My mom gave me the gift of yoga when I was a child growing up. And now I get to give my daughter the gift of yoga, too—this time, in the form of Mother’s Day yoga.  Parenting is hard. But it’s worth it in those magical moments when we’re in tune with our children, all our stresses and worries melt away, the to-do list can wait, and we get to just be together with our children.  The past few years have been a wildly intense emotional journey for me. I’ve learned a lot about myself, both good and bad. And I’m still learning how to better manage the challenges of parenting our incredibl ..read more

How do you engage both adults and children in a Family Yoga Class?  Family yoga comes with so many benefits, including: a special time for the family to bond and connect the tools to reduce stress and anxiety together a chance to promote flexibility, strength, balance, and a healthy lifestyle an opportunity to learn relaxation techniques a time for children to shine and show their parents their yoga skills laughter, exploration, and play – making longtime memories We’ve heard from our Kids Yoga Stories community that you would like to offer family yoga classes, however you are stuck on ..read more

Are you wondering how to successfully integrate yoga and mindfulness into your occupational therapy sessions (or any pediatric therapy session, for that matter), without having to completely transform your whole curriculum? Well, you’re not alone. We hear this question a lot from our Kids Yoga Stories community, so we sat down with Kym Sproule, a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA), to find out how she integrates yoga into her OT sessions. It was ten years ago that I first met Kym in Portland. As we sat on a wooden picnic bench next to the water (with my eighteen-month-old in tow ..read more

10 Sensory Path Ideas for Your School, to Help Students to Take a Brain Break, Get Wiggles Out, and Regulate Are you looking to create a sensory path in your school hallway, to help students to focus and self-regulate so that they are ready to learn?  We know how important it is for teachers and pediatric therapists to keep students engaged and focused to help them reach their social, emotional, and academic potential at school. However, keeping them focused for long periods can be challenging, especially when they’re feeling restless, anxious, or overwhelmed. That’s where sensory paths c ..read more

Are you looking to create a calm down corner in your classroom, to help students to focus and self-regulate so that they are ready to learn?  A calm down corner is a safe space within the classroom that students can use to relax, express themselves, and refocus if they become overwhelmed or emotional.  Many educators have found that calm down corners provide students with an outlet for managing their emotions in the classroom, rather than acting out or disrupting the learning environment.  Today, I would love to look at what goes into a creating a calm down corner and how it can ..read more

Yoga is often seen as a practice that promotes physical flexibility and mental well-being. But on our journey to improve ourselves, we can’t overlook the diverse needs of those around us.  To learn more about inclusive, accessible, and trauma-informed yoga practices in kids yoga classes, I spoke to experienced kids yoga teacher Larissa Noto of The Lovely Little Lotus Yoga.  The goal of our kids yoga classes is to make every individual feel seen, heard, and valued. That goal goes beyond the yoga mat and can teach us all a valuable lesson in empathy and understanding. 1-The Language of ..read more

Are you looking for yoga therapy ideas? You might have already discovered the benefits of integrating yoga into your therapy sessions. Integrating yoga into therapy sessions has been shown to increase: strength and flexibility body awareness, balance, and coordination attention and behavioral regulation cognitive skills and language development social skills As Claire and Lauren from The Inspired Treehouse say, “Teaching calming breathing and visualization techniques can empower all children – letting them know that they have tools they can use anytime and anywhere to calm their bodies and m ..read more

Every day is Earth Day! Each year on April 22nd, people from around the world come together to celebrate the annual event, Earth Day, to discuss, learn, and take action on ways to protect our planet.  A great way to honor this special day is through reading earth-friendly books and practicing Earth Day yoga poses for kids. This post contains Amazon affiliate links. Earth Day Books Prepare for your Earth Day celebrations by taking out your favorite earth-themed books from your bookshelf or head to the library.  A few of my favorites are: Compost Stew by Mary McKenna Siddals and Ashley ..read more

My daughter’s first grade teacher recently sent home a list of books on autism. One child in her grade has autism, and the classes are working together to build tolerance and awareness to this developmental disorder.  I worked with children with autism a few times during my years as a teacher, and I was particularly interested in this mental condition during my studies at university. My daughter and I once again went to library to take out all the books on the class list. I also asked a few of my kid blogger colleagues for their book recommendations. As we read these books about autism, e ..read more

My daughter is terrified of spiders! My husband has taught her to be afraid of spiders from his upbringing in Australia. With all the poisonous spiders in his homeland, the children are taught to stay away from spiders and to always check dark places before putting their hands inside. In contrast, growing up in Canada, I was taught to pick up spiders gently and take them outside. So I’m particularly taken aback by my child who freaks out about spiders! I see spiders as part of our ecosystem that need to be taken care of. So when we moved to New England, where our back yard is full of bugs and ..read more