Yoga Props and Books are essential teaching tools for kids yoga teachers.

I have written several posts about my favorite yoga props, books and music, but I realize that many teachers who are just starting out may have a limited budget, so I wanted to share with you some of the awesome props I found at my local Dollar Tree and Amazing Savings discount stores.  Yoga props do not need to be expensive to be FUN!

I’ve tried out all these props in my classes over the past few weeks and the children LOVE THEM!!

Of course, Books are my favorite yoga prop!

Books keep children engaged and eager to turn the page to find out what yoga poses they will meet in the story.  The 3 books pictured here worked with different ages.

The board book Hello Lion with the LION puppet attached was a big hit with my younger preschoolers (ages 2 to 3).  I pretended to make a deep lion voice as I read the book and they had fun doing the poses ELEPHANT, MONKEY, TREE, BUTTERFLY, SNAKE and of course the “King of the Jungle” LION!

Mommy, Where are You is also a fun book for preschoolers. It’s about a little MOUSE who wakes up and can’t find his mother.  Each page shows an illustration that appears to be the mouse’s mommy, but is actually another animal. We did the yoga poses of each animal or nature element in the book and the children really enjoyed the idea of guessing which character they would meet on the next page.

The last book was a fun, double-sided book! One side is called You are a Gift to the World and the other side, The World is a Gift to You.  The book is perfect for elementary school age children to reinforce the concept of our connection to the earth and being part of it all.  There are so many poses in the book and it is such a positive message for children to realize their own unique gift  and that the Earth provides so many gifts to us.

Stickers are a favorite prop because what child does not like stickers?

There are a wide variety of stickers available at the Dollar Store in the education aisle.   Children love being able to choose a sticker and lead the class in the yoga pose represented by the animal or object on the sticker.  Stickers are great for animal, nature or transportation theme classes!

Animal Picture Cards are a wonderful visual prompt for yoga.

The cards are an excellent way to teach yoga poses once the kids are familiar with animal and sea creature yoga poses.  Children can each get a turn to come pick a card and then the whole class does the pose together!

Stuffed Animals are another popular yoga prop for kids!

They are plentiful at the Dollar store and the kids love visuals, so they make a great prompt for yoga! You can have each child choose a stuffed animal or create an interactive  yoga story with the stuffies. Stuffed animal are great for relaxation too.  Place the toy on the child’s belly and pretend to give them a ride with your breath!

All these props cost me less than $16!

So, when you are on a budget, make a trip to your local dollar store and use your imagination to find some really awesome props for your classes!