Storytime: Yoga

Books

Good Morning Yoga by Mariam Gates

You are a Lion! by Taeeun Yoo

Little Yoga by Rebecca Whitford

I am Yoga by Susan Verde

The ABCs of Yoga for Kids by Teresa Anne Power

Yoga Bunny by Brian Russo

Another in my backlog of drafts. I am so glad to finally get this one posted!

Full disclosure: I am not at all a certified yoga instructor. I've taken some yoga classes and that's about it. Some library systems may take issue with doing a "yoga" storytime without certification. I posted about this storytime on Storytime Underground and when others brought up this concern, Andrea, who runs the Yogilibrarian, suggested calling it "mindful movement" instead, which I think is a brilliant idea if you have any concerns.

This storytime was so much fun! I honestly wasn't sure how yoga would go for storyime, but it was great! I had a stand to hold up the books while we were doing poses together. The kids responded really well to all the movement and poses. They especially loved You Are a Lion because we made animal sounds together along with doing the poses. I have since purchased this book for my permanent storytime collection so I'll always have it available to use! One of the older boys who came to my storytime this day was so into it that he was asking for yoga books to checkout after the storytime was over, which definitely makes it a success in my book!

Click read more for song and rhyme ideas for a yoga theme!

Songs and Rhymes

Action Song: “Extend and Stretch”

(Tune: Frere Jacques)

Extend and stretch (sit crisscross applesauce- and do seated side bends)
Extend and stretch
Twist and turn (seated twists)
Twist and turn
This is yoga, (hands overhead on “this,” then bring to prayer position on “yoga”)
This is yoga
Come and learn, (hands in prayer, bow forward)
Come and learn

Source: Modified from Yogilibrarian

Action Song: “Head Shoulder Knees and Toes”

Head and shoulders knees and toes

Knees and toes

Head and shoulders knees and toes

Knees and toes

Ad eyes and ears

And mouth and nose

Head and shoulders knees and toes

Knees and toes

Feet and tummies arms and chins

Arms and chins

Feet and tummies arms and chins

Arms and chins

And eyes and ears

And mouth and shins

Feet and tummies arms and chins

Arms and chins

Hands and fingers legs and lips

Legs and lips

Hands and fingers legs and lips

Legs and lips

And eyes and ears

And mouth and hips

Hands and fingers legs and lips

Legs and lips

Source: Kidsongs

Action Song: “Stick to the Glue”

(Tune: Skip to my Lou)

Stomping feet, one and two

Stomping feet, one and two

But if my feet were covered in glue

I’d stick to the glue, my darling.

Clapping hands, one and two

Clapping hands, one and two

But if my hands were covered in glue

I’d stick to the glue, my darling

(hands in Anjali mudra, or prayer position)

Source: Jim Gill

Transition Rhyme: “Tall and Small”

When I stretch out, my arms are wide (stretch out)

When I bring them in, I can hide (Hide behind hands)

Wide, wide, wide, wide (reach to sides)

Hide, hide, hide, hide (hide behind hands)

Now they’re by my side (stand straight)

When I stretch up, I feel so tall. (Reach high)
When I bend down, I feel so small. (Bend over)
Taller, taller, taller, taller. (Reach up high and higher.)
Smaller, smaller, smaller, smaller. (Get low on the floor)
Into a tiny ball. (Sit down)

Source: Perry Public Library

Flannelboards and Fingerplays

I did not do a flannelboard with this storytime because of how much more time we spent with each book doing poses. It could be fun to make flannels of different animals that represent a pose and put them up on the board for the kids to do. I might consider doing this as an activity for future storytimes, not just yoga ones! Mr. Keith of Felt-tastic Flannelboard Funtime recently posted an adorable flannelboard with some poses from Yoga Bunny. I will definitely consider something similar if I do this theme again!