Contents

Page Animal Yoga Poses Animal Sign Language Signs Benefits of Sign language Rhymes Yoga Benefits Story Activities 1-9 10-16 17 18-19 20 21 22

Animal Yoga Poses

Bear Pose Bee Pose (no Sign) Bird Pose Butterfly Pose Beetle Bug Pose Camel Pose Cat Pose Cow Pose Down Dog Duck Pose Elephant Pose Fish Pose Frog Pose Horse Pose Inch Worm (no sign) Kangaroo Partner Pose (no sign) Lion Pose Monkey Pose Rabbit Pose Spider Pose Turtle Pose Sea Turtle Pose Seal Pose (no sign) Shark Pose Snail Pose (no sign)

Yoga Pose Pictures

Bear Pose: Start on hands and knees, lift hips and straighten arms and legs, step legs
apart.

Bee Pose: Squat down and place hands over eyes and Buzz.

Bird Pose: Stand with one knee bent back and hands together at chest.

Butterfly Pose: Sit with soles of the feet together and hold with hands.

Beetle Bug Pose: Lie on back, bring legs up bent slightly and hold your toes.

Camel Pose: Start kneeling, bring hands behind to touch heels or ankles as you arch
your back and drop back the head.

Cat Pose: Start on hands and knees, arch back upward and bring tail bone and head
toward the mat.

Cow Pose: Start on hands and knees, arch back down and bring tail bone and head
toward the sky. You can do this with cat and go from one to another.

Dog Wag Pose: Start on hands and knees, bring hip and shoulder together, then do the
other side.

Dolphin Pose: Start on knees and forearms, bring body forward and back to look like a swimming dolphin.

Duck Pose: Squat down with your heels together and knees out with hands in front.

Elephant Pose: Stand with legs apart, clasp hands and bend over and swing arms like a
trunk.

Fish Pose: Lie on back, bring crown of head to mat, arch back, bring hands together at
chest to make fin. (Parent can hold under back for support or use a pillow)

Frog Pose: Squat down with feet slightly apart and hands in front of feet.

Rocking Horse Pose: Lie on tummy bring legs and arms together behind.

Lion Pose: Sit on heels bring hands forward fingers out and stick out tongue.

Monkey Pose: Stand with feet slightly apart and bend over to touch fingers to mat, now
look up.

Rabbit Pose: Sit on Heels, bring hands together behind back, bring crown of head to the
mat, bring arms up to make the ears.

Seal Pose: Lie on your tummy with your hands at the sides of your chest, legs are apart,
then cross them for the trail, raise up your upper body until your arms are straight, try to keep your shoulders down not up by your ears.

Shark Pose: Lie on tummy with legs out straight, bring arms back behind back palms touching to make the fin.

Snail Pose: Sit in childs pose and bend elbows and put hands up on each side of head.

Spider Pose: Parent is on hands and knees and child lies on parent tummy down going
across the back giving them 8 legs.

Swan Pose: Lie on tummy, come up with arms straight as you arch your back and bend
knees to bring feet toward head.

Turtle Pose: Squat down with hands behind your feet.

Sea Turtle: Start on hands and knees, bring feet pointed out to the sides and sit back, place hands pointing out with elbows bent.

Animal Sign Language Signs

Bear Bird Butterfly Cat Cow Dog Duck Elephant Fish Frog Horse Lion Monkey Rabbit Spider Sea Turtle Turtle

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Pictures of Signs
Bear: Scratch chest repeatedly.

Bird: One finger and thumb up at mouth like a birds bill.

Butterfly: Flutter hands like wings, keep thumbs together

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Cat: Repeatedly pinch and trace Cats whiskers outward.

Cow: Place pinky finger up and thumb, hold next to temple.

Dog: Pat hip repeatedly.

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Duck: Two fingers and thumb up at mouth like a ducks bill.

Elephant: Trace shape of trunk down from nose.

Fish: Flutter fish hand forward like a fish swimming.

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Frog: With one hand under chin repeatedly straighten and bend fingers like a frog
jumping.

Horse: First two fingers and thumb out next to the side of head.

Lion: With hand outline lions mane above head.

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Monkey: Bend elbows with arms out to side, curl wrists and move them up and down.

Rabbit: First Two fingers straight, move them up and down like hopping.

Spider: Place one hand on other and wiggle fingers like spider legs.

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Turtle: Make a fist with thumb sticking out; place other hand over like a shell.

Sea Turtle: Would be Ocean sign first then Turtle sign.

Ocean Sign: Hands out flat one in front of the other, now move them together forward in a wave motion.

Shark: Place a right "B" hand between the fingers of the left hand (two fingers on each side of the "B" hand). Hold hands in that position as you move them to the side. Hint: The right hand represents the shark's fin that is visible above the water, which is illustrated by the left hand.

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Benefits of Sign Language

Research has shown that babies cognitive development precedes the physical development. Babies are able to use hand gestures long before the vocal motor skills that they may begin to communicate with hands as early as 6-8 months. Babies will adapt some hand shapes and movements of signs in their natural way depending on their developmental stage of eye hand coordination Their signs would evolve and mature when their physical coordination develops. Older children that have slow speech development will be able to communicate with you easily. Less frustration for the child when you can understand his wants and needs. Use signs accompanied with spoken words.

