Incorporating gross motor activities into your Montessori home learning can be a somewhat daunting prospect for some parents. We want something that can be conducted independently, without being disruptive to other potential children in the home, while finding something that helps contribute to a calm, self-regulated environment. Yoga is the perfect solution, in the home or school setting. Like many Montessori activities, it starts with gathering and rolling out a mat!
The first couple of times that your child engages in yoga at home, I would encourage you to join them and try to remind them of the basic yoga principles of deep breathing and listening to (and honoring) your body – “don’t do anything that hurts!”
If you are new to yoga yourself, I would encourage you to call or visit a local yoga studio to ask for their advice; there are also some great guides included in the G. Shardlow series that I discuss below.
More “advanced” poses aren't necessarily hard to do, but just require a bit of additional information (which may or may not be intuitive), for example, tree pose is quite simple but it is important to not place your foot on a joint (knee, ankle) so as not to place pressure on it.
After this, there are several options on how to guide a child to independently practice yoga. While I try to join Miss G in her yoga practice as often as possible, I also like to offer materials that empower her to conduct her practice by herself.
Hello, I'm Jennifer Tammy of Sugar, Spice, and Glitter, and the overall-and pigtail wearing kid hogging all of the cuteness in this picture is Miss G.I share Montessori and Reggio inspiration, bits of psychology, kid-friendly recipes, book and product reviews, and indulgence for parents and caregivers. If you're interested in learning more about me and how Study-at-Home Mama is organized, please read about me here.
(This post was originally published in Montessori on a Budget.)