Stand in a circle. The first person performs a pose of their choice. Everyone practices this pose and the second person adds another one. Everyone performs these two poses in order, then the third person adds a new, different pose to the chain. Continue on (working as a group to remember the order when necessary) until all students have had a chance to add a pose.
This is deceptively simple and definitely works the memory if you have a large class. With a small class, you may want to go around the circle twice. The teacher may have to prompt students who are having difficulty coming up with a new pose to add to the chain.
I often play this game when teaching the theme ‘The Pet Store’ where students choose animals that you would find at the pet store and we practice the associated pose.
Ball Pass
Sensory games are a fun way to improve a child’s ability to move the body as a whole and to integrate the senses. They are an enjoyable way to teach necessary social skills like teamwork, turn taking and verbal/non-verbal communication. Ball Pass also develops core and leg strength, balance, and co-ordination.
You will need a rubber spikey ball, beach ball, basketball-sized Nerf ball, or other soft ball that the feet can grasp.
Have everyone sit in a circle.
Pass the ball from person to person using only your feet! The person receiving the ball has to "catch” it with their feet, and so on around the circle.
Young children and children with adaptive needs may have poor muscle tone and have difficulty with this task. They can play by rolling the ball with their feet to the next person. The idea is to build core & leg strength rather than to pass and catch perfectly.
Encourage the children by saying "Just do your best! Lets have fun!”
Older children can play by "throwing” and "catching” (with feet) to anyone within the circle.
Expand the game (for children 6 and up) by pairing auditory processing with the movement much like musical chairs: play music while the ball is being passed. Randomly stop the music, and when the music stops, everyone has to "freeze” including the person with the ball. Music starts, play continues.
Increase difficulty and sensory processing by adding a second ball, possibly of a different size, weight, colour and texture, to be passed around the circle.
The game is over when time is up or children start getting distratcted.
Body Chalk Board
Body Chalk Board is a great way to increase body awareness and sensory perception. Learning to rely on touch alone is a challenging skill and helps to focus attention and improve mindfulness.This game is also fantastic for learning cooperation and communication skills. You may even want to try it with your teens to keep them connected to their body.
Divide group into pairs. Sitting in easy pose (sukhasana), often referred to as criss cross, with one partner in front of the other use your partner’s back as a chalk board. Using a finger draw numbers, shapes or letters of the alphabet on the ‘chalk board’. The person whose back is the ‘chalk board’ guesses what is being drawn. Wipe the ‘chalk board’ clean with flat palms from top to bottom or side to side before switching roles.
For more of a challenge send a message via the ‘chalk board’ that the person in front writes down letter by letter as it is received.
To encourage sensory development and awareness do the same thing using other parts of the body: stomach, soles of feet, palms of hands.
Do You Hear What I Hear
This game helps attune individuals to all the sounds in their environment. It is wonderfully versatile and can be played with one other person, a group, or all alone. In addition it builds concentration and memory. This game encourages open attention as it requires continual scanning of the environment. It is also a sensory game helping to focus on one sense at a time.
Gaint Yoga Board Game
Jump into a life sized yoga game packed with poses, meditations and practices that will enrich and empower while teaching turn taking and packed with fun. This game is ideal in large spaces, especially outside on a driveway or patio, as well as for kids yoga day camp, but will require some preparation time to layout the grid/game board (20 mins) . The fun factor is definitely worth the extra time. This is a fabulous way to incorporate numerous yoga concepts and practices into one activity and the players will love becoming the game pieces which move around the giant board.
Suggest to your ‘Negative Nelly’ (my apologies to all the positive Nelly’s out there) that they pay attention today/this week to moments that make them feel good and try to find five different ones. The moment might be a thought that inspires, a view that is lovely and makes them pause, an interaction with someone, etc. What it is doesn’t matter. What matters is that for at least a moment it made them feel good. You do the same. When you get together at the end of the day/in class next week, share your five good things with one another.
We do this as a family each evening, each person saying one thing at a time in a circle, and call it "Thankful For.” Often at the end of a full day the responses are, "I’m thankful for bed, pillows, sleep, etc.” When the offerings get generic and often repeated (my family, my friends, my home) we remind the kids to think of something specific from today (a trip to the park, the colours of the clouds at sunset, the taste of fresh picked berries, etc). We also occasionally switch it up by saying "If I were so-and-so (the family member to their right or left) I would be thankful for…” This is always an interesting exercise and prompts some insightful observations. It also helps teach children to think about others and what happened of importance in someone else’s life that day.