Tips to teach Signs

Use body language when signing, sin in context, never show disappointment, remember it takes time, reward when baby signs back, gently shape hands if needed, use songs, stories that give you the opportunity to practice signs, put objects of signs in a bag and as the child pulls them out say and show the sign.

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Rhymes
Bear: Brown bear, brown bear climb around, brown bear, brown bear
turn around.

Bee: Do You Like To Buzz? (to the tune of "Do Your Ears Hang Low?")
Do you like to buzz, Are you covered all in fuzz? Do you call a hive a home, In the Garden where you roam? Do you know how to make honey, Are your stripes a little funny? Do you like to buzz?

Bird: I am a Crane standing on 1 leg, dont blink now, I have switched legs. Butterfly: Fly, fly pretty butterfly, I flap my wings to fly high up in the sky. Beetle Bug: I am a beetle, I have a hard back, but when I get turned over, I
cant roll back.

Camel: The Camel's hump is an ugly lump which well you may see at the Zoo;
But uglier yet is the hump we get from having too little to do.

Cat: I m a scary cat with my back arched high, you can tell Im scared when
my tail points toward the sky.

Cow: Moo, moo I chew my grass all day long, so I can grow big and strong. Dog: Ruff, ruff, Im a dog, watch me wag my tail. Duck: My feet are webbed, I waddle when I walk and I quack when I talk. Elephant: I swing my trunk back and fourth, up real high, down real low, as
I stomp too and fro.

Fish: Gold fish, blue fish, blow fish, clown fish, look at all of them
swimming around.

Frog: Rib bit, rib bit, Im a frog, all bent over sunning on a log. Horse: Rocking horse, rocking horse, watch me rock back and fourth. Kangaroo: Why don't you hop into my pouch? It's as comfy as a couch. Lion: Roar, roar, says the lion, I am king of the jungle. Monkey: Monkey see, monkey do, I can touch my toes just like you. Rabbit: Do your ears stand up, do they turn right and left, do your ears
stand up.

Shark: I am big and my teeth are sharp, when people see my fin they yell SHARK!!!!

Spider: Spin, spin your web in your sly little den. Sea Turtle: I am a slow swimmer you see, but I can swim far into the sea. Swan: Look at me a big beautiful swan, white feathers shine in the sun, as I swim around
and have lots of fun.

Turtle: I am a turtle, I walk very slow, because I dont have anywhere to go.
Elephant song "Who is the animal baggy and gray, (Circle both arms.) That walks in the forest with a sway? (Sway both arms.) Who runs around on big, big toes, (Point to toes.) And feeds himself with his nose? (Point to nose.) The elephant!"

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Yoga Benefits for Babies and Toddlers.

Yoga helps babies sleep better and longer, stretches and strengthens muscles, helps with hand and eye coordination, improves digestion and helps organs function properly, promotes parent /child bonding. Yoga helps Toddlers sleep better and longer, stretches and strengthens muscles, helps with hand and eye coordination, helps organs function properly, promotes fun bonding time for child and parent, helps use up extra energy and teaches them how to relax and breathe properly. Adults feel better after their own yoga practice and the children will feel the same way.

Breath Awareness Exercises

For smaller Children have them try to blow a Kleenex, you try first by holding one corner in your hand in front of your mouth, inhale and exhale so the Kleenex moves, they let the child try it. Blowing Bubbles is a great way to practice breathing, just have them inhale a little more than normal and blow. Blowing on a pinwheel is a fun way to teach your child to breathe better. Balloon Breath can be done when a balloon is handy. Set a blown up balloon on the childs tummy as you have them inhale and exhale they can see the balloon go up and down.

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Animal Yoga Story

Here is an example of a general story you fill in the blanks. We are all going to the Zoo. Do you see what I see, look over there I see a ___________ and a ____________ and a _____________, can you try to look like him? Now lets go over to this pond and see what animals are here. Look I see a __________ and a big _alligator_ and a striped __fish_ and a creature walking sideways it must be a _crab_ do you hear the rib bit of the _frog_ and look at that _bird standing on 1 leg I bet that is hard to do, lets try it? If we go over to the jungle exhibit what do you think we will see? Maybe a __________ and a ___________ or a ___________ and a cobra slithering in the tall grass. Lets go over to the petting pen and see what animals we can touch. Do you want to pet the rabbit his fur is so soft and the __horse_ if you reach real tall and the ______________, you can even touch the _____________ if you are gentle. Ok, weve got to get going it will be getting dark soon, lets walk home and look for other animals on the way. I see a _squirrel_ eating a nut over in that tree and look a butterfly what colorful wings he has and a _bee buzzing by that flower, look out you almost stepped on that earth worm wiggling on the ground. Wow what a busy day, maybe we should just lie down for a minute or two and

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Class Activities
Elephant Pose: Everyone get into a circle one behind the other, put one hand forward and one hand between their legs and hold hands with the person in back of them and make a walking circle. Crab Pose: Race to see who can get across the room first. Duck Pose: Waddle around the room. Bear Pose: Follow the words of the rhyme, and walk around the room. Squirrel Pose: Pretend to eat the nut and hide the nut behind their backs. Fish Pose: Lie 2 feet to feet for a partner pose.

Namaste Goodbye Song Namaste, to everyone, namaste to you, namaste to everyone, let your light show through, Namaste to everyone as I say goodbye to you.

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