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Benefits of Yoga for Children Who Learn Differently

There are many ways to connect with your child. It’s important to find what works for you both. Yoga is just one way, but I love it. It provides a structured path to connect as well as so many other benefits for both parent and child. Yoga is defined as a practice that integrates body, breath, and mind. Postures, or poses, are used along with breathing to improve overall health. It began as a spiritual practice thousands of years ago, but it is most often used in the West for health benefits (for more information visit MedlinePlus). 

I’ve completed my RYT-200 certification to teach yoga as well as several additional trainings to learn more about Child Yoga. In my Radiant Child Yoga Teacher Training, we learned that the purpose of child yoga is to “help them maintain their natural wisdom and radiance” (Level 1-2 Training Manual, p. 4). There is great value in child yoga for all children, but our littles who learn differently can benefit in significant ways.  

1) Connection

I pulled out my old training manual to write this post. At the top of a page I made a note with stars: “Most important thing is connecting.” As a parent, preschool teacher and therapist I’ve found this to be true again and again. As a parent, it can provide yet another mode for connecting with your child and helping them to learn and grow. For our littles who like to move, the physical poses can allow for the activity they crave and lessen the language demands. For example, a child who has difficulty sitting still for story time may shine in a yoga class where movement is encouraged. 

2) Breath-Body Focus

Child yoga increases self-awareness. This is so important for all children, but even more so for littles who struggle with sensory issues. Other children with language issues may not be able to verbalize what is wrong but can learn to start to address stressful feelings with breath. As children being to understand what is going on in their bodies, they can allow us to work on calming and focusing ourselves. Often in a child yoga class a teacher will instruct children to notice their breath and use it as they move. This creates more awareness of how their bodies work and can begin to create some foundational skills in learning to help their bodies to calm.

3) Strength & Coordination

As with any physical activity, strength and coordination can be built. For our kiddos with some physical challenges, the pace is typically slower and more deliberate than say, a gymnastics class. Over the course of several classes, many of the poses will typically be repeated, allowing the children to build their core strength and movement skills. 

4) Acceptance

Yoga is all about acceptance. Wherever you are in your day or your overall development, whatever you can do, you’re just working on yourself. This can be really helpful as children learn and develop at such different rates. All abilities are celebrated. Competition is not inherently a bad thing- my own children love to compete. However, we don’t need it everywhere and it’s great to have a place to move and develop in a physical way that is not competitive. 

5) Routine

Generally a child yoga class will follow a set routine, allowing children to know what is coming, which tends to be comforting. The calming, familiar framework then allows them to take more risks in attempting new challenges. There are several different yoga programs and styles, but in general, a series of classes with a teacher will follow the same routine so children can build their attention and self-awareness. 

Bonus Benefit: Language development

Many child yoga classes incorporate storytelling and books. For example, a book I often use with my littles is You Are a Lion! The book starts with describing a pose, such as lion pose. The reader has to guess what the name of the pose is. By doing this they are really thinking and learning and integrating their motor system as well.

Find What Works for You

When looking for a class near you, don’t be afraid to ask questions to be sure that the class seems to be a good fit for your child. Different areas have more or fewer options for child yoga. 

There are also some online resources that might be a good way to test the water in a low key way:

Cosmic Kids Yoga uses stories to create a full yoga practice. Jaime is pretty silly and leads the children on pretend adventures. I’ve done an online training with her and found her to be thoughtful and knowledgeable. Many families I have worked with over the years really enjoy her program. She has so many themes, you can find one that suits your little.

Radiant Child Yoga is a child yoga teacher training program. I’ve done several of their trainings and feel that their philosophy of improving both mental is physical health is invaluable. Their program has been around a long time and they have several professionals from different disciplines, such as physical and occupational therapists, that give input into their trainings. 