Using sidewalk chalk create an over-sized game board with squares that are at least 18″. Alternatively use carpet samples from carpet retailers who discard samples regularly. Create a game board using a circle, oval or figure eight: this makes it less competitive as there isn’t a start or finish. You will need double the number of squares as participants, minimum. If you have a class of 10 kids then your game will need at least 20 squares.
Make one or two over-sized dice out of cereal boxes, the bigger the better. Paint them white, or cover with white paper, and add dots. You can use one die if you have a smaller group or want to make a smaller game board. Using two dice requires a looping game board with 24+ squares.
You can vary the game squares according to age and ability of the players. Little ones will be happy playing and moving. Using photos clues (picture of a tree for tree pose) helps pre-readers and those with special needs. Older players will want more of a challenge.
Some suggestions for game squares include: poses – tree pose, warrior pose, mountain pose – standing poses work well as no mat is necessary create a pose chant ‘om’ trace a labyrinth color a mandala sun salutation draw a flower, tree, rainbow, superhero, etc. move forward 2 move backward 3 roll again chant "Sa Ta Ma Na" gratitude – write things you are thankful for in a notebook volcano, flower power or bunny breathing blow bubbles yoga card deck stuffed animal yoga Babar does yoga – I have a pose-able Babar figure that kids love to move into various asanas. Check out his vinyasa flow sequence. pebble pickup – pick up small rocks or marbles with your toes putting them into a container mindful eating – use raisins or other small, tasty, healthy, non-allergy snack singing bowl hoop yoga self massage – hand or foot massage works well eagle pose with a feather balance on a yoga block read a kids yoga book trivia challenge – various cards with yoga related trivia (Who is BKS Iyengar? What does ‘yoga’ mean? etc) question on one side, answer on the reverse. trade places with another player How to Play
To begin have every child stand on a different square. Choose an order for turns (youngest to oldest, whatever works). Whoever is first rolls the dice and moves the required number of squares. Once on the new square they perform the action. Child #2 takes their turn, followed by child #3, etc. I try to create squares which allow for the child to continue the action while everyone else has a turn so they don’t have too much down time or get bored while waiting. If two players land on the same square let them share and perform a bonus partner pose or bump one forward.
Play the game until children lose interest or time is up. Be sure to include time for savasana so that players are able to integrate and reflect upon their experience before sending them on their way. Everyone is a winner!
Five Good Moments This game teaches children and youth to pay attention to the events of each day and intentionally focus on the positives. It encourages paying close attention, living in the moment and appreciating all that life has to offer. Learning to pay attention to how different moments/events make us feel is an important skill leading to emotional intelligence, improved self understanding and greater compassion and empathy.
Suggest to your ‘Negative Nelly’ (my apologies to all the positive Nelly’s out there) that they pay attention today/this week to moments that make them feel good and try to find five different ones. The moment might be a thought that inspires, a view that is lovely and makes them pause, an interaction with someone, etc. What it is doesn’t matter. What matters is that for at least a moment it made them feel good. You do the same. When you get together at the end of the day/in class next week, share your five good things with one another.
We do this as a family each evening, each person saying one thing at a time in a circle, and call it "Thankful For.” Often at the end of a full day the responses are, "I’m thankful for bed, pillows, sleep, etc.” When the offerings get generic and often repeated (my family, my friends, my home) we remind the kids to think of something specific from today (a trip to the park, the colours of the clouds at sunset, the taste of fresh picked berries, etc). We also occasionally switch it up by saying "If I were so-and-so (the family member to their right or left) I would be thankful for…” This is always an interesting exercise and prompts some insightful observations. It also helps teach children to think about others and what happened of importance in someone else’s life that day.
Freeze Dance/Statues
Freeze Dance/Statues is a quick and easy one to use at the beginning or end of class. It helps kids to break free of constraints and let their inhibitions go. Integrating music into the yoga classroom is most natural. Choose music to correspond to the class theme or just something fun and upbeat. This activity will really get the heart rate up and increase the positive energy in the room.
Begin by reviewing a few suggested yoga poses. Mountain, Warrior, Eagle, Tree, Dancer, and other standing and balance poses work especially well with this activity as they are easy poses to assume when dancing around a room. Next turn on some music. Fun, up-tempo tunes work best. While the music plays everyone freestyle dances around the room. When the music stops everyone must freeze in a yoga pose…become a statue.
The teacher can then go around and provide adjustments or give suggestions on how to better perform the pose. Be sure to only do one or two students at a time as its hard to hold some poses for a long time, especially for kids who really want to be dancing. I generally praise creative poses or ones that are a little more difficult. Also one rule we follow is that you can’t do the same pose twice in a row – that’s the reason for reviewing a variety of poses at the beginning.
