Tide Pool Animals Yoga Poses and Books

Did you ever spend hours peering into the miniature world of tide pools when you were a kid? Check out this tide pool animals yoga journey to learn more about the interesting creatures that live there.

My daughter and I attended a tide pool demonstration at our local library last summer. The presenter was from the New England Aquarium, and she had brought tide pool animals in for the children to learn about and then touch in little tanks.

The children were completely rapt in learning about tide pool life—and to be honest, so were the parents! The beauty of aquariums is that children get to learn about coastal life even they don’t live close to a beach.

Some simple fun facts things the marine biologist taught us about how to distinguish between the tide pool animals:

Snails often hide in their shells.
Hermit crabs have claws that dig in sand.
Clams have two shells that are stuck close together.
Sea stars have five arms, one eye on end of each arm, and two mouths.
Mussels are eaten by sea stars.

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Tide Pool Books for Kids

At the presentation, the librarian had a bunch of tidal pool books on display. We checked out the selection of tide pool books, so we could share our favorites with you:

In One Tidepool: Crabs, Snails, and Salty Tails
by Anthony Fredericks and Jennifer DiRubbio
A little girl is introduced to tide pool life through rhyming text and bright illustrations.

Star of the Sea: A Day in the Life of a Starfish
by Janet Halfmann and Joan Paley
The story follows a day in the life of a starfish as it journeys through the tide pool and meets other creatures.

A House for Hermit Crab (The World of Eric Carle)
by Eric Carle
One of Eric Carle’s famous books takes the reader on a journey as the hermit crab looks for a new home. Even though the book is set on the ocean floor, you could talk about the similarities of the animals in tide pools versus the ocean floor.

What Lives in a Shell?
by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld and Helen Davie
This book is part of the Let’s-Read-And-Find-Out Science series. This would be a good book if you’d like to talk more specifically about the tide pool animals that live in shells.

One Small Place by the Sea
by Barbara Brenner and Tom Leonard
This simple book introduces readers to the various animals that live in the tide pool.

Tide Pool Animals Books for Kids

After reading through the tide pool books, we made a list of tide pool animals:

Sea star, mussels, sea snails, lobster, crabs, sea anemones, limpet, sea urchin, sea cucumber, barnacle, sponge, scallop, and nudibranch.

Did we miss any?

Tidal Pool Animals Yoga Poses for Kids

You could start your yoga journey by pretending to climb down to the ocean. Imagine looking to see if it’s a high tide or low tide. Head over to the tidal pools. Pretend to put your googles on and take a deep breath to put your face into the shallow waters. Ask the children what they might see.

The next step is to act out the tide pool animals through simple yoga poses for kids. Use this list as a guide, but feel free to make up your own tide pool yoga postures. These poses are listed in a specific sequence to invite flow from one pose to the next.

1. Pretend to be a snail. How to practice Extended Child’s Pose: Sit on your heels, slowly bring your forehead down to rest in front of your knees, place the palms of your hands flat out in front of you, and take a few deep breaths. Imagine being a snail.
2. Pretend to be a hermit crab. How to practice Reverse Table Top Pose: Sit with your palms flat on the ground behind you. The soles of your feet are flat in front of you. Lift your buttocks to create a table. Pretend to be a hermit crab.
3. Pretend to be a clam. How to practice Seated Forward Bend: Come to sitting on your buttocks, with your legs straight out in front of you. Bend your torso forward while keeping your spine straight. Pretend to a clam.
4. Pretend to be a sea star. How to practice Star Pose: From a standing position, step your feet out wide. Lift both arms out to your sides and above your head, with your fingers spread out. Pretend to be a sea star.
5. Pretend to be a mussel. How to practice Child’s Pose: Sit on your heels, slowly bring your forehead down to rest on the floor in front of your knees, rest your arms down alongside your body, and take a few deep breaths. Pretend to be a mussel.

What were your favorite tide pool animal yoga poses?

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Tide Pool Animals Yoga

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