphabet storybook by Anne Rockwell. Copyright 1977.

As another reviewer aptly put, "This deceptively simple alphabet story is really an ABC book/ wordless mystery story/puzzle combined. It is the story of Albert B. Cub in search of his friend Zebra. The whimsical illustrations take the reader around the globe, featuring images of things that begin with the letter dedicated to the page. Younger readers and sharp-eyed older readers, as well as adults, will enjoy naming all the items on the page that begin with the letter B, and the rest."

The possibilities with this book is endless! There are so many different things on each page related to various yoga poses.

For example, the letter "D"; one could lead the children to do:

Dancer Pose
Dog
Doll (Ragdoll)
Duck

and some poses not related to the letter "D":

Star
Sunflowers
Moon
Chair

Here is the author's website if you'd like to acquire one of your own for your childrens yoga library!
http://annerockwell.com/books/1-first-books/57-albert-b-cub-and-zebra.html

Lovely book!
Gaileee

Who Can Moo? Animal Yoga for Children with Gaileee

2010-07-24T13:08:00.000-07:00

"Who Says Moo?" by Ruth Young, Illustrated by Lisa Campbell Ernst.

Did Children's Animal Yoga with Grace with the "Who Says Moo?" book today. We acted out the following animals:

Cow
Mouse
Bird
Hedgehog
Giraffe
Pig
Brown Bear
Chick
Duck
Camel
Horse
Turtle
Monkey
Snake
Zebra
Leopard
Hippo
Rabbit
LadyBug
Fish
Polar Bear
Whale
Frog
Bat

There is a summary page at the end of the book, and you can ask questions like: What animals fly? What animals like the water? What animals like the mud. What creatures fly? What creatures are green? What animals can you ride? What animals have green heads? What creature is the largest? What creature is the smallest? What creatures are grey?

Lots of opportunities to ask questions, do Animal Yoga and have lots of fun!

Yoga Story Time!

2010-07-17T08:10:00.000-07:00

Over the Meadow by Jan Thornhill. Book about introducing young children to counting, to rhyming, and to animal babies.

About the book:

Description: Everyday objects become a magical world when Jan Thornhill brings her trademark ingenuity and stunning artwork to a well-loved 19th-century rhyme. A forest of broccoli, a beaver dam of pretzels, a dragonfly with paper-clip wings -- who would have thought twist-ties and garden gloves could be so delightful? Young readers learn about counting, rhyming, and nature as they pick out everyday objects from ingenious, digitally enhanced illustrations. Pages at the end of the book show the original elements used in the creation of the images, encouraging readers to go back and play "I spy." The lyrical, singsong cadence of Olive Wadsworth's classic rhyme makes this a perfect story for reading aloud.

Alphabestiary - Animal Poems from A to Z selected by Jane Yolen, and illustrated by Allan Eitzen. Kookaburra, Kaffier Cat, Piggy, Peacock, Panther, Umbrella Bird, Unicorn, and Ha....Hyleborus and Xiphias Gladius ( a kind of a swordfish) Now wouldn't that be interesting mini yogini yoga poses??? Letter Z is Zemmi, Zebu and of course Zebra.

From the Book Jacket: Make friends with the firefly, frog, and fish. Greet the grasshopper, ground hog, and gazelle. Welcome the warbler, water beetle, and wasp. All manner of animals-from A to Z-are happily heralded in this engaging collection of poems for children selected by award-winning author Jane Yolen. Bold and playful illustrations by artist Allan Eitzen capture the essence of each poem that portrays the beauty, peculiarity, or humor of creatures great and small.

Who Says Moo? By Ruth Young, illustrated by Lisa Campbell Ernst. Another one geared toward the little ones. Lovely artwork and questions like...Who runs fast (horse) Who goes slow? (turtle), Who can hold on by her toe? (monkey or gorilla...?)

Book Review Says: A rhyming book about the animal kingdom, children can match sounds and clues to pictures of all kinds of creatures, great and small. The text is designed to ask questions about differences in the appearance and characteristics of animals and the noises they make.

Bear's New Friend by Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman. This one would be a short one, but has lovely illustrations and lots of little forest animal creatures. Bear is going to the swimming hole, but first he must find his friends.

Summary: Someone seems to be hiding from Bear and his friends! Who is it? There's a clatter in the tree and a scamper through the woods. Who is making all that noise? "WHO??" calls Bear. "Who is it, I say?" But no one responds.
Young readers will share Bear and his friends' surprise and delight when the mysterious stranger finally emerges -- and a new FRIENDSHIP begins!

These are going to be great story time yoga kiddos books!

Gaileee

Galactic Blast VBS - Yoga for Kiddos!

2010-07-10T08:25:00.000-07:00

Here are the preschoolers, enjoying one of the poses from the book, "Black bear, black bear, what do you see?". We are doing in this one is the Red Bird Pose, flying around in our Yoga nest.

I had several helpers for this large class. (Thanks Tamara & Leon & Recreation Helpers!!) After each pose, I'd pipe in and say, "Criss Cross Applesauce", to indicate coming back to their place on the yoga mat. There were so many kiddos, that there were 2 to 3 kiddos seated on the yoga mats.

Reading the story book and doing the poses worked well with this yoga bunch!

gaileee

Noah's Ark ABC Yoga for Children by Gaileee

2010-07-10T08:18:00.001-07:00

This past week at Vacation Bible School, I did Noah's Ark ABC Yoga for Children.

