It feels like my daughter and I have literally circled the globe over the past year. We have visited family in Canada, England, Australia, and Mexico. In addition to planes, trains, and automobiles, we’ve traveled on buses, boats, and taxis!
Even though it’s been exciting for both of us to learn about some new places, traveling has been a stressful experience for my daughter. Before each trip, we talk about how we are going to get there. We act out how we will get into a taxi, board an airplane, and drive in a car to get to our final destination. As a dedicated student of yoga, I thought that introducing some transportation-related yoga poses might help with the stress.
Whether you’re practicing these yoga poses as a way to ease your child’s anxiety about traveling or just taking your child on a fun imaginary travel yoga journey, here are some transportation activities for kids to spark your child’s imagination:
1. Transportation Activities for Kids Using Yoga Cards for Kids
Try these five yoga poses for kids featured in our “Travel” category of the YOGA POSES FOR KIDS CARDS:
1. Boat – Boat Pose
Balance on your buttocks with your arms and legs straight out in front of you, in a V shape. Keep a straight spine and open chest. Then pretend to rock in the water like a boat.
2. Surfboard – Plank Pose
From Downward-Facing Dog Pose, come forward to balance on your palms and on your bent toes in a plank position. Keep your arms straight and your back long and flat. Pretend to be a surfboard gliding through the water.
3. Sailboat – Triangle Pose
From a standing position, step one foot back, pointing your toe slightly outwards. Take your arms up parallel to the ground, bend at your waist, and tilt your upper body to the side. Reach your front hand to gently rest on your shin and reach your other arm straight up. Pretend to be a sailboat gliding through the water. Switch sides and repeat the steps.
4. Train – Staff Pose
Sit with a tall spine and your legs straight out in front of you. Move your hands like the wheels of a train going down the track.
5. Motorbike – Lunge Pose
From Downward-Facing Dog Pose, step your right foot forward to rest just inside your right hand. Keep a flat back and open your chest. Pretend to be a motorbike cruising down the road. Switch sides and repeat the steps.
Buy the YOGA POSES FOR KIDS CARDS here
Grab your Transportation Yoga Cards for Kids
Act out various modes of transport with easy yoga poses!
Pretend to be a sailboat, skateboard, and scooter! Instantly download these 48 transportation yoga cards to learn through movement in your home, classroom, or studio. Includes an Index Card, Yoga Tips, Pose Instructions, 18 Yoga Pose Cards, and 20 matching Transportation Cards. The multicultural yoga kids are from seven countries. Ages 3+.
Purchase your Transportation Yoga Cards for Kids:
Transportation Yoga Cards for Kids
2. Transportation Activities for Kids: Yoga Poses Inspired by a Children’s Book
Enjoy practicing these easy yoga poses as you sing along and act out The Journey Home from Grandpa’s, by Jemina Lumley and Sophie Fatus (Amazon affiliate link). Use these yoga poses for kids as a guide or invent your own yoga poses inspired by the various modes of transportation found in this book.
Your children may not do all the yoga poses during the first reading, so simply follow their energy and interest level. Even just a couple of poses is great. The purpose of yoga for children is to get them active when reading the book to bring the story alive. To start, clear a space and wear comfortable clothing.
Transportation Yoga Poses for Children Inspired by
The Journey Home from Grandpa’s
Car – Mountain Pose
Stand tall with legs hip-width apart and, feet facing forward. Grasp a pretend steering wheel as if you are driving a car.
Helicopter – Mountain Pose Variation
Stand tall with legs hip-width apart, feet facing forward, and knees slightly bent. Swing your arms back and forth like the blades of a helicopter.
Train – Staff Pose
Sit with a tall spine with your legs straight out in front of you. Use your hands to mimic the wheels of the train going around and around.
Tractor – Chair Pose
Stand tall in Mountain Pose with your feet hip-width apart. Bend your knees, take your hands out in front of you, and pretend to hold onto the steering wheel of a tractor.
Digger – Standing Forward Bend
From Mountain Pose, bend your upper body, reach for your toes, and pretend to dig up sand like a digger.
Crane – Crescent Moon
From Mountain Pose, reach your arms high over your head, bringing your palms together. Tilt your upper body to one side. Come back to center. Tilt your body to the other side, pretending that you are a crane.
Barge – Boat Pose
Balance on your buttocks with your legs up. Then rock like a boat in the water.
Truck – Easy Pose
Sit comfortably cross-legged and take your hands out in front of you, as if you are driving a truck.
Fire Engine – Seated Twist
Sit comfortably cross-legged then twist to each side as if you are looking both ways while driving your fire engine.
Arrive Home – Resting Pose
Lie on your back with your arms and legs stretched out. Breathe and rest.
See our List of Yoga Pose for Kids for images and descriptions.
The Journey Home from Grandpa’s
3. Transportation Activities for Kids: Act Out a Yoga Story for Kids
I wrote this transportation story sequence years ago, and thought you might like to try a yoga + counting journey around the world:
1 Jeep – Mountain Pose, with arms driving the steering wheel
Take 1 jeep on a safari in KENYA.
2 Planes – Warrior 3 Pose
Fly on 2 planes to the outback of AUSTRALIA.
3 Buses – Bumpy Chair Pose
Ride in 3 different buses to get across the countryside of VIETNAM.
4 Taxis – Mountain Pose, with arms driving the steering wheel
Take 4 taxis to get through hectic traffic in INDIA.
5 Helicopters – Standing, with arms swinging back and forth
Fly in 5 helicopters over the volcanoes in GUATEMALA.
6 Snowboards – Warrior 2 Pose
Join 6 snowboarders sliding down the mountains in CANADA.
7 Trains – Staff Pose, with arms pretending to be the wheels turning
Take 7 trains to Macchu Pichu in PERU.
8 Rafts -Seated Forward Bend
Gather 8 rafts together to experience the rushing river in the USA.
9 Boats – Boat Pose
See 9 boats winding down the channels in ENGLAND.
10 Bicycles – Knees to Chest, with cycling legs
Rent 10 bicycles on the pathways in HOLLAND.
See our List of Yoga Pose for Kids for images and descriptions.
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Other Transportation-Related Links
Click on the links below to check out other transportation links from my kid blogger colleagues:
Hula Hoop Tire Run, The Inspired Treehouse
Vehicle Hide and Seek, The Inspired Treehouse
On the Road Again: Motor Activities for Kids, The Inspired Treehouse
Simple Sailboat Snacks for Kids, The Inspired Treehouse
19 Literacy Ideas for Cars and Trucks Play, Growing Book by Book
Transportation Books for Preschoolers, Pre-K Pages
35 Transportation Activities for Preschoolers, Hands On As We Grow
15 Books About Cars and Trucks with Crafts to Match, No Time for Flashcards
Air Transportation Lessons for Kids, The Natural Homeschool
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