Posts Tagged ‘kids’


Kids Yoga App Series #4 Guidelines Video

* This post is the 4th within a kids yoga app series #SSYappSeries… (here are #1#2, and #3.

Kids often learn best from kids! That’s why our Sing Song Yoga Kids share their wisdom about doing yoga in this Guidelines Video found under the Information button within the Sing Song Yoga kids yoga app and on the DVD. We include the video here to encourage you to check out the app and DVD. And if you already use our program, be sure to share the video with your young yogis at home or in school.

Please let us know any questions you might have on Facebook or Twitter, using #SSYappSeries or #SSYkidQuestions. We look forward to hearing from you!! Happy Yoga!!


Related Posts:

Kids Yoga App Series – #1. Adult Help Symbol in DVD/App Quick video explaining the “Adult Help” symbol used in the Sing Song Yoga® kids yoga app.

Kids Yoga App Series – #2. Try it Free A super quick video to demonstrate some features within the Sing Song Yoga® kids yoga app.

Kids Yoga App Series – #3. Restore Purchases –FAQs: How to easily restore in-app purchases in seconds with this simple illustration.

Top 5 Kids’ Yoga Tips for Greater Flexibility A kids’ yoga question answered: “We want to know how we can stretch better! Any tips?”

8 Kids Yoga Myths  Some common misunderstandings about kids’ yoga.

Crossing the Midline and Kids’ Yoga Kids’ yoga is one of the many activites that can provide cross-lateral experiences for children. If done regularly might assist in building the brain for…

Top 6 Yoga Poses for Toddlers  “A few months ago a parent asked how she could best do yoga with her one-year-old daughter…”

Kids’ Yoga App – Create Your Own Balancing Sequence Effortlessly create a balancing sequence with a few taps of this kids’ yoga iOS app.

Yoga in Schools: Kids and Teachers Talk Kids’ Yoga A quick peek into what kids and teachers are saying about using the Sing Song Yoga app in the classroom.

Top 5 Tips to Help Balance in Kids’ Yoga: Kid Twitter Question Answered A kid question answered: “Do you have any tips to help us balance better?”

Getting Kids Ready to Write: Yoga in Schools A teacher question answered: “I was wondering the best combinations [of poses] to use [with my students] for getting ready to write.”

Twitter Leads to Most Rewarding Visit Imaginable  Sing Song Yoga founder does yoga with students she connected with on Twitter.


For more info:Yoga in a School Setting

Sing Song Yoga® Kids’ Yoga App

Sing Song Yoga® kids’ yoga DVD

Sing Song Yoga® school program

Sing Song Yoga® website

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 10th, 2015.
Posted in Kids Yoga at Home, Sing Song Yoga, Yoga in Schools.
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Kids Yoga Classes in Zeeland

As school begins for kids over the next few weeks remember to provide them with times to reconnect by deliberately quieting their outside world. Kids’ Yoga is a great way to provide the time and space to do just that… and so much more.

We’d love to have you join us for any or all of our five-week sessions!

Zeeland Rec schedule 15-16

 

Zeeland Recreation Registration Methods

1. Online at: http://recreation.zps.org

2. In person, mail or drop-box: 320 East Main,Zeeland, Michigan 49464

3. Phone: 616.748.3230

4. Fax: 616.748.3234

Visa, MasterCard, Discover, checks and cash accepted. Checks made payable to: Zeeland Recreation.

Office Hours: Monday-Thursday, 8:00am-4:30pm, Friday, 8:00am-4:00pm


Related Posts:

8 Kids Yoga Myths  Some common misunderstandings about kids’ yoga.

Crossing the Midline and Kids’ Yoga Kids’ yoga is one of the many activites that can provide cross-lateral experiences for children. If done regularly might assist in building the brain for…

Top 6 Yoga Poses for Toddlers  “A few months ago a parent asked how she could best do yoga with her one-year-old daughter…”

Kids’ Yoga App – Create Your Own Balancing Sequence Effortlessly create a balancing sequence with a few taps of this kids’ yoga iOS app.

Yoga in Schools: Kids and Teachers Talk Kids’ Yoga A quick peek into what kids and teachers are saying about using the Sing Song Yoga app in the classroom.

Top 5 Tips to Help Balance in Kids’ Yoga: Kid Twitter Question Answered A kid question answered: “Do you have any tips to help us balance better?”

Getting Kids Ready to Write: Yoga in Schools A teacher question answered: “I was wondering the best combinations [of poses] to use [with my students] for getting ready to write.”

Twitter Leads to Most Rewarding Visit Imaginable  Sing Song Yoga founder does yoga with students she connected with on Twitter.


For more info:Yoga in a School Setting

Sing Song Yoga® Kids’ Yoga App

Sing Song Yoga® kids’ yoga DVD

Sing Song Yoga® school program

Sing Song Yoga® website

 

 

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 19th, 2015.
Posted in Sing Song Yoga.
Tagged: , , , , , , ,


Sing Song Yoga Charity of the Year 2015/2016 – Kids Hope

Kids Hope USA

One Child, One Hour, One Church, One School.