Lastly, a yoga class may not be a good fit for your child at this time. A class that is a set amount of time long may be too much for a busy toddler. However, it may be a good fit for a busy parent! I have loved Yoga with Adriene for a long time. She has a robust library of free practices on YouTube and a paid app if you’re interested in more. Her practices vary from 15 minutes to an hour. This may be a good way to get a little personal care in a flexible way. For more information on meeting your child where they are, visit the GLP post here.

As always, I hope this post was helpful! Please use what was helpful, share what someone else might need and leave the rest!

Watson Family’s Five Favorite Father’s Day Books

For Father’s Day, I pulled out the books we’ve saved since our kids were little. This compilation has no rhyme or reason- just the books that gave me warm cozy feelings when I think of my husband reading them to our babies. All the selected books are sweet and make me nostalgic for the little kid stage. I hope you’ll check them out to enjoy with a little one soon!

Daddy’s Lullaby by Tony Bradman & Jason Cockcroft

Daddy’s Lullaby is the first book we purchased when we found out we were going to be parents. Dave read this to Ani every night for months and then to the next three babies as well. The story features a father taking care of his baby while the rest of the family sleeps. He sings an alternative version of “Rock-a-Bye Baby” that we sang to all of our children. The marvelous illustrations help create a comforting and cozy story that will be a wonderful addition to that bedtime book routine!

Find Daddy’s Lullaby at your local library, local bookstore or Amazon.

You’re All My Favorites by Sam McBratney & Anita Jeram

You’re All My Favorites is a sweet story about a bear family that is so reassuring for children with siblings. The baby bears are concerned that their parents might prefer another over them. The consistent message is that each child is unique, and they are all loved and cherished by their parents. I especially love the partnership that the parents exhibit working together to communicate with their children. The illustrations in the story make me want to be a bear- so comfy and chill.

Find You’re All My Favorites at your local library, local bookstore or Amazon.

Harris Finds His Feet by Catherine Rayner

Harris is a hare who learns about how special it is to be hare from his grandfather. His big feet help him hop and climb mountains. They take him wherever he may want to go- but he can always use them to go back home. Through the story, we see the grandfather age and Harris grow in confidence, making the ending a little bittersweet. The simple illustrations convey so much about their relationship and their very “hare-like” movements.

Find Harris Finds His Feet at your local library, local bookstore or Amazon.

Dance Me, Daddy By Cindy Morgan & Philomena O’Neill

In Dance Me, Daddy we observe how a daughter’s relationship with her father changes over time, but also stays constant. The reader observes as the father and daughter move from tea parties to homework to her wedding. This sweet story is a tear-jerking one that reminds us as parents savor, savor, savor the everyday. The bright illustrations highlight the value of family and friends and serve to enrich the message of the story.

Find Dance Me, Daddy at your local library, local bookstore or Amazon.

Mister Seahorse by Eric Carle

This story, Mister Seahorse, is just a beautiful story about the dads of the sea. Mister Seahorse carries the eggs that Mrs. Seahorse lays. As he is caring for the eggs, he comes across several other Dads that care for their babies, some in unexpected ways. All the sea creature fathers in the story actually care for their young, so there is great educational appeal to the story as well. The clever use of transparent pages that assist in telling the story create a magical feel to the book.

Find Mister Seahorse at your local library, local bookstore or Amazon.

Thank you for reading this random mix of the Watson Family’s Top Five Favorite Father’s Day! Please take what is helpful, share what someone else might like, and leave the rest. Enjoy your Father’s Day!

For more ideas on selecting children’s books, please visit the blog post: Choosing Books for Your Little!

Connecting with Your Extraordinary Little

Every child is unique and special. Every child has strengths and needs. Many children learn and develop in sort of the expected fashion- hitting milestones and seeming to develop easily through the early years. Some little ones develop a little differently. They may not move so easily through it all- they may not hit some of those milestones totally as expected but may be way ahead in others. Some have language skills that are coming along easily but are struggling with motor development- or vice versa. My favorite part of my professional life and my life as a mom is figuring out how to connect with children to help them learn.

