If you are looking for a book to introduce children to yoga asana and yoga theory, this one probably isn't the best choice. The poses are few, and are fairly simple; too simple for elementary children. The strength of the book lies in the group activities and games. The group lessons lean more toward team and trust -building, which would be great in a classroom, church group or camp. As a children's yoga teacher, I was disappointed in the actual yoga content, but I'll keep it as a reference in case I need a filler activity.
As a mother of a preschooler and co-founder of YogAdventureKids, which provides yoga instruction exclusively for children, I found this book an invaluable resource early in my career for inspiring, fun ideas when I was teaching classes to my son and his friends at home in my living room. Teaching different age groups at various levels of experience can be difficult but Yoga Games for Children helped me to take a general outline and taylor it to the needs of each group. Because children develop physically and mentally in stages, it is essential to subdivide class themes according to age appropriateness. The same basic theme can be used to teach a four-year-old as would a twelve-year-old but the approach would be much different. This book addresses that point effectively. It also gives an appropriate time frame for each exercise. If you are a parent who wants to practice at home with your child, there is enough basic information to educate you about various poses and yoga theory in regards to teaching children. There are many books out there that explain how to perform different poses and the theory behind yoga, but what sets this book apart is the organization of theory and asana into whole ideas. It even tackles some difficult issues such as loss and separation. Some games last less than five minutes while others last up to an hour. You have the ability to tweak the classes as you choose, mix and match different games to form your own class, or do one that is completely laid out for you. It even gives recommendations for music to play that corresponds with certain class themes! I recommend this book to anyone who is not familiar with yoga for children it is a great starting point.
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If you are looking for a very serious yoga book, this is not the book for you. It contains very little "yoga theory" or any philosophy, etc. But if you are looking for fun and healthy ways to get your kids using yoga, this book would be very helpful.
Whether you are reading the book as a parent or as an educator, you will get lots of cute ideas on how to integrate yoga with even very young children [3 and up]. There are a whole lot of different activities including yoga poses that are child friendly, breathing awareness, relaxation, visualization, and games to build trust and team work.
I am finding this book very useful in designing a fun exercise class for preschool and younger elementary age children. I would recommend it without reservation.
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I was asked to teach a Kid's Yoga summer program. I wasn't sure where to start and didn't know if I could keep the children's interest. This book was a great resource. If you are a Yoga Teacher and new to teaching kids this book is a must. The kids loved the class and partially due to Yoga Games for Children.
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As a yoga teacher for children, I found the book a tremendous resource. It addressed topics to develop coping skills, including acknowledging grief and anger, and also focused on entertaining activities. The authors used many useful icons in order to specify which activities would be apropos for which age groups, whether the activity would be for small groups, pairs, or individuals, etc. The only concern I experienced while using the icons was the time frames, which were a little "optimistic". It is infinitely difficult to truly keep children focused for the time frames indicated. Overall, the book is definitely worth buying! One will use it over and over again to develop lesson plans and fresh new ideas.
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