Halloween Yoga and Mindfulness!
I love October š I love the weather, the cozy vibes, the changing leaves, and of course, Halloween! Which means that this monthās yoga classes for little yogis are full of fun and spooky music, games, and storiesā¦ and Iād love to share some of those with you!
Movement & Mindfulness
First up, a fun monster movement chant to start classes with! When I worked in elementary schools, I also used this chant as a brain break and when we were stuck waiting in line. I didnāt come up with it, and am not sure who to give credit to, but have amended it a bit for monster season š§
Monster, monster spin around. Monster, monster stomp the ground! Monster, monster show your claws. Monster, monster chomp your jaws! Clap two times - one, two. Take a deep breath, and shout BOO! Spin around, stomp the ground, show your claws, chomp your jaws! Clap two times - one, two. Take a deep breath, and shout BOO! Now touch your kneesā¦ and sit down please!
I love to start by asking kids to show me their monster faces and give me a monster roar! You can also repeat the chant and movements a few times, maybe going faster and then slowing it back down. Slow motion monsters always get giggles!!
Many common games can be easily adapted for fall and Halloween classes! Here are some of my favorites:
Simon Says becomes Wizard Says: This is extra fun if you have a magic wand that you can wave around as you give commands!
Red Light, Green Light becomes Spooky Forest: The person who is āitā is a human in a spooky forest. They stand at one end of the room, with their back facing everyone else. The other children are monsters, slowly creeping closer! When the human turns around, they must freeze like spooky trees!
Freeze Dance becomes a Monster Party when you use our spooky playlist, linked below!
Help children use a pretty fall leaf and their 5 senses to practice being mindful!
I know what youāre thinking, and no, Iām not about to suggest letting children eat leaves š They will have to rely on their imagination for that one! For the other senses, though, exploring a fall leaf is the perfect way to explore mindfulness. If you donāt have access to an outdoor space during your class, be sure to collect enough leaves for everyone beforehand. If you do have access, and the weather is nice enough, it can be wonderful to take your class outside!
Using our eyes: ask children to spend a certain amount of time gazing quietly at their leaf. Ask them to notice any colors, patterns, edges, spotsā¦ anything they could possibly see! And then invite them to each share something they noticed about their leaf. (Side note - you could easily slip in something about celebrating the beauty in our differences here!)
Using our sense of touch: invite children to feel every little pit of their leaves, noticing all of the different textures and outlining its shape.
Using our ears: what does the leaf sound like if youāre holding it still? If itās waving through the air? If you scratch it gently? If youāre OK with a bit of a mess, you could even invite students to tear or crumble their leaves.
Using our noses: how does the leaf smell? Do the parts that have been torn or crumbled smell any different?
Our sense of taste: again, I donāt recommend tasting your leaves! But, you could ask kids to imagine what they would taste like, based on their smell and texture, or if the leaves remind them of any other foods that we can eat, and what those foods taste like.
Music
Iāve created a playlist on Spotify that is full of fun Halloween music. Youāll find songs that lend themselves well to guided movement, high-energy songs great for freeze dance, and soft calming songs for relaxation and savasana.
Halloween Songs for Kids! š»
Here are a few of my favorites:
Bitty Bitty Bat by Stephanie Leavell
Ghost Song by Miss Julieann
Dragon Hunt by Bari Koral
The Shivers by Levity Beet
Spooky Spooky Spooky by Caspar Babypants
Donāt Hide Your Magic by Emily Arrow
Books
Iāve organized these from more simple to more complex. Itās not an exact science! But if youāre in a hurry, the first books will be better for pre-school aged children and the later ones for elementary š
Some Monsters are Different by David Milgrim - celebrates and honors the fact that we are all different!
Eat Pete! by Michael Rex - a monster discovers itās more fun to play with friends than to eat them. This was my favorite for story time classes this month.
Moonlight the Halloween Cat by Cynthia Rylant - see Halloween night through a catās eyes!
Halloween Mice! by Bethany Roberts - a group of Halloween mice celebrates Halloween.
Just Say Boo! by Susan Hood - when you encounter things that seem scary on Halloween, just say boo!
There Was An Old Monster by Rebecca, Adrian, and Ed Emberley - a silly classic.
The Little Ghost Who Lost Her BOO! Elaine Bickell - a ghost searches for her ābooā, listening to the sounds of other creatures and eventually getting help from the little one reading this book!
Go to Sleep, Little Creep by David Quinn - a sweet, monster bedtime story.
Ghosts in the House! by Kazuno Kohara - discover how a young witch gets rid of the ghosts in her house!
How to Build a Haunted House by Frank Tupta - monsters work together to build a new house for a family of vampires!
First Night of Howlergarten by Bensom Shum - a young werewolf faces her fears about fitting in at school.
Leila the Perfect Witch by Flavia Drago - a witch who is used to being the best learns that learning something new and having fun is even better than winning.