Learning Differently

“The same boiling water that softens the potato hardens the egg.” ~Unknown

I love this quote- the notion that one type of teaching (or discipline, parenting, way of eating for that matter) is the best for all children just doesn’t make sense to me. There is a ton of research out there on what works the best for most children, but we still have differences and subtleties between all of us. In a world of potatoes, you may have a good egg.

There are many terms that can come into play here: neurodiversity, developmental delays. There is also a lot of debate on the pros and cons of getting a particular diagnosis or exploring different therapies. However, no matter what your perspective is, your child is still your child and connecting with them is the first most fundamental component to their success. It is through you that your child will begin to develop their sense of the world. Giving what your child needs in the moment is so important. When you have a child who learns differently from other littles, it can be puzzling to say the least. Usually, we don’t expect to have an exact mini-me version of ourselves when we have a child, but we generally feel like we should be able to connect and to help them along. But how to figure that out for a child who is learning differently or taking a little longer to reach certain milestones? Especially for a child who is not following the developmental rule book?

Be Present

First, watch your child. Really watch them as they play. What are they interested in? Does your one-year-old like brighter colors? Movement? Does your two-year-old gravitate towards letters? Or cars? Be really present. Your child is a gift- you don’t want to miss this time. What is your child really doing? Accept where they are- kids are all different and whatever they are able to do at a certain time is cool. It can be tough in this busy world- I always feel rushed. As the age-old adage says, “Silence is Golden.” (Probably the best thing I learned in grad school:)

Just sit with your child as they play and gently offer what seems to make sense to their play. Don’t add too much of your own ideas at first. Your toddler is lining up cars? Offer him one. Does he refuse it? Why? Watch him- is he using all the blue cars first? Is he sorting the trucks out? By taking the time, you may start to appreciate skills and interests that you never noticed before. Once you start to see what they are doing, it’s easier to add on to their language and concepts, e.g., “You put the blue car in the front of the line.” Since your child is already engaged in an activity that they love, they will be more likely to grasp what you are adding to the conversation.

Self-Reflect

Be honest with yourself. Sometimes, especially when I was a new mom, I thought I knew what my baby needed. When Ani was about a year old, I thought it was really fun for her to stay up late once in a while for a special event- “It’s a family picnic, she’s having fun! One late night is fine and she’s bonding with our extended family.” A lot of kiddos are fine with that- they bounce right back. Unfortunately, for Ani, that one late night led to literally 2 weeks of a messed-up sleep schedule with her waking several times during the night. My husband and I quickly learned the value of a very strict schedule for her- as inconvenient as it could be for us. Years later, she was diagnosed with ADHD. We had realized she required the external structure to calm her and allow her to be her best long before we had a diagnosis that provided some of the insight into the why. Through observation and self-reflection, we saw what she needed. It wasn’t her being difficult or stubborn- she was genuinely dysregulated by a change in her routine. By keeping her schedule, she was able to be her best self.

As a speech therapist, I’ve used a lot movement and music with my preschoolers in sessions. Overall, this is a great way to connect with most of the littles I’ve supported. Often, singing a song quietly is a great low-key way to invite a child to join into an activity. However, one child I worked with did not enjoy singing. He did not enjoy music AT ALL. He did not use much spoken language at the time, so he did not say, “I do not enjoy that. Please stop.” Again, I had to take an honest look at myself as I was singing in an attempt to engage him. He fussed and turned away. When I actually stopped and paid attention, I could see that it was not working. After observing him and his responses, I noticed he enjoyed silliness. When a block tower fell down, he laughed. When I read Caps for Sale and placed several hats in a stack on top of my head, then “sneezed,” he laughed. The next few visits, when I began, he requested, “Hat!” We did so many ridiculous hat activities that year. But I had to take the time to really observe to figure it out.

