Posts Tagged ‘music and movement’
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:
Sing Song Yoga® Kids’ Yoga App
Sing Song Yoga® kids’ yoga DVD
Sing Song Yoga® school program
This entry was posted on Thursday, September 10th, 2015.
Posted in Kids Yoga at Home, Sing Song Yoga, Yoga in Schools.
Tagged: app, children, childrens yoga, ipad app, iphone app, kids, kids yoga, kids yoga app, kids yoga benefits, music and movement, physical activities for toddlers, sing song yoga, yoga app, yoga for kids, yoga in schools, yoga poses
Top 5 Kids Yoga Tips for Greater Flexibility
This topic of yoga tips for greater flexibility was inspired by a question tweeted by Mrs. Johnson’s #1stgradeyogis in China…
“We want to know how we can stretch better! Any tips?”
Thank you fabulous young yogis and your brilliant teacher, Mrs. Johnson, in China for this great #SSYkidQuestion!! We so appreciate you tweeting us questions and inspirations for other kids and their parents and teachers!
Most yogis think about their level of flexibility, so this is a relevant question for kid and adult yogis alike. Here are five yoga tips to help stretch you and your body to greater depths…
1. Begin where you are.
So, first things first — in yoga and in any other area of life… where you are is exactly the perfect place to be! Really!! And if you would like to change something, “where you are” is the perfect place from which to start. For example, if you want to touch your toes in ragdoll (uttanasana), but right now you can touch your knees, first say to yourself “I can touch my knees today. I wonder how far I will reach in a month after doing yoga regularly.” You are where you are and there is nothing better than that! Celebrate today and move forward from here!
2. There’s only one person to compare yourself to… and that’s YOU! – not anyone else.
Comparing yourself to someone else is like comparing the ocean to the forest. Each person is beautifully unique – thank goodness for that – and comparing yourself to another person helps no one.
On the other hand, look at yourself today compared to yourself… say last year at this time… You have most certainly come a long way. Celebrate that! Always compare yourself to only you and you will see growth!
Regarding yoga poses and stretching farther, try this. Do a yoga pose that you enjoy and in which you would like to stretch farther. For example, (and maybe as a group) do the L Pose (Dandasana/Paschimottanasana), hold it for a moment while you notice where your fingers land on your legs. Maybe note this on a sticky note (Deb – Sept. 2 – L Pose – finger tips at knees) and put it away. Then, a month or so later, do the same thing and just notice if your fingers land in the same place on your legs or maybe just a touch farther – and note that. If not this month, maybe next month. Either way, yoga is not about how flexible you are. It does tend to increase flexibility but it is not the most important part! Be aware of your body and how magnificent it is and what it can accomplish for you!!
3. Hold poses longer.
If you’d like to increase your flexibility one strategy you can try is to hold some poses longer than we do in the Sing Song Yoga videos. Maybe as a class, you can decide a pose for the month to hold longer during your yoga time.
For example, for the month of September, each time we do yoga let’s pause the video and hold Standing V (Upavistha Konasana) longer. Maybe the class could vote to select the pose each month.
4. Do a sequence of poses working the same muscles/muscle groups.
Several yoga poses use similar muscles to do the poses. For example, hamstrings (those muscles on our back thighs) are lengthened within many different poses. And they are often tight and a main factor in how far we can bend forward — as in Rag Doll (Uttanasana).
If we were to just hold Rag Doll for 12 minutes, most of us would get bored. But, if we were to do several different poses within those 12 minutes that each focus on lengthening those hamstrings, we would not only better achieve it, but we would add in additional benefits from the other poses as well as enjoy the variety.
So, let’s continue with the example of lengthening our hamstrings. Using the Sing Song Yoga app, as a class, you can explore what poses to include to create and save a “Hamstring Sequence.” A sample sequence could include the following:
- Rag Doll – Uttanasana
- Standing V – Prasarita Padottanasana
- Mosquito – Parsvottanasana
- Downward Dog – Adho Mukha Svanasana
- Dolphin – Pincha Mayurasana Prep
- L Pose -Dandasana/Paschimottanasana
- V Pose – Upavistha Konasana
- Big Butterfly
- Half Butterfly – Janu Sirsasana
- Savasana
That’s 10 poses in under 12 minutes, when you slide the transition speed to the left (see pic).
5. Repetition can help.
Do yoga more often… even while watching TV 🙂 If there is a pose you’d really like to improve, set a goal to try to do that pose every day. If I wanted to reach my toes in L Pose, I could try to sit in this pose each day whenever I think of it… while reading, while watching TV, while chatting with my friends, etc.
In the classroom, as a class, you could decide to sit in L Pose for a bit while you are studying your spelling words, or doing math flash cards, or reading… the possibilities are endless!
The main thing to remember is to be easy about all of this and have fun!
