Maybe you are teaching the birds in geography class. Or maybe you are reading a book to the class about birds. Here is the bird yoga that you can practice in exactly this kind of lesson. If you give some information about that specific bird during the pose, you not only let them stay in that pose longer without noticing, but also you increase their knowledge while having fun. Make sure that the information is not boring and attracts children. Enjoy the Bird Yoga Lesson Plan with eighteen kids’ yoga poses!
Birds Yoga Poses for Children
Birds are animals adapted for flight (Flying: Standing straight with your feet together, bend your upper body forward bringing it parallel to the floor. Balancing on your right leg, raise your left leg and stretch it behind you. Extend the arms out at shoulder level). Many can also run, jump, swim, and dive (Diver/Drinking Bird: Standing tall with feet together, go down to touch the floor with your hands, stretching the entire spine and the legs. Raise the hands slowly taking them close to your body towards the sides. Bring the body on your toes and remain here bending still at the hips). Some, like penguins, have lost the ability to fly but retained their wings. Birds are found worldwide and in all habitats. They use their beaks to grab and swallow food. They lay eggs and incubate them in a nest (Nest: Lying on your stomach with your legs hip width apart, bend your knees, feet up and towards your bottom. Sweep your arms around and grasp the outside of the ankles or feet. Lifting your head, try to raise the knees and chest higher. / Egg: Sitting on the floor, bend your knees. Placing the feet close to you, hug your knees to your chest. When you are ready, lift your feet off the ground balancing on the sitting bones).
Here are different types of birds with their kids’ yoga poses:
Albatrosses (Albatross: Standing up, bend your knees and drop your hips until your upper leg is as close to parallel to the floor as possible. Stretch the arms out at shoulder level.) are very large seabirds. They are among the largest flying birds. They feed on squid, fish, and krill. They drink salt water. They can float on the sea’s surface. They are rarely seen on land.
Crows (Crow: Crouching down, place your hands on the floor. Place your knees onto the back of upper arms, close to your armpits. Balance the body here on your toes. Bending forward, put the weight on the wrists and the arms. Try to lift one foot up and then the other, focusing to look down.) are black birds known for their intelligence and adaptability, and for their loud, harsh “caw”. They also have a reputation for damaging crops. They are known for their problem-solving skills and amazing communication skills. They eat nearly anything. They feed chiefly on the ground, where they walk about purposefully (Crow Walking: Squatting down, place the palms on the knees. Take small steps in squatting position, walking with the knees alternating them).
Ducks (Duck: Crouching down, balance on your tiptoes. Place your hands below your armpits. For a challenge, you can flap your wings!) are mostly aquatic birds, mostly smaller than swans and geese, and may be found in both fresh water and sea water. They eat aquatic plants and tiny animals. Many ducks are migratory. This means that they spend the summer months in a different place than the winter months.
Eagles (Eagle: Standing up, bend the knees slightly. Lift left leg up and wrap it over the right leg. Hook the top of left foot behind right calf. Straighten your hands. Right arm on top and left arm under, wrap together pressing the palms together. Raise the arms to the level of the chest.), like all birds of prey, have very large, hooked beaks for ripping flesh from their prey, strong, muscular legs. They are some of the largest birds. They have amazing eyesight and can detect prey up to two miles away.
Flamingos (Flamingo: Standing tall, lift one leg back towards your bottom grasping your foot. Lift your other arm up to the sky. Keep the chest out while maintaining the balance as a graceful flamingo.) are tall, pink wading birds. They have slender legs, long, graceful necks, large wings, and short tails. They are often seen standing on one leg. In flight, flamingos present a beautiful sight, with legs and neck stretched out straight.
Hummingbirds (Tweety Bird: Sitting back on your heels, cross your arms over and grab your shoulders. Try making your elbows like a beak by giving yourself a big hug.) are small birds which are specialized for feeding on flower nectar, but all species consume flying insects or spiders. They are known as hummingbirds because of the humming sound created by their beating wings, which flap at high frequencies audible to humans.
Owls (Owl: Standing up tall on your knees, raise your arms spreading your wings wide and long. Keep your palms downward facing. Gently move your wings as you fly up and down.) are found nearly worldwide. They are symbolic of intelligence. Their quiet flight, and haunting calls have made them the objects superstition. Owls feed only on animals. Rodents are the most common prey; they eat insects, too. They are characterized by a flat face.
Parrots (Parrot: Open your legs wide. Come halfway up into a flat back. Lift your arms out at your side like wings floating up and down as you fly like a bird.) have curved beaks. Most of them eat fruit, flowers, nuts, seeds, and some small creatures such as insects. They are found in warm climates all over most of the world. They learn to vocalize by listening and repeating it back.
Peacocks (Peacock: Lie on your back, arms down by your sides. Lift your legs up to the sky and open your legs wide like opening peacock feathers.) are a larger sized bird. As an ornamental bird, the peacock is a resident of many of the world’s zoos. They are forest birds. They eat mostly plant parts, flower petals, and insects. Despite the length and size of their covert feathers, peacocks are still capable of flights.
Penguins (Penguin: Standing with your legs and heels together, arms to sides and palms facing down, now let’s walk and waddle side to side like a penguin.) are a group of aquatic flightless birds. Though they are birds, penguins have flippers instead of wings. In the water, they are expert swimmers and divers. They feed on small shrimp, fish, crabs, and squid.
Pigeons (Pigeon: On all fours, bring your right knee to your right wrist. Your shin may be in line with the short end of the mat. Stretch the left leg out behind. Come to your fingertips and push the chest out. And you may fold over your front leg.) occur worldwide except in the coldest regions and the most remote islands. They are strong and swift fliers. They are generally colored soft gray and brown to black. Pigeons drink by sucking water using their beaks like straws. And they, like humans, can see in color.
Sparrows (Chick: From Downward Facing Dog Pose, bring the right foot in between the hands. Drop the left knee on the floor. Bending forward, straighten the right leg by walking with the toes in front. Slowly lift the toes off the ground. Keep the shoulders away from the ears and try to extend the arms as far towards the back as possible. Keep the elbows straight.) are small birds, chiefly seed-eating. They live very close to humans. Sparrows, unlike many other birds, cannot be found in forests and deserts. They prefer life close to human settlements. They are covered with brown, black, and white feathers.
Storks (Stork: Standing tall, raise one foot off the floor taking it to hip level in front of you. Maintaining balance, point the toes down flexing the ankle. Bring the arms extending in front of you as you point the fingers down. Gaze at one point to help maintain balance.) are large, long-legged, long-necked birds with long bills. Most storks are found in flocks except during the breeding season. Most eat small animals caught in shallow water and fields.
If you would like to continue your next kids’ yoga class with a story about birds, please take a look at the story of the Little Pip: Don’t Be Afraid, Little Pip.