Sing Song Yoga® is thrilled to partner with Kids Hope for our 2015/2016 Charity of the year.  Kids Hope USA is an adult-student mentoring program headquartered in Zeeland, Michigan. Kids Hope USA partners one school with one local church in order to provide screened and trained mentors to students within the elementary school. Students are recommended by school faculty and the principal, and typically need a “cheerleader” in their court. Whether they are struggling academically, socially or cognitively, a Kids Hope USA mentor meets faithfully with this student for one hour, every single week of the school year. Mentors are recruited from the partner church and strictly trained on the “separation of church and state.” These mentors are there for these students to listen, encourage and reinforce their value as an individual. Today, Kids Hope USA celebrates it’s 20th anniversary, along with the accomplishment that every elementary school in Ottawa county is equipped with a Kids Hope USA program.

The need is great. The opportunity is vast.  The idea is simple: One Child, One Hour, One Church, One School.

Screen Shot 2015-02-05 at 10.31.39 AMKids Hope USA is a real chance to make a real difference; not just in the lives of at-risk children, not just in the lives of the mentors who witness real transformation in the children they help, not just for the schools whose burdens are lighter because of the work Kids Hope USA does, but for entire communities, whose connections become stronger, whose futures are brighter, whose children are better equipped to succeed in their own lives and lift up those around them, because someone believed in them and helped them believe in themselves. Yes. It’s that simple to create change.

Read their stories, watch the videos, find out about what they do, and learn how you can do something real  to make a difference.

For more information about this powerful program check out Kids Hope USA. It might just turn out to be the most purposeful hour of your week! Kids Hope USA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and all donations are tax-deductible.

Each year Sing Song Yoga® chooses a different charity to whom we donate 10% of our proceeds from our online sales of our DVD. Therefore, instead of having periodic sales to save you a few bucks we will put your extra few dollars to supporting a great cause! Thanks a million for giving us the joy of giving to great organizations!

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 5th, 2015.
Posted in Charity of the Year.
Tagged: , , , , , , , , , ,


Kids Yoga in Schools: Getting First Graders Ready to Write

Sue, a first grade teacher from Michigan writes:

I was wondering the best combinations [of poses] to use [with my students] for getting ready to write.”

Screen Shot 2015-01-22 at 11.39.23 PM

 

This is a great question!  Yoga in schools can be a powerful resource for helping kids get ready to write, as well as do other school tasks.  Kids’ Yoga is not going to take overly energetic children and mesmerize them into a state of conformity, but it can help a child transform their energy into a more usable form for accomplishing particular tasks. As teachers we occasionally need tiny reminders that children are not built to sit for long periods, and their squirminess might be good feedback to us that their bodies truly need to move in order for their brains to work most efficiently.

I know that, as an adult, when I rush around my world to run errands and then sit down in front of my computer to get some work done, it takes me a bit of time to refocus on my task at hand.  Also, if I sit for an extended period of time I need to get up and move to focus most efficiently. Similarly, if a child is moving from one activity to the next without time to refocus with some deliberate guidance, or is sitting for extending periods of time without a chance for specific movement, then it’s likely that s/he won’t be able to give her best.

Yoga in schools can provide purposeful tools for helping children refocus.  There’s much involved in how yoga can do this.  However, simply put, focusing on one’s body to get into and hold a pose can help quiet the mind’s chatter, allowing more space for purposefully focused thought. And if the yoga movement itself is sufficiently involved it can fulfill the body’s need to move in order to stimulate the necessary systems for optimal learning.

In other words the physical yoga poses and the focus necessary to accomplish them work in tandem to help children refocus.

In addition to this, particular sequencing of poses also has the potential to calm the nervous system, which counters the stressors that physically shut down the brain for learning. The brain of a child who is in distress physically shuts down the networking necessary for learning.  The brain of a relaxed child has much greater learning potential.

When thinking about yoga in schools it might be helpful to know that poses can be divided into three categories regarding their main effects on the nervous system:

  • energizing poses (red – see arrow in pic below)
  • calming poses (blue)
  • neutral poses (yellow)

Poses can be sequenced to deliberately shoot for particular goals. For example, our Brain Break sequence was created to assist students in refocusing within their school day with the least number of poses necessary to accomplish the goal.

Brain Break Sequence includes:

  • Triangle – general movement lengthening and strengthening the entire body
  • Standing V – the inversion allows blood flow to the brain which may enhance mental functioning and forward bends calm the nervous system
  • Eagle – crosses the mid-line helping the two halves of the brain communicate through the corpus callosum (helping to coordinate skills being carried out in different parts of the brain).  Eagle also stimulates the vestibular system (balance), stimulating the brain for new learning
  • Sailboat – crosses the mid-line and twisting allows for additional release of tension

Note below: the color coding above each pose in the app screenshot: red, blue and yellow represent energizing, calming and neutral poses respectively.

Brain Break Sequence shown in Canvas. Press Play to begin video.

Brain Break Sequence shown in Canvas. Press Play to begin video.