Thank you once again for your great question Mrs. Johnson’s #1stgradeyogis in China!! Please keep us posted on your yoga progress over the coming months! And of course, send new questions as they arise! Happy Yoga!
Please post your kids’ yoga questions on
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 and apply the process to creating a “Hamstring Sequence.”
Related Posts:
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.”
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.
Twitter Leads to Most Rewarding Visit Imaginable Sing Song Yoga founder does yoga with students she connected with on Twitter.
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.
For more info:
Sing Song Yoga® Kids’ Yoga App
Sing Song Yoga® kids’ yoga DVD
Sing Song Yoga® school program
This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 1st, 2015.
Posted in Kid's Yoga Sequences, Kids Yoga at Home, Sing Song Yoga, Yoga in Schools.
Tagged: app, childrens yoga, health, ipad app, iphone app, kids yoga, kids yoga app, kids yoga benefits, music and movement, schools, sing song yoga, yoga, yoga app, yoga benefits, yoga for children, yoga for kids, yoga in schools, yoga in the classroom, yoga poses
Kids Yoga App Series – #2. Try it Free
* This post is the 2nd within a series #SSYappSeries… (here’s #1)
When we were designing the Sing Song Yoga® kids’ yoga app, I held a strong focus on these questions:
- What would I want in an App? And specifically within a Kids’ Yoga app?
- What would the parents I know want?
- What would the teachers I know want?
And one main idea I kept coming back to was… “I want to try it before I buy it!” Here’s a brief video that, in sped-up fashion, shows how the app works, and the app can be found in the app store to try for free.
This video is pretty quick but we just want to give you an idea of some of its features. See Kids Yoga App Debuts in App Store for a slower-paced explanation in written form with pictures and arrows. So give the app a shot with your kids or students and see if it’s a good fit!
Please let us know any questions you might have on Facebook or Twitter, using #SSYappSeries. 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.
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:
Sing Song Yoga® Kids’ Yoga App
Sing Song Yoga® kids’ yoga DVD
Sing Song Yoga® school program
This entry was posted on Thursday, August 27th, 2015.
Posted in Kids Yoga at Home, Sing Song Yoga, Uncategorized, Yoga in Schools.
Tagged: app, children, childrens yoga, ipad app, iphone app, kids yoga, kids yoga app, music, music and movement, sing song yoga, yoga in schools
6 Reasons I Want My Kids to Learn Through the Arts in Schools
Schools are changing, by necessity and through driven educators, but is happening s – l – o – o – o – w – l – y! I’m really itching to see changes occur at a much faster pace at this point in my life! My own children are at an age where I’m incessantly looking for something significantly different. I continuously explore the variety of alternatives available. This post will discuss learning through The Arts in schools — not as a side activity, but actually using the arts as the method to teach. Teaching math, reading, writing, science, social studies, etc. through music, movement, drawing, theater, poetry, etc.
Will teaching through the arts fix everything that is missing in education? It’s not likely. But it can vastly improve the experience and results for kids and our communities. According to Linda Crawford in her book Lively Learning: Using the arts to teach the K-8 Curriculum, there are 6 powerful reasons for integrating the arts into the daily curriculum and I will explore each of these below.
1. The arts make the content more accessible
The idea of teaching the school curriculum through the arts to make content more accessible seems to be the most obvious reason for making it a part of our classroom. The arts are able to reach all different types of learners simply because the arts in and of themselves have stemmed from our human desires over the centuries. We weren’t told we had to dance or draw, we were simply given the materials to explore them naturally. We weren’t forced to tell stories or listen to others tell stories, we were just naturally drawn to doing so. In using the arts, drawing might provide students with a jumpstart to writing or math. Students who learn most powerfully through their bodies, kinesthetic learners, might first act out a fairy tale or a story problem to better access a deeper understanding of each. When a teacher provides the opportunity to use the arts within the content area it not only reaches more students’ learning styles but it also enhances the depth of learning for each individual student. It provides them the opportunity to explore through a wider range of experiences. This not only engages more of the brain for easier learning, but it allows students to discover naturally their own strengths and most powerful interests, thus leading to more powerful learning and growth.
2. The arts encourage joyful, active learning
If I were to ask you to remember some of your most joyful learning in elementary school, you’re likely able to easily remember some. When our learning is connected with joyful authentic purposes, it literally changes the chemistry of the brain and has the potential to open up the gateway to our long-term memory. Emotions are powerfully connected to our learning. Learning in a drab, emotionally-devoid environment takes so much more work and energy as compared to learning in a joyful way. It would seem obvious to most that integrating the capacity of the arts, including the positive emotions often elicited through them, provides greater opportunity for learning and growth.