Set Aside Time

Life can get so very busy! Work, appointments, social life, family…. As a parent, I’m not very organized. My kids know I’m kind of flying by the seat of my pants for many things. However, having a loose schedule can help to ensure that I got the important stuff in. And playtime with your child is really important. Set aside time to watch them and follow them along with their play. A few years ago, I completed a great course by Laura Mize, MS CCC-SLP who suggested that parents aim for three 20-minute sessions a day to spend time connecting with your child. (For more information on her program Teach Me to Talk, check out her website here!) If you keep this rule of thumb in your head, it may help to find some short blocks of time during each day. Every family is different, so find what works for you- it may be but I found with kind of set playtimes really helped me prioritize the time. “Playtime” can be kind of nebulous- sitting and watching them, following their lead- but by making it a “thing” to do every day, understanding what they are doing and learning becomes easier. Maybe set aside one to two times a day to start, then adjust as you need.

Support

Finally, reach out for support if you have concerns! Pediatricians can be an excellent resource if you have concerns about your child’s development, but there are many other supports as well. While you may know your child really well, there are many supports that are available and can help you and your child. By really focusing in and observing, you will begin to see exactly how your child learns and be better able to answer your pediatrician’s questions. Check out the GLP Blog’s post: 5 Signs Your Little May Benefit from Speech Therapy for more information.

Always with the Great Little Parenting Blog, please use what is helpful, share what someone else might need. Have fun! Enjoy the time!

Building Springtime Experiences to Share with Your Little

We all have them- those childhood core memories that help define springtime. It may be a picnic by the lake with your family. Or the crack of a bat at a Little League game. Sometimes it’s more negative- when you were eaten alive by mosquitoes at a campfire. Some of those memories really stick with us and, as parents, we try to give our own kiddos some great ones. When toddlers and preschoolers are so little, the springtime experiences really don’t have to be expensive or hugely dramatic. As I’ve said before, little ones are new here- experiencing so much for the first time. By being intentional, we can give them some really meaningful experiences that stick with them and help us connect with them on their level.

I’ve pulled together some of my favorite springtime experiences from my own children and from activities we’ve done in my preschool classroom. I’ve also included some companion books to go along with the experiences because- you know- children’s books are my jam. There are links to Amazon, but the library could be an even better resource.

Butterfly Kit

We are using a kit in our classroom right now and it’s amazing! The children absolutely love watching the caterpillars and seeing them all grow. This is one of the springtime experiences that they talk about all day- to us, to each other, to their families. I love to think that they are building a real core memory and learning so much! Here’s the Butterfly Garden we used. The kit comes with a sealed cup with caterpillars that you can watch as they eat and grow. They make their chrysalis in the cup, then you transfer them to a net container. After about 10-14 days, the butterflies push their way out. Then you can release them outside. Beware: it can also be a lesson in the fragileness of life. We’ve had a few caterpillars not make it, but it’s also another opportunity to talk about life and death in a safe and loving way.

A beautiful book that can support the experience is The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. This classic book includes simple descriptive language and an explanation of the changes your little will observe. This book is wonderful for toddlers and preschoolers. As your child develops more language, they may appreciate a book with a little more sophisticated vocabulary, such as Fancy Nancy Explorer Extraordinaire by Jane O’Connor and Robin Preiss Glasser. My own children were big Fancy Nancy fans. Nancy is fancy, but still likes bugs and being outside. This might be a book you kind of skip around, reading the parts that seem more interesting to your child.

Oobleck

Making oobleck was probably my daughter Maisie’s favorite activity. This kid loved a good messy, sensory activity as a toddler. This is definitely an outdoor experience with a little. For any science nerds, oobleck a “non-Newtonian fluid” (part liquid, part solid, all fun). Just mix 1 part water to 1.5 parts cornstarch. You can add some food coloring to make it more interesting, but the color is not necessary. No real rules for this activity once it’s outside. They probably shouldn’t eat it, but it’s corn starch, so not toxic. Put in a low bowl or pan & enjoy!