 

The Jazz up My Brain sequence within the Sing Song Yoga App is a longer version at 22 minutes. Teachers can throw poses out or add poses within the app within the sequence canvas and make it work for each situation. Sequences you create can be saved and named.  And here’s another example of the app in use.

Thanks for stopping by! We intend to continue growing our posts dedicated to helping teachers enjoy the benefits of yoga in the classroom!

Until next time, Happy Teaching!

 

We would LOVE to hear from you – how you’re using yoga in schools or questions of how to begin.  We are on Twitter @singsongyoga  and Facebook  and really look forward to connecting!

#ssykidquestion green room

 

For more info:

Sing Song Yoga® kids’ yoga DVD

Sing Song Yoga® Kids’ Yoga App

Sing Song Yoga® school program

Sing Song Yoga® website

This entry was posted on Saturday, January 24th, 2015.
Posted in Benefits of Yoga, Education, Kid's Yoga Sequences, Sing Song Yoga, Yoga in Schools.
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Top 5 Tips to Help Kids Yoga Balance

This topic was inspired by a helpful kids yoga question tweeted by Mrs. Z’s #1stgradeyogis in Michigan…

Do you have any tips to help us balance better?”

 

sing song yoga eagle

Mrs. Z’s #1stgradeyogis doing Eagle Pose (Garudasana)

These talented first graders and their creative, tech savvy teacher have been tweeting about their experiences with Sing Song Yoga and we’re loving it! Thank you @MrsZFabFirsties for sharing your yoga experiences of kids yoga with us and the world! Thank you also for the inspiration for this post!!

Some simple tips to help you balance in your favorite kids’ yoga poses…

1. Know that it’s okay to fall over.  When I was first learning to do headstand, I was unsure about moving my pose away from the security of the wall. However, once my instructor mentioned that it’s okay to fall when trying headstand in the middle of the room, I gave it a shot and never turned back! Now it’s a favorite of mine!  Sometimes children (and adults) simply need to know that it’s okay to lose their balance and fall.  Taking the pressure off can sometimes be all the support they need to feel success in a balancing pose.

2. Try to look at one spot in front of you.  Fix your relaxed gaze on something that is not moving.  To experience how helpful our eyes are when balancing try this:  Before doing a balancing pose, experiment with the kids having them close their eyes while in Mountain Pose (Tadasana).  Even Mountain Pose feels wobbly with our eyes closed.  Then compare how Mountain feels with their eyes open.  Then do Tree Pose (Vrksasana) and compare the different experiences of first, moving your eyes all over the room and second, keeping your eyes fixed on one spot.  Might be fun to illustrate the comparing/contrasting experiences with a Venn Diagram in the classroom, with some interactive or shared writing.

Kids yoga balancing pose

Mrs. Z’s #1stgradeyogis doing Tree, Big Butterfly and Flower

3. Hold your arms out to the side like a tightrope walker.  Children tend to do this naturally, but you can also discuss this with them.  You could also, for example, do Eagle Pose (Garudasana) twice. Once with their arms wrapped together in front of their chest and once with their arms out to the side.  And ask the kids which feels easier. Answers will likely vary but it’s powerful to feel these differences within their own bodies.

4. Start at the ground and move up.  Focus first on having strong balanced feet (or whatever body part is on the ground). Try to distribute weight evenly between the front and back and between the inside and outside of each foot.  Oftentimes when yogis are attempting a balancing pose, they don’t even notice that they are holding their feet crooked and half off the ground because they are so focused on balancing. So again it can be helpful to experiment with Mountain Pose (Tadasana). Close the eyes for a moment to feel how the weight changes within their feet as they wobble.  Try to keep from falling over by focusing on the feet remaining flat on the floor.  And once they open their eyes try to keep their attention on their feet while they steady their balance.  Then try to re-balance the feet before beginning the next balancing pose.  Closing the eyes allows us to attempt to focus more clearly on other balancing systems that we are less likely to notice when our vision is being used — in this case the feet (and vestibular system).

5. Imagine that you’re floating up.  Next time the kids are doing a balancing pose have them imagine that they are really light and nearly weightless — maybe even that their foot is glued to the earth with hardly any gravity.  This one in particular is not based in anything I’ve learned, only in what I’ve experienced.  So give it shot.

Bonus:  And just for fun try thinking about your belly button while balancing.  It seems to help sometimes — and if not, it tends to bring on giggles 🙂 Thank you James Fry for this one!

Please send your kids’ yoga questions to Sing Song Yoga’s

Twitter or Facebook using #ssykidsquestions

 

See this link for an outline of the Simple Process for Creating and Saving a Kids’ Yoga Balancing Sequence within the Sing Song Yoga App

Balancing Sequence Sing Song Yoga App

Creating Balancing Sequence within the Sing Song Yoga App

 

For more info:

DVD: https://www.singsongyoga.com/childrens-yoga-dvd/

App: https://www.singsongyoga.com/kids-yoga-app/

school program: https://www.singsongyoga.com/school-program/

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 19th, 2014.
Posted in Education, Sing Song Yoga.
Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,


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