Heart’s Hide ’n Seek This game focuses on increasing intuition, awareness, and sensitivity to others and the environment. It also teaches about our senses and how heavily we rely upon the sense of sight. By playing Heart’s Hide ‘n Seek, children develop their sense of hearing and touch in order to navigate unharmed and locate their classmates.
Ask everyone to close their eyes and have them raise their arms out in front of them, reaching with their finger tips. They will slowly walk around, eyes closed, and try to feel for the other kid’s finger tips. The game is to be quiet, if they meet someone keep their eyes closed and don’t talk, they only touch gently. Can they feel the person’s energy through their fingertips? Then they can whisper "Hello” or "Namaste” and then move on to find someone else.
The teacher needs to watch the kids because everyone has their eyes closed. But it is fun to see if the kids can feel their way around the room without using their eyes. They can use their heart and intuition. Feel instead of see.
Many kids will have trouble keeping their eyes closed and being quiet, but it is still a fun challenge to try it and they can build up to going longer times. And it also has to be an empty room so the kids don’t get hurt.
Mirror, Mirror Mirroring is a great activity that increases attention to detail and communication skills. In fact, mirroring is a common human behavior which we adopt often without even being aware that we are doing it. For example, when someone we are talking with smiles, we smile in return. Mirroring may express itself in gestures, eye movements, facial expressions, body language, even choice of words and attitude. Mirroring as an exercise attunes us to various forms of non-verbal communication and helps us feel connected to those around us. This is not a new game and is often used in theatre games, but is just as effective as a yoga game.
In pairs, ask the children to copy one another. Stand facing your partner arms distance apart. The leader does an action slowly; their mirror mimics, trying to match them like a reflection. For example is the leader raises their right arm, the follower raises their left arm in the same manner. This is easier to do if you maintain eye contact and not look at extremities and if slow, smooth movements are used instead of abrupt ones. Feel free to call out various activities for them to mimic, such as: brushing teeth washing hair scratching their chin putting pants, shoes, or a shirt on needing to go pee climbing a ladder being sad, angry, surprised, hurt, thrilled, anxious, etc. practising Mountain pose, Tree pose, Warrior Pose
This is an exercise in co-operation and the leader should try as hard as the mirror to make their movements match. No trying to trick them. Continue on for a minute or more, then switch roles. Once students get good at doing this slowly, do it at normal speed, then quickly for those with really good reflexes.An advanced version of this game is not to designate a leader but simply tell the participants that they must continue mirroring each other. This final version is an exercise in co-operation and competition and may stimulate some interesting observations and conversations. Variations
Magnifying Mirrors: the leader keeps his gestures small, the mirror makes them bigger
Shrinking Mirrors: the opposite of the above, here the leader keeps his gestures large, the mirror makes them smaller
Opposites: Instead of matching right to left, participants use the same side of the body: leader raises right hand, mirror raises right hand. This leads to some interesting effects as participants can now move into each other’s space or change places as they are not inhibited by the imaginary mirror which acts as an invisible barrier.
Opposites When teaching children yoga you always need a number of yoga games at your disposal. This one is particularly useful because it can be used at the beginning or end of a yoga session, or developed into an entire class. It is also useful as a language arts tool to discuss opposites. Journaling about how the various poses generate different feelings and reactions can prove especially insightful.
Have students come into a familiar pose. Then ask them to practice the ‘opposite’ pose.
Don’t tell them what the opposite pose is but instead invite them to make a pose that seems to have an opposite quality. You may find that students may flip a pose upside down, turn an active pose into a passive pose, or perform an actual yoga counter pose.
Be prepared for interesting personal interpretation. Performing 4-6 poses in a row in this manner is a great exercise and really gets the creative juices flowing.
Rowing in Unison
When teaching children yoga you always need a number of yoga games at your disposal. This is a wonderful listening game that helps to increase attention span and focus. It is quick and easy to do and helps to get everyone ready for what is coming next. In addition it develops co-ordination and an understanding of moving with the breath.
Everyone sits on the floor. When the teacher says ‘toes’, reach forward (on an inhale), and ‘back’, lean back (on an exhale), making a long rowing motion in between. Everyone follows in unison. Once you have a nice rhythm going, start to switch up the order to see if everyone is listening. This usually will create a few laughs and maybe an ‘oops’ or two from those not paying attention.
Choose a new caller from the group and repeat if you want to provide opportunities for leadership building.