Pietra Kids - A Must Read Before Leading Classes for Kids

How can we help kids stay healthy and strong, calm their nervous systems, and pray, all at the same time? Pietra Kids, of course!!  

A good portion of the kids today are practicing yoga at home or in schools. Unfortunately, they are learning that yoga is the answer to their physical, mental, and spiritual troubles! That is scary!!

Many of our instructors have shown an interest in teaching kids classes. We encourage all of our instructors who are Foundation 2 or 3 to consider offering Pietra Kids at your local Catholic Schools or with homeschool groups. There is no specialty training at this point because we feel with a few minor changes, our instructors can lead an effective class for kids.

You must read this blog in its entirety, read the "Letter to Parents About Pietra Fitness (letter attached to this blog which can be edited to fit your situation. Find it at the bottom of the blog), and read the Teacher Handbook (attached to this blog at the bottom of the blog) thoroughly before leading a class.

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Ages for Pietra Kids

Pietra Kids can be for K-8th grade, so you may need to adjust your wording depending on the ages of the students. 7th and 8th graders may do better with some of our adult classes. You be the judge with the group you leading.

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Set the tone

The children may come into your class wound up, tired, happy, sad, hungry, or they just don’t want to be there. While adults may hide their feelings and not react on them, many kids will behave according to their emotions.

Take your lead from the class. If you see that the kids are rambunctious, stay calm, and change your plans just a bit. For example, you may want to start by having the kids march in place for a while to get some of that energy out, or you may have them sit in a circle and sing a song or introduce themselves, or talk about the saint of the day. Anything that will help them to quiet down and refocus would be good. Shortly we will have Pietra Kids Flashcards that would be fun to use before class. Please share with us any ideas you may have.

The effort you put into setting the tone before class will be well worth it!

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Intentions & Prayers

As in adult classes, we always begin with intentions, but they are a bit different.  For Pietra Kids we say, “For our pope, bishops, priests and religious, parents and family, teachers, and the chaplain of Pietra Fitness. If you are not in a school, you do not have to add teachers unless you would like.    

The prayers for the kids class are a little different, so make sure you are using the correct meditation sheets.

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Breathing

As you all know, relaxed deep breathing activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps participants feel calmer, reduces anxiety, and helps them focus. All of these benefits are crucial for adults as well as kids!! Be creative with this part. Tell them to think of their belly as a balloon that fills up when we inhale.

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Less cuing more praising

You will not give as many alignment cues as in an adult class. Look around the room, make sure everyone is safe, and say the most important things they will need to hear to get into the pose. Mainly, they will be watching you anyway rather than listening. If you give too many cues, you may lose them to boredom then will start acting out. Keeping them safe and engaged is the way to go. Please keep it simple!

Kids respond well to praise, so commend them in a language that will relate to the age group you are leading. While “good job” is nice, try finding other words that you can mix in there: well done!, Wow! Amazing! Beautiful!, You guys are awesome!, You’re a superhero!, just to name a few. Please share with us any kid-friendly language for commending them on a job well done.

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Remember: keep your eyes on the students!

You learned in P-FIT that this is not your exercise time, so keep your eyes on the class. More so in a class for kids. Kids are not always listening or paying attention to what they are doing, so they may be in a position to hurt themselves. Or they may be in someone else’s space and could potentially put them in harm’s way. Responding calmly, lovingly, and maybe even playfully, impede the situation by verbal cueing them into a safer position or inviting them back to their own space. Hopefully, if you are teaching at a school, the teacher and/or gym teacher will be present as well.

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Have fun but keep the prayers reverent!

Don’t take yourself too seriously and realize who you are talking to. You will not speak to a 1st-grade class the same as you talk to an 8th-grade class. Keep the class structured but playful. But, when it comes time for the prayers and meditation, be reverent and respectful. Read the scriptures and meditations slowly and clearly. Give them a little bit of time to think about what you just said. Having that time with God is the most important thing we can give them, so take full advantage of it.

Remember, you are planting seeds, and God will allow those seeds to grow and blossom!

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