African Animals Yoga
Welcome to the fifth post in our monthly series co-hosted by Spanish Playground: Learn Spanish and Kids Yoga through Books. The Kids Yoga Stories blog features a book on a particular theme along with matching yoga sequences. On the Spanish Playground site, you’ll find other fun, creative activities to go along with the book. This month’s theme is AFRICAN ANIMALS.
In our next yoga story, we visit Africa! This counting Safari book titled 123 African Safari is currently in production and should be available in the next few months. I thoroughly enjoyed researching Africa to write this yoga book. I’ve always dreamed of visiting this magnificent continent. I hope to take my family on a Tanzanian Safari trip one day. Until then, we can read books and act out the African animals through yoga poses for kids.
After I finished writing the Africa safari yoga book, I found We All Went on Safari by Laurie Krebs (published by Barefoot Books) at our local secondhand bookshop. I love the rhyming text and delightful painted illustrations. This book is also available in Spanish.
This post contains an Amazon affiliate link.
African Animals and Kids Yoga
Below, you’ll find six African animals paired up with a yoga pose and a brief description. Ask your children to invent yoga poses to go along with the other four animals in the book. If they can think of other African animals that aren’t in the book, have them create poses for those, too! Encourage their creativity and movement without focusing on perfectly aligned poses. Bring out your African animal figurines, stuffed animals, puzzles, or anything else that will get you in the mood. Enjoy your African adventure!
We All Went on Safari
African Animals Yoga Sequence
1.Pretend to be a Giraffe – Extended Mountain Pose
(Stand tall in Mountain Pose, look up, and reach your arms up to the sky, bringing the palm of your hands together.
Pretend that you are a giraffe eating leaves from a tall tree.)
2. Pretend to be an Ostrich – Dancer’s Pose
(Stand tall in Mountain Pose. Standing on your left leg, reach your right leg out behind you, place the outside of your right foot into your right hand, bend your torso forward with your left arm out in front for balance, and arch your leg up behind you.
Pretend that you are standing tall like an ostrich.)
3. Pretend to be an Elephant – Wide-Legged Standing Forward Bend
(From Mountain Pose, step your feet out wide, bend your upper body, clasp your hands together, and
sway your arms like an elephant trunk.)
4. Pretend to be a Monkey – Squat Pose
(Come down to a squat and pat your chest like a monkey.)
5. Pretend to be a Leopard – Cat Pose
(On all fours, tuck your chin into your chest, round your back, and pretend to be a leopard.)
6. Pretend to be a Hippo – Child’s Pose
(Come to sit back 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. Pretend to rest in the river like a hippo.)
See the Kids Yoga Poses page for images and descriptions.
Our daughter doing the Giraffe Pose while visiting the zoo.
African Animals Kids Yoga Lesson Plans
Kids Yoga Stories African Kids Yoga Lesson Plan
Check Out Our African Safari Yoga Cards For Kids
EXPLORE THE SAVANNA THROUGH FUN AND SIMPLE YOGA POSES!
Pretend to be a giraffe, flamingo, and a bushbaby! Download these 52 African Safari 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 African Safari animal cards. The multicultural yoga kids are from seven countries. Ages 3+
Purchase African Safari Yoga Cards for Kids here.
African Safari Yoga Cards for Kids
Resources to Teach Children about Africa
Check out these resources from amazing mommy bloggers to learn more about Africa with your children:
Africa: Books for Kids, Culture, Interior Design and More, Pragmatic Mom
20+ African Folktales for Kids, What We Do All Day
Three Books for Lemur Lovers, Kid World Citizen
Anansi Stories, Kid World Citizen
Map the Book, “Africa is NOT a Country”, Kid World Citizen
Explore South Africa through Children’s Books, Kid World Citizen
Introduce Kids to Nobel Peace Prize Winner, Wangari Maathai, Kid World Citizen
Introduce Life in Ethiopia through Children’s Books, Kid World Citizen
Nelson Mandela for Kids, Kid World Citizen
Africa for Kids: Preschool Homeschool, Mud Hut Mama
African Animals Folktales and Fables, Squishable Baby
Animals, Books, and Food from Africa, Crafty Moms Share
Exploring Geography: Kenya and Maasai People, Mama Smiles
Exploring Geography: Ethiopia, Mama Smiles
Exploring Geography: Malawi, Mama Smiles
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Get Updates from Kids Yoga Stories
We hope that you enjoyed these African Animals yoga poses. To find out about other thematic yoga sequences, join our weekly Kids Yoga Stories newsletter by adding your name and email to the box at the top of the page.
Spanish Language Activities for African Animals Book
Visit Spanish Playground for language activities to go with Nos fuimos todos de safari by Laurie Krebs and Julia Cairns. Activities include rhyming words, counting items, predicting the story, and illustration study. The suggested activities could be done in English, as well.
Join us next month for kids yoga, Spanish, and zoo animal stories. Check out our schedule for the year:
2013-2014 Spanish and Kids Yoga Monthly Book Themes
August: Bill Martin Jr
September: Latin America
October: Bedtime
November: Australia
December: Farm
February: Africa
March: Zoo
April: World
May: Ocean
June: Asia