3. The arts help students make and express personal connections to content
When I meet someone and learn their name I do my best to remember it – at least for the time period that I’ll be spending with them. I have found over time that if I make a connection (relate it to something I know) right away I’m more likely to remember. If her name is Mary, I connect it to my sister, etc. If it’s a name I’ve never heard of, I connect the parts of the name to something familiar. Last week I met a guy named Artiaysa (ART-I-ESSA). It took me a moment, but I made three connections to remember it. “Art”, of course. “Eye” in the middle and my niece Tessa for the end. Making connections from the know to the unknown is necessary for learning.
If I was in the classroom and learning new vocabulary, I could draw a simple sketch of the parts of the words. Students could also use poetry, songs, theater/videography to make and express these personal connections to these new words and to their understandings of each. If I can connect it to my life, I can remember it. Additionally if it interests me, it adds extra potential for greater depth of understanding. The arts can add to the interest level of subject matter simply by providing additional avenues for expression of the new concepts. If I have the chance to write a song about photosynthesis, for example, it instantly ups my interest level.
4. The arts help children understand and express abstract concepts
Abstract ideas are those that need to be visualized or imagined as they cannot be illustrated through concrete examples. Learning letters and their sounds is an abstract concept for children. But teaching the alphabet through the arts naturally allows for a deeper level of understanding and use/expression of the letters… aka reading.
One example of using the arts to learn the alphabet is using music, movement and sounds along with the visible letter to transform the abstract shape of the letters to a more concrete understanding. As students repeatedly connect the abstract letters to the concrete experiences they gradually move toward reading… turning those abstract letters and sounds into words and sentences with real meaning.
5. The arts stimulate higher-level thinking
According to Linda Crawford, in the above mentioned book, there are three kinds of thinking we want to encourage in our kids: attending, discerning, and inventing. She says that attending and discerning are more analytical skills, but inventing takes students a step further to building upon what they’ve learned to make new meaning. This, she says, required imaginative understanding.
The arts are a natural way to encourage all three types of learning within our classroom. They can help children move from a more-in-depth understanding of the world as it is, as well as encourage children to imagine the possibilities of what it can be.
6. The arts build community and help children develop collaborative work skills
The benefits of integrating the arts into the content areas is multiplied when students work together to create and learn. When we work in a creative manner and throughly enjoy the process and the final product, the depth of learning and experience is enhanced dramatically. In my kindergarten classroom one simple collaborative creative activity is making up movements to our songs. The movement, music, fun, and collaboration combined work beautifully together to help the children not only remember the song lyrics more easily, but also provides a deeper understanding of the subject matter being shared within the song lyrics.
Learning the arts through a specialist is critical to learn each “art” in greater depth. At the same time learning our content through the arts allows us to deepen our learning of all subjects! Our children greatly benefit from both! So let’s work together as educators to begin giving the arts a try within our curriculum in addition to the critical learning that occurs through the specific arts classes with a specialist. Thank you to Linda Crawford for sharing the basis for this post in her book Lively Learning: Using the Arts to Teach the K-8 Curriculum. And if you’re interested in giving it a shot, this book is a nice resource.
Related Posts:
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.
Top 5 Tips to Help Kids Yoga Balance: 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:
Sing Song Yoga® Kids’ Yoga App
Sing Song Yoga® kids’ yoga DVD
Sing Song Yoga® school program
This entry was posted on Friday, April 17th, 2015.
Posted in Education, Parenting, Yoga in Schools.
Tagged: kids yoga, learning through the arts, music and movement, sing song yoga, teaching through music and movement, the arts, the arts in school, the arts in schools, the arts in the classroom, yoga for kids, yoga in schools, yoga in the classroom
Five Calming Holiday Poses Made Easy with Kids Yoga App
Last year, before our Sing Song Yoga App was available, I wrote a blog post about some great calming kids’ yoga poses for the Holidays, using poses from our DVD. Now our SSY App makes it easy to line up the poses, save, and push play to enjoy the sequence as its own little video. There are inevitably times during the holidays when life can be a bit stressful for our kids. So having this little tool in your pocket can be quite helpful in guiding your children back to feeling peaceful.
This quick video demonstrates using the Sing Song Yoga App to create this calming sequence.
Links for more info:
Our website, DVD, App, holiday blog post, App blog post
And a fun animation about why yoga can be a great thing for your kids 🙂
Screenshot
This entry was posted on Saturday, December 7th, 2013.
Posted in Kid's Yoga Sequences, Sing Song Yoga.
Tagged: active, activities, apps for kids, brain friendly, calming yoga sequence christmas gift ideas, children yoga, childrens yoga, gift ideas, health, healthy, holidays, iphone app, ipod app, kid apps, kid gift ideas, kid music, kid songs, kids apps, kids music, kids yoga, kids yoga gifts, kids’yoga, lyrics, movement, music, music and movement, sing song yoga, singsongyoga, song lyrics, songs, yoga, yoga for children, yoga for kids, yoga poses, yoga sequence