Mix It Up with Movement Stories

You have your kids seated for story time, their hands are criss-cross applesauced in their lap and two pages in they’re wide-eyed with wonder. By the fifth page, that wonder wanders and now you’re spending more time redirecting than telling a story. What happened? Story time became boring, but here’s how you can keep them engaged from cover to cover, using kids yoga, movement and play!

Consider incorporating yoga poses at the turn of every page. See a dog? Do downward dog! See a garden? Try a flower pose! Connect movement to the story and create a multi-sensory experience while reading.

If your yoga pose knowledge is limited, make up your own poses. Have kids reach up to the sky to demonstrate a tall building, or curl up like a grain of sand on a beach.

At a loss for ideas? Take a simple word and show children how to spell it out with their bodies. Extra points for using a partner!

Take opportunities to pause the story and play a movement based game before coming back for more. What Time is it Mr. Wolf is a good example and ties in with many children’s stories.

Make story time about more than just listening. Use it as an opportunity to explore movement, sound and expression to engage as many senses as possible! That’s how we make stories memorable, and instill a love of reading in everyone!

Lisa Clarke is a Registered Yoga Teacher who specializes in Children and Family Yoga. Her mission is to instill a love of mindful movement in the young and young at heart through her company laLa Wellness. You can check out her YouTube channel for weekly kids yoga and mindfulness videos, and connect with her at lisa@lalawellness.ca. She’d love to hear about how these tips helped you turn story time into movement time!