After reading the children's book "Caps for Sale" by Esphyr Slobodkina, I began thinking about ways to incorporate the book into our yoga classes. In the story, a salesman walks around his town selling caps, which he balances on the top of his head and mischievous monkeys come along and steal the caps. The story is intended to teach children about problem solving, but I thought it could also help them learn about balance and concentration. I encouraged the children to think about how hard it must have been for the salesman to balance all of those caps on his head!
I began reading "Caps for Sale," and this time we focused on the salesman and his impressive skills. Halfway through the story, I asked the children to stand up and practice walking, while keeping their bodies extremely straight and balanced, just like the salesman.
I began reading "Caps for Sale," and this time we focused on the salesman and his impressive skills. Halfway through the story, I asked the children to stand up and practice walking, while keeping their bodies extremely straight and balanced, just like the salesman.
After finishing the story, I gave each child one bean bag and asked them to walk while balancing the bag on the tops of their heads. Then we added another! Then another! They were able to balance three bean bags while walking from one side of the mat to the other. Talk about balance and focus!