Books That Heal Kids: yoga

Showing posts with label yoga. Show all posts
Showing posts with label yoga. Show all posts

Book Review: Yoga Friends and Yoga Cards for Children

Authors: Mariam Gates & Rolf Gates
Illustrator: Sarah Jane Hinder

From the Book Jacket: From the creators of Good Night Yoga and Good Morning Yoga comes a beautifully illustrated adventure that introduces children to the delights and benefits of partner yoga. Perfect for teaming up with a friend, sibling, parent, or caregiver, each easy practice shows how cooperation helps us to imagine, move, and have fun in a whole new way. 

Why It's On My Bookshelf: I have been trying to explore more ways to do Yoga Groups in my school counseling program and teaching kids to do partner yoga seems like a fun way to boost lessons and engagement from kids. It would be a great way to teach cooperation, empathy, and perseverance. The authors always put a visualization activity in the end of their books and this time they included an activity called Mirror Me for yoga partners. Absolutely love this book and it will be a great introductory read for my groups. 


Yoga for Children Yoga Cards
by Lisa Flynn Founder of ChildLight Yoga and Yoga 4 Classrooms

About This Resource: This interactive deck includes more than 50 cards featuring Mindful Me mindfulness activities, Time to Breathe breathing exercises, Strike a Pose yoga poses, and Rest & Relax relaxation exercises. Together, you'll learn the many benefits of the various activities while strengthening your connection with your child. Complete with full-color, easy-to-follow photographs, Yoga for Children - Yoga Cards will help you teach your child to be more resilient, confident, and calm - on  yoga session at a time. Help your kids de-stress, get healthy, and have fun!

Why It's On My Bookshelf: So excited to add these cards to my Yoga Groups, Classroom Lessons, and my Calming Corner. I have been in major need of better visuals when I am teaching Mindfulness and Yoga with students. It's also given me some better ideas on poses and activities to use.  These will be easy to incorporate into my program and I'd like to even frame a few to use in my calming corner. 

One of the cards I am really excited about is the Rest with Breathing Buddies. This is an activity I have taught before using a stuffed beanie/animal. Watch the video below to see the exercise in practice:



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Book Review: I Am Peace - A Book of Mindfulness

Author: Susan Verde
Illustrator: Peter H. Reynolds

From the Book Jacket: I give myself a moment. I take a breath. And then I tell myself: It's alright. I am Peace. Mindfulness means being fully in the present moment. Children can learn how to manage their emotions, make good choices, and balance their busy lives by learning to be mindful. Express emotions through speech. Find empathy through imagination. Wonder at the beauty of the natural world. I Am Peace encourages children to breathe, taste, smell, and be present in the here and now. 

Why It's On My Bookshelf: This year I used this book in a small group setting to teach students how to regulate using positive self talk when they are feeling anger or anxiety. We also created affirmations that help students reframe and transform the negativity they are feeling. I had a couple of teachers in my school who created corners in their room students could use for relaxation and calming. So this book came in handy to help encourage kids to use those spaces to practice techniques and skills to help them be happier in the classroom and not feel like they need to avoid or escape. 

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Book Review: Yoga Bunny

Author/Illustrator: Brian Russo
Interest Level: Ages 4 and Up

From the Book Jacket: It's a perfect day for yoga, and Bunny is practicing his poses and wishes his friends would do yoga with him! But Lizard is too tired, Fox is in a rush, and Bird has the hiccups. Will Bunny ever be able to get his friends to slow down and realize that yoga just might be the solution to their problems?

Book Trailer:

Why It's On My Bookshelf: I thought this was going to be another book showing kids how to do yoga poses but it was much more than that. It's about how yoga is an important tool and how helpful it can be to calm the body and mind when you are feeling angry, anxious, or down. It reminded me to not rush into yoga poses with kids but to first enlighten them on how it can help them overcome something challenging they might be feeling. Yoga Bunny will be the first book I read when teaching kids about yoga. 

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Book Review: Good Morning Yoga - a pose-by-pose wake up story


Author: Mariam Gates
Illustrator: Sarah Jane Hinder
Interest Level: Ages 4 and Up

From the Book Jacket: Calm and awake, "I can do this!" is all I need to say. A deep breath in, a long breath out - I am ready for the day! This "wake up" story is so much more than a story. It's a practice for kids and parents to greet the morning with joy and embark on their daily adventures with intention and confidence. Turn the page and reach up to the sky, press your feet into the earth, and get ready for a great day!





Why It's On My Bookshelf: We already own Good Night Yoga so we were happily surprised to see a new edition. My daughter learned twelve new poses and I love the continued emphasis on taking deep breaths. Our favorite thing about the book is the visualization story called 'How I Want to Feel Today.' I can see an absolute difference in behavior when we use these books. They are empowering, interactive, and teaches yoga in a fun way. It's been a wonderful way to get ready for our day. 

