Yoga Stories for Kids: A Path to Resilience and Growth
by Sharon Mond
ISBN: 978-1-942431-10-7
Yoga Stories for Kids: A Path for Resilience and Growth can be used by therapists, teachers, and parents to help elementary school aged children safely express and explore such issues as loss, fear, anxiety, anger, low self-esteem, bullying, friendships, and identity. The stories, which are integrated with movement, Yoga, and art experiences, offer various paths to overcome obstacles, develop coping skills, and build hope and resilience in a way that is non-threatening and relatable to children.
This book is divided into three main sections:
1) Yoga poses, which can be taught prior to the reading of the stories to familiarize the children with the movement;
2) Six stories for primary elementary age children (K through 2nd grade); and
3) Nine stories for intermediate elementary aged children (3rd through 5th grade).
At the end of each story, there are questions for further discussion, coloring pages for the primary elementary age group, and mandalas for the intermediate age group.
Reviews
Sharon Mond’s collection of short stories is a gift to a classroom teacher! While Sharon’s intended audience was a group of special needs children she worked with, these stories, with accompanying Yoga movements and meditative art work, address the social and emotional needs of any developing child! At The Red Oaks School, the high-interest tales are incorporated into daily classroom life. With themes of conflict resolution, reducing anxiety, gratitude, and other social/emotional topics, our teachers find many instances where story, movement, and reflection assist in maintaining a nurturing school environment. The charming, simple style can be easily adapted for pre-school through elementary aged children, and can be well used for a soothing moment or for a conversation starter. Highly recommended!
— Marilyn E. Stewart, Head of School, Red Oaks School, Northern NJ
These delightful stories geared for kindergarten to elementary school children teach simple life lessons and coping skills in manner young children can comprehend. They give voice to children who often struggle with expressing their feelings. I highly recommend this book for anyone who works with children.
— Judith Berg, LCSW-C
— Marilyn E. Stewart, Head of School, Red Oaks School, Northern NJ
These stories provide a script as well as a role model to help students resolve conflicts and process their experiences. They cut to the essence of what we all experience. They reflect Sharon’s deep insight into the challenges of her students and her gentle way of instructing them.
— Ellen Agronin, Educator
On Friday, May 3, 2019, I attended a regional Dance/Movement therapy workshop that focused on using movement as a means to treat trauma by offering individuals the opportunity to express and heal through the creation of their own movement sequences, which then empowered them to shift their experience into life affirming messages for themselves and their community. I had the opportunity to talk to participants of the workshop about my book, and it’s relevance to the topic presented and to the populations many of the therapists served. I related that my book, Yoga Stories for Kids: A Path to Resilience and Growth, uses Yoga, art, and the metaphor of the story to address difficulties and traumas faced by children and to offer a path to resolving and learning from those experiences, giving them a way to navigate successfully in the world which can lead them to make a positive impact on society in the future. The book was well received. Therapists in private practice, hospital, and school settings saw the value of using the book with children in their care and were very excited about purchasing the book to use in their practice.
— Sharon
