Category: Storytime

My library has been on a health kick. We ended January with a health festival that included zumba classes, salsa instruction, and more fresh food and fruit than you could possibly imagine. We were packed, had hundreds of people in and out all day, and really got the word out that staying healthy is a process – but a fun one. I decided to do my part, and had a yoga storytime this past Saturday, and I was delighted to have a good turnout and that the parents were really into it!

I have to give huge thanks to both Storytime Katie and the Yogibrarian, both of whom had yoga storytimes that I used to guide me as I put together my yoga storytime. Here’s how it went:

Hello song!
Hello, my friends, Hello!
Hello, my friends, Hello!
Hello, my friends, Hello, my friends,
Hello, my friends, Hello!

Song: This is Yoga (to the tune of Frere Jacques)
This is yoga, this is yoga,
Om, sweet Om, Om, sweet Om, (hands in Namaste – prayer – position)
Sitting and stretching, (sit criss cross applesauce)
Twist and turn (twist to one side),
Om, sweet, om, Om, sweet, om, (hands in Namaste – prayer – position)
Repeat, and stretch to the other side!

Story: From Head to Toe, by Eric Carle
This was a great warm-up story for the kids. We stretched our necks like giraffes, beat our chests like gorillas, and waved our arms like monkeys. The kids had a great time, the parents had a great time, and we laughed and called out animals names the whole time, to keep the interactivity high.

Story: You Are a Lion!, by Taeeun Yoo
This is such a fun book! The book uses actual animal-inspired yoga poses and invites readers to channel the animal to complete the pose. We stuck our tongues out like lions, flapped our thighs like butterflies, and slithered like snakes. I would definitely use this book again. The end of the book features all the poses, for anyone interested in doing an asana series. Encouraging the kids to make animal sounds while breathing into the poses was a hit, too.

We sang a few songs to keep in the spirit of the books and postures we just learned. I encouraged the kids to prowl like lions, to stretch their upper backs, and we had a nice, loud ROAR! at the end. The kids loved the suspense of not roaring the first two times we repeated the rhyme, too!

Song: “Lion Prowl” (by Debbie Clement: http://www.songsforteaching.com/debbieclement/lionprowl.htm)
Lion, lion prowls through the jungle.
Lion, lion stalks the jungle floor.
Lion, lion prowls throughout the jungle.
Lion, lion listen for that roar: (silence)
Lion, lion prowls through the jungle.
Lion, lion stalks the jungle floor.
Lion, lion prowls throughout the jungle.
Lion, lion listen for that roar: (silence)
Lion, lion prowls through the jungle.
Lion, lion stalks the jungle floor.
Lion, lion prowls throughout the jungle.
Lion, lion listen for that roar: Rrrrrrrrrroarrrrrr!

For “Flutter Flutter Butterfly”, we got back into our butterfly yoga poses and gently moved our thighs up and down to mimic the butterfly’s wings. Some kids wanted to flap their arms, too. We had the space, they enjoyed themselves, it was great. 

Song: “Flutter Flutter Butterfly” (Tune: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star)
Flutter, flutter, butterfly,
Floating in the deep blue sky,
Floating by for all to see,
Floating by so merrily,
Flutter, flutter, butterfly,
Floating in the deep blue sky.

We sang our goodbye song (just like the hello song, but replace Hello with Goodbye!), and finished up to go color. The storytime was a success and I’m already looking at more yoga picture books for more yoga storytimes!