An oldie but goodie book to go along with this activity is Bartholomew and the Oobleck by Dr. Suess. Published in 1949 (!!), it is a little long, but has a great message about the power of a sincere apology. Also, just crazy rhymes and language, as a classic Dr. Suess. For slightly smaller littles, Llama Llama Mess Mess Mess by Anna Dewdney is a favorite. The mother in the Llama Llama series sets the gold standard for kindness in parenting. It’s all about, well, a mess that needs to be cleaned and a creative way to address the issue.

Grow a Bean Seed in a Bag

My daughter, Kinsley, loved this springtime experience! Put a bean seed in a Ziplock with a damp paper towel and tape to a window that gets sunlight. Bean seeds grow quickly, so within a few days, it will start to sprout- like magic!! Sometimes, the paper towel can get some mold/mildew, so be sure to leave the bag open slightly to allow a little fresh air in. Replant the sprout in a pot with potting soil and you’ll have a full-grown bean plant in a few weeks. This is a pretty simple way to get a cool gardening experience without the commitment of a full garden. It’s also really manageable for a little one to observe and have a real hand in the experience! A great resource with more information on this topic is The Science Kiddo.

Our bean plant that started in a baggie! It’s growing like magic!

So many amazing books out there on the topic of growing and gardening! I had to limit my choices, but there are so many to choose from! Another oldie but a goodie is The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss and Crockett Johnson. This one just warms my heart! A little boy plants a carrot seed and, with wonderful childhood faith, cares for it until the carrot grows. This one is a simple story for all ages. The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle is another beautifully illustrated book that follows a seed on its long journey to become a mammoth flower. This one has some really great vocabulary and more details to expand on the concept of plant growth. Another delightful story about an intentional mom and sweet child is Lola Plants a Garden by Anna McQuinn and Rosalind Beardshaw. My own children loved Lola books! Lola and her mother plan and plant a garden and share the experience with Lola’s friends. The classic nursery rhyme, Mary, Mary Quite Contrary, is incorporated into the story, making it even richer with language.

Draw with Chalk

This is another Watson Family classic. My kids spent hours drawing with chalk and their imaginations just went in every direction. Caleb and Ani made obstacle courses with lots of instructions for jumping, spinning and crawling. I traced their bodies on the ground in various positions, and they filled in the features making themselves basketball players, soccer players, princesses. They made scenes with rainbows and hearts. One Christmas, we made a chalk tree and the kids posed around it “decorating” the tree for our holiday card. For some reason, this activity was often calming before or after dinner as the days got longer.

A wonderful companion book for this activity is Katie’s Sunday Afternoon by James Mayhew. In the story, Katie visits a museum and, while Grandma is napping, she enters into some eminent paintings and experiences their worlds. This is such a fun way to encourage those budding imaginations as well as expose them to classic artists and art! James Mayhew has created several Katie stories around various artists and art movements, so there is much to explore if your little is inspired by this book!

Go Fly a Kite

It doesn’t get much more classic springtime experience than flying a kite! We lived near the ocean when my kids were little, so we often had windy springs. This was such an integral part of our springtime adventures. Unfortunately, my youngest, Kinsley, has a core memory of losing her kite when she let go to fix the Velcro on her shoe, so hold tight!!

A simple, lovely companion book for this activity is The Windy Day by Anna Milbourne and Elena Temporin. The book describes wind in a little bit of an educational way and a little bit of a magical way. It’s comforting and fun to see a child with his mother and their springtime experiences with their kite and the wind. Another beautiful story is Blue Sky, Yellow Kite by Janet A. Holmes and Jonathan Bentley. It explores a new friendship centered around a kite flying experience between a boy and girl. This is such an enchanting book that uses illustrations to supplement the storytelling so gracefully. It also talks about kite flying technique a little bit.

Go Enjoy Spring!

I hope you find a few nuggets here that will help you create some core memories with springtime experiences for your little this spring! Please share this post with someone who might find it helpful!

For more suggestions on selecting books, see the GLP Post here!

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