Bring the fall season to your home, classroom, or studio!
Our leaves are turning yellow and orange. The temperatures are dropping. The apples and pears are ready to be picked. The squirrels and chipmunks are dashing around, collecting acorns. The pumpkins are filling the open fields with bright spots of orange. There’s talk of Halloween costumes. We are reading fall books at bedtime. Fall is definitely here!
Explore the fall season by having discussions, reading books, and doing related kids’ activities and art projects. Take the learning further by using breathing techniques and yoga poses. Brain research shows that adding movement to the children’s learning experience stimulates their thinking, ultimately making learning more fun and effective.
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September Theme: FALL
Our eleventh theme is “fall.”
Welcome back to our monthly “Easy Yoga-Easy Spanish” theme project with our friends at Spanish Playground. These simple monthly plans give you one thing to focus on each month so it’s easier to bring the benefits of yoga to your children.
We have put together a monthly theme post that includes:
- one breathing technique
- one focus yoga pose
- a three-pose flow sequence
- one focus yoga book
- Spanish-integration ideas
- links to other “fall” resources
The “FALL” FOCUS BREATH is flying bird breath.
Practicing the flying bird breath is a great opportunity to combine breath and movement. Children use their bodies to pretend to fly like a bird and sync their breaths with the movement.
To practice flying bird breath, come to standing comfortably in Mountain Pose. Close your eyes, if that feels comfortable, or gaze gently down in front of you. Take a few deep breaths to calm your mind and body. Come to the present moment. Breathe in and out through your nose with your mouth closed.
Imagine being a bird flying through the sky. On your next inhale, lift your arms over your head, touching your palms together. Then on an exhale, bring your arms back down to your sides, touching your palms to your outer thighs. Continue this flow for a few minutes: arms up as you inhale, arms down as you exhale. Then, when you are ready, come back to Mountain Pose, open your eyes, and breathe naturally.
This breathing technique can be found in the Yoga 4 Classrooms card deck.
The “FALL” FOCUS YOGA POSE is Warrior 3 Pose.
Start by standing tall in Mountain Pose. Then shift your weight to stand on one leg. On an inhale, slowly bend your torso forward and squeeze your shoulder blades together while extending your arms and the other leg behind you. Gaze at the floor in front of your foot. Flex your foot so that your toes are pointing at the ground. Elongate your neck and straighten your spine so that a straight line runs from your head to your foot. Ensure that your hips are parallel to the ground. Take your arms out to the side and imagine you are a bird flying through the sky. You can also try flapping your “wings” (your arms). Come out of the pose on an exhale, lowering your leg to the ground. Take a few deep breaths. Switch sides and repeat the steps.
The “FALL” FOCUS YOGA FLOW is Warrior 3 Pose, Squat Pose, and Child’s Pose.
1. WARRIOR 3 POSE – pretend to be a bird flying south for the winter.
Stand on one leg. Extend the other leg behind you. Bend your torso forward,
take your arms out to the side, and flap your arms like a bird’s wings.
2. SQUAT POSE – pretend to be a squirrel collecting acorns.
Come down to a squat and pretend to collect acorns like a squirrel.
3. CHILD’S POSE – pretend to be a pumpkin in a pumpkin patch.
Come down to sit on your heels, slowly bring your forehead down to rest in front of your knees, rest your arms down
alongside your body, and take a few deep breaths. Imagine you are a pumpkin in the field.
Images from Trish’s Fall Photography
You can flow gently over and over through these three poses. Talk to your children about what else you might see or do during the fall months. Invent your own fall yoga poses or check out our Yoga Poses for Kids page for inspiration.
Throughout the month, you could use these three autumn-inspired yoga poses as a base and add other autumn yoga poses or breathing techniques to extend the children’s learning. Follow their interests and needs. You will know if their yoga experience should be more calming or if they need something more dynamic and active to help release their pent-up energy. Check out our other autumn yoga sequences listed below, as well.
The “AUTUMN” FOCUS YOGA BOOK is Trish’s Fall Photography.
Trish’s Fall Photography was inspired by our new home in New England, a place where people from all the world travel to visit during the fall season to see the colorful trees, pick apples, attend fall festivals, and eat apple cider donuts. This story follows a girl named Trish and her father as they travel around their local neighborhood, taking pictures of the signs of fall. Readers will act like a tree, kite, and pumpkin as they learn about the fall season.
Quick and easy monthly kids yoga ideas!
To spark your imagination, each monthly theme includes one breathing technique, one focus yoga pose, a three-pose flow sequence, and one focus yoga book. This 55-page eBook is for teachers, parents, kids yoga teachers, caregivers, and health practitioners looking for simple, convenient ways to add yoga into your curriculum, classes, or home life. Age group: Toddlers to Early Primary, ages 3 to 8.
“Great resource for children’s yoga teachers, preschool teachers, classroom teachers, and parents.” – Anita
Check out our Fall Yoga Cards for Kids
Pretend to feel the raindrops from Fall showers, to pick pumpkins and to watch the bears prepare to sleep in their dens!
Instantly download these 53 Fall Yoga digital yoga cards to learn through movement in your home, classroom, or studio. Includes an Index Card, Yoga Tips, Pose Instructions, 20 Yoga Pose Cards, and 20 matching Fall cards.
Spanish and Yoga “Fall” Activities
Check out these links below from Spanish Playground and Kids Yoga Stories for your celebration of the fall season:
|20 Autumn Activities||Autumn Yoga|
|Autumn Coloring Page|
Other Easy Spanish-Easy Yoga Themes
Click on the links below to see the other easy yoga ideas in our monthly theme series:
November: Gratitude Yoga
December: Kindness Yoga
January: Winter Yoga
February: LOVE Yoga
March: Spring Yoga
April: Earth Yoga
May: Animal Yoga
June: Summer Yoga
July: Rainforest Yoga
August: Beach Yoga
Other Fall-Themed Links
Check out these links below for other fall-themed activities for children:
Autumn Yoga Poses for Kids, Study at Home Mama
Fall-themed Yoga Poses for Kids, Pink Oatmeal
Act of Kindness for Fall, All Done Monkey
40 Activities for Fall, The Educators’ Spin On It
Fall Color Word Book, The Educators’ Spin On It
Learning about Leaves through the Senses, The Inspired Treehouse
9 Motor Activities for a Fall Hike, The Inspired Treehouse
“A Fall Day” Relaxation Story in Imaginations 2 Book, Bambino Yoga
180 Fall Crafts, Kids Activities Blog
25 Fall Books with Crafts to Match, No Time for Flashcards
Pumpkin Spice Yoga, Bambino Yoga
Fall Yoga, Full of Joy Yoga
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