Let’s Go on a Winter Yoga Adventure

In keeping with the Winter theme, this week my preschoolers and I went on a Winter Yoga Adventure! 

After our first major snow storm of the year, my students were eager to share their favorite winter activities and how they PLAYed in the snow while they were home from school! When I asked the children what they love to do in winter, there was so much excitement and so many great answers.  I wanted them to have the opportunity to enjoy these activities together as a class (indoors, of course)!  As a Warmup, we did the WINTER POKEY from Mr. Jones Sing Along! They loved it!! We all had a blast singing, laughing and twirling around. After all that spinning, we were a little dizzy, so we all took a rest lying on the floor with our eyes closed.  I had the children breathe in and feel the energy they had created in our warm up, and calm their bodies with the breath. 

We were now ready to go on our Winter Yoga Adventure.  We got on our imaginary sleds (our YOGA MATS) and went up and down hills through the snow…WHEEEEE!!!!

Then, one by one, the children picked one WINTER ACTIVITY or YOGA POSE to do with the class.

They all worked together to build and dress a SNOWMAN and then we held hands and circled around him singing Frosty the Snow Man.  We had a blast having a snowball fight, ice skating, decorating the Christmas Tree (TREE POSE) and stretching to put the STAR on top, playing Leap Frog (FROG POSE) in the snow, doing some of our favorite YOGA POSES, warming up with VOLCANO BREATH and drinking our hot chocolate by the fire while singing some Christmas songs!

For SAVASANA, we made SNOW ANGELS. at first flapping our “angel wings” and then slowly becoming STILL.  I guided them on a winter visualization where they were lying in bed watching the glistening snow falling outside their window and the stars twinkling in the sky, as they drifted off…then slowing bringing them out of relaxation by turning over to the side and  hugging their knees into their chest, as they snuggled under their cozy covers, resting in that peaceful place where there minds and bodies were completely still.  

Some of my favorite theme classes are the simplest…where all you need is a child’s imagination to have a whole lot of FUN!