Labor Day Yoga Poses for Kids: Inspired by Occupations
Back to School also means a day off with family to honor the economic and social contributions of workers in our communities for Labor Day. The United States Department of Labor defines this special day as:
“Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.”
What better way to celebrate this special holiday then through Labor Day Yoga. What occupations can you create yoga poses for?
The yoga sequence below is to spark your imagination, but feel free to use your creativity and create your own poses.
Labor Day Yoga Poses Inspired by Occupations
Celebrate these various occupations by acting out the matching keywords. The poses have been sequenced in a logical way, to invite flow from one pose to the next. Download your People Yoga Cards for Kids for twenty poses matching twenty occupations.
1. Pretend to be a Zoo Keeper.
Giraffe – Extended Mountain Pose
How to practice Extended Mountain Pose: stand tall in Mountain Pose, look up, and reach your arms up to the sky like the neck of the giraffe.
2. Pretend to be a Tree Planter.
Tree – Tree Pose
How to practice Tree Pose: stand on one leg, bend your knee, place the sole of your foot on your inner thigh, and balance. Sway like a tree.
3. Pretend to be a Dog Walker.
Dog – Downward-Facing Dog Pose
How to practice Downward-facing Dog Pose: step back to hands and feet with your buttocks high like an upside-down “V”, and bark like a dog.
4. Pretend to be a Professional Surfer.
Surfboard – Plank Pose
How to practice Plank Pose: come to a plank on your hands and toes like a surfboard.
5. Pretend to be a Farmer.
Cow – Cow Pose
How to practice Cow Pose: on all fours, look up, open your chest, and arch your back.
6. Pretend to be a Veterinarian.
Cat – Cat Pose
How to practice Cat Pose: On all fours, tuck your chin into your chest, and round your back.
7. Pretend to be a Train Driver.
Train – Staff Pose
How to practice Staff Pose: sit with a tall spine with your legs straight out in front of you, and use your hands to mimic the wheels of the train going around and around.
8. Pretend to be an Engineer.
Bridge – Bridge Pose
How to practiceBridge Pose: come to lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the ground, rest your arms down alongside your body, tuck your chin into your chest, and lift up your buttocks to create a bridge.
9. Pretend to be a Landscaper.
Flower – Flower Pose
How to practice Flower Pose: come to sit on your buttocks with a tall spine, lift up your legs, balance on your sitting bones, touch the soles of your feet together, and weave your arms under your legs. Pretend to be a landscaper caring for flowers.
10. Pretend to be a Librarian.
Book – Cobbler’s Pose
How to practice Cobbler’s Pose: sit on your buttocks with a tall spine, bend your legs, place the soles of your feet together, and gently move your legs and pretend to be a librarian flipping the pages of a book.
11. Pretend to be a Pediatrician.
Baby – Happy Baby Pose
How to practice Happy Baby Pose: lie on your back with your chin tucked in, hug your knees into your chest, then grab the outer part of your feet with both of your hands, and rock like a happy baby in the arms of a pediatrician.
12. Pretend to be an Astronomer.
Star – Resting Pose
How to practice Resting Pose: lie on your back with your arms and legs stretched out. Pretend to be an astronomer watching the sky. Breathe and rest.
MAY WE SUGGEST…
Other Kids Activities for Labor Day
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- Interview a professional worker and share what you learned with your family and friends.
- Invite a guest speaker to your classroom to talk about the workplace and their job.
- Ask your mom, dad, or other close family member about their work. Join them at work one day.
- Write from the story starter, “I want to be a … because …”
- Pick a specific job and research how that job is similar or different in various countries around the world.
- Research the history of Labor Day.
- Host a Labor Day Parade and dress up in your favorite profession.
- Celebrate the end of summer and mark Labor Day as the beginning of a new school year.
- Assign Community Helpers in your classroom and define your roles.
- Discuss what “jobs” you have in your household. Think about each of your responsibilities.
- Create a project where you actually earn money for a product or service. For example, host a bake sale at your school or design a product that your friends would want to purchase.
- Research if Labor Day is celebrated around the world. What are the similarities and differences of the celebrations?
- Write Thank You cards to workers in your community who play an important role. For example, teacher, librarian, police officer, doctor, fire fighter, garbage collector, dentist, baker, or mail carrier.
- Create a large mural with paintings of characters from various professions.
- Pick a profession and research what “tools” that person needs to get the work done. For example, a teacher needs books and pencils, while a baker needs an oven and ingredients.
- Make an Alphabet Book with a list of jobs and occupations. Can you fill every letter with a job title?
- Our favorite CD for kids yoga is Kira Willey’s Dance for the Sun. One of her songs, Let’s Go to Work, would be perfect for honoring Labor Day.
- One of the first yoga books I came across while living in Sydney was Baron Baptiste’s My Daddy is a Pretzel. I especially love the title of this book as my husband is a human pretzel and I am stiff as a board.
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