For the Pre-Kindergarten group, I read and had the children demonstrate the animals from

"Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See" book, Bill Martin, Jr (the author) and Eric Carle (the illustrator) of this book.

This was a book suggested and class demonstrated by Shana Meyerson, of the "mini yogis" Teacher Training, that I took back in May. It worked out very well. I'm glad I had lots of assistants though, as over 12 kiddos is hard to manage.

For the older groups of children (Kinder and 1st, 2nd and 3rd graders), I did the Galactic Blast VBS Bible verse, but before we blasted off into our rocket ship, we had to gather the Earth's animals onto the ship, just like in the olden times with Noah and the ark.

We did yoga poses for the 26 different ABC animals. Ever try to do a pose for an armadillo?

Or for a Vicuna? (Cousin of the Llama.)

Kiddos had a great time, hope to get some photos to share later on of the event. Again, glad to have lots of assistants. We when finished our pose, it was criss cross applesause, back to our yoga mat!

gaileee

Yoga Kit for Kids - Slide Show - Review

2010-03-20T08:26:00.000-07:00

ABC's of Yoga for Kids Book Review

2010-03-12T17:56:00.001-08:00

ABC's of Yoga for Kids - Book Review. Author - Teresa Anne Power, Editor - Brookes Nohlgren and Illustrator - Kathleen Rietz. You can find your copy at this website. http://www.abcyogaforkids.com/

A. Alligator:

Grace really likes to follow either cards or books about yoga. She really only has hit it off with one yoga dvd, and that was when they went through the alphabet. But, hey, she is 3, turning 4.

B. Boat: (Look at that smile on her face!)

B. Boat from the book.

Here she is doing some of the poses from the book, "ABC's of Yoga for Kids". A rather new book, nice verbage around the different poses, and lots of variety in the poses. Lovely illustration too!

B. Butterfly.

C. Cat with her "tail" in the air....

Really a lovely book! Now I want the color book, because she likes to color, marker, paint and I'd like to see what she does with this, as it is a posture and a color opportunity. Gaileee

Shanti Generation - Yoga Skills for Youth Peacemakers - Review

2010-03-05T05:50:00.001-08:00

Not only is this an excellent yoga dvd for teen yoga students, this is excellent for anyone new to yoga, who wants great demonstration of the poses, excellent verbal cuing of the "getting into the poses", and good information on protecting your body, keep it from harm when doing poses (which is essential, and missing from a LOT of yoga dvds these days).

Some of the features of this DVD, I found to be very unique.

In the section labeled Library of Poses, you can choose three different sets of poses to do. A Focus, Energy & Calm section. Poses to enhance those different types of yoga energy. I like how the poses in the Focus section had a yellow green background, and in the Energy section a beautiful sun like orange-yellow background, and in the Calm section a cool blue background. Very appropriate for each set of poses that you go through.
Choose your Path section of the DVD, are 5 vinyettes of yoga poses, approximately 30 minutes in length. The different paths are: Creating Happiness, Energy Amplified, Choosing Peace, Being Sound and Voice Choice Possibilities. As is says on the DVD cover, 5 unique half-hour practice sequences integrating breathing exercises, poses for strength, flexibility and balance, relaxation poses and meditation.
Breathing Room section of the DVD, has 5 different breathing exercises that one can practice.
The Self Connection room has two wonderful mindful relaxation and awareness practices also!

Abby Wills, does a wonderful job introducing each section, and there is a fun section where there are little mini interviews with the teens who are doing the yoga demonstrations.

Excellent all around!

Rainbow Kids Yoga Workshop at the Texas Yoga Conference - Wow!

2010-03-04T11:40:00.000-08:00

At the Texas Yoga Conference, I took Gopala's Rainbow Kids Yoga workshop. Wow!

What fun that was. It was setup in a Family Yoga format, where parents and kiddos participated.

We formed a circle, and if my memory presents it self correctly, we started with the scarf circle. Each person took a scarf, and Gopala took the red scarf. The one with the red scarf, well, we were to imitate whatever he/she did, and then the person with the scarf, on the the count of 3-2-1, we'd throw the scarf in the air to the person to the right of us. Then the next person who had the scarf did some type of action, and we copied it.

Talk about a major cardio yoga session....those kids and parents were really creative with their scarves! This actually took about 30 minutes to do. I was sweating a lot, as were other people. The kiddos really had a sense of gladness and delight on their faces.

Our second set of activities were set in the land of Egypt. We did a magic carpet ride with our yoga mats, rode horses, camels, giraffes, and build a human pyramid. Each child took a turn with the kinq/queen Eqyptian hat, and picked an activity based on the Eqypt story. We even morphed to the moon in a rocket ship and created alien yoga creatures through our adventure story.

For the Horse, Camel poses, Gopala had us doing partner poses to accomplish these style of poses. He also teaches partner yoga, so he uses his yoga poses from kids to partner styles to create a fun family yoga encounter!

I was next to Gopala, and Kimmie, from Yoginos of the Corpus Christie Yoga studio. As a side note, Kimmie participates in the Kids yoga program that teaches yoga in English, Spanish and Sanskrit. How neat is that? She teaches out of Rockport, Texas.

Here are Janice and myself enjoying our sweaty bodies from all the workshops that we took. What a wonderful put on conference. Took many styles of yoga, picked up lots of things to try out on my students (watch out everybody!!). Hope it is as good next year as this was!

Gaileee