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Book Review: You Are a Lion! And Other Fun Yoga Poses



Author/Illustrator: Taeeun Yoo
Interest Level: Ages 3 and Up


From the Book Jacket: Go ahead. Take a deep breath. And become... A LION. And roar in the jungle! A BUTTERFLY. And flap your wings! A FROG. And hop! With simple instructions and bright, clear illustrations of playful animal poses, celebrated New York Times Best Illustrator Taeeun Yoo introduces young children to the joy of yoga. 

Yoga is great for kids because it promotes flexibility and focus - and it's fun! It might even calm the beast in your little one. So breathe deeply and enjoy!

Book Trailer:


Why It's On My Bookshelf: One of my goals this year was to introduce more Yoga into my lessons. This book is definitely helping me reach this goal. Kids love it. The illustrations are awesome and show the kids exactly what the pose looks like along with an animal in the same position. We've read this book so many times that now I can just call out the pose and they know what to do. Fantastic resource!!

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Book Review: Good Night Yoga: A Pose-By-Pose Bedtime Story

About This Book: Kids love yoga—and it’s great for them, so much so that the President’s Council has added the practice to the fitness activities in the annual President’s Challenge. For parents and caregivers looking for a fun and effective new routine for bedtime, innovative educator Mariam Gates presents Good Night Yoga, a playful yet wholly practical book for preparing for sleep.


This beautifully illustrated, full-color book tells the story of the natural world as it closes down for the night, while teaching children a simple flow of yoga postures inspired by their favorite characters from nature. Moving from “Sun Breath” to “Cloud Gathering” to “Ladybug & Butterfly” and more, readers learn techniques for self-soothing, relaxing the body and mind, focusing attention, and other skills that will support restful sleep and improve overall confidence and well-being.
Preview: 
Why It's On My Bookshelf: We've been reading and doing these poses at home as we wind down for bed - absolutely love it! Illustrations are spot on and the different yoga postures are easy to do. I'd love to try and figure out how to incorporate this into the school setting. Maybe even just showing the kids in different positions would be a great way to introduce movement and breathing into the classroom. I'd love to see another book like this called 'Good Morning Yoga'! I highly recommend this one for your bookshelf at home and school. 





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Book Review: The Secret of Saying Thanks

Author: Douglas Wood
Illustrator: Greg Shed
Interest Level: Ages 5 and Up

About This Book: With a gentle, assured tone and graceful phrasing, Wood shares a life lesson sure to inspire: that true happiness lies in giving thanks and appreciating all there is to be thankful for. Addressing readers directly, the author suggests that everyone learns this secret in their own way and own time. "Maybe you'll first find the secret/ in your own home/ sitting around a table with people you love..."; "You might discover the secret at dawn,/ a morning like all other mornings." In this same fashion he creates a descriptive catalogue of many of the simple gifts to be treasured, from a warm hand to hold, to a cool breeze or singing bird. The spiritual notes rung here, and a brief mention of "your bedtime prayer," should prove applicable to a broad readership of many faith traditions. Shed's airy oil paintings depict a girl and her dog exploring and experiencing their outdoor surroundings on a sunny spring day in the country. The skillful play of light and shadow in his work adds depth to the soft-edged portraits. -Publishers Weekly

Why It's On My Bookshelf: After I had taken my first Yoga Calm class, I wanted to find a book to help students find their own inner calm and have positive thinking. Somehow I stumbled upon The Secret of Saying Thanks and I'm so glad I bumped into it. 

Read this little excerpt:
"The heart that gives thanks is a happy one, 
for we cannot feel thankful and unhappy at the same time. 
The more we say thanks, the more we find to be thankful for. 
And the more we find to be thankful for, the happier we become."  

Wow! Aren't those the types of words and thoughts we want filling our kids minds throughout the school day!?! It is so APPARENT to me when their minds are filled with goodness you see the results during their day. I see more smiles, cooperation, and kindness.

I sort of winged an activity and asked students to find a comfortable resting spot. I used the Hoberman Sphere to help students find their breathing. Introducing the concept of gratitude before I read also helped kids focus their thoughts on being thankful. I just knew if I had everyone in front of me sitting "criss cross apple sauce", I would lose them. When we re-gathered to talk about gratitude - there was a really good calm energy in the air. Words revolved around who and what they were thankful for. And they weren't thankful for material stuff, their gratitude was aimed at what really matters in life, each other. If you are looking for a book to help kids meditate, relax, and have positive thinking - try this one. I absolutely love The Secret of Saying Thanks.

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