Sensory

Bubble Painting Fish and Turtle

If you are looking for a fun and easy ocean craft you can do with household supplies you already have, try bubble painting a fish and a turtle with your kids. This exciting process art activity engages your kids in a rich sensory experience that also inspires creativity. It’s simple to do and works for all ages, as long as the artist can blow through a straw.

A win-win activity, bubble painting provides gustatory (oral) sensory feedback, helps increase fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination, stimulates the imagination, while delighting your kids at the same time. When finished, your child will have a unique work of art to enjoy.

Supplies for the Bubble Painting Fish and Turtle

Small Cups. Disposable cups make clean-up easier.
Bubble Solution. You can use a store-bought mix or make homemade bubble solution (leave out the essential oils from this recipe for this activity.)
Green and Blue Food Coloring.
Straws.
Thick White Paper. The kind meant for watercolor or mixed media would be good.
Googly Eyes or Stickers. Googly eyes that have a sticker backing are just as great for fine motor skills as the type you have to glue, and are a little less aggravating.
Markers or Crayons.
Scissors. To cut out the fish after you are finished. You could then make it into a magnet, use it it as a gift tag, etc.
Art Tray. I love these handy trays to keep all the mess contained. You can also use a plastic tablecloth, old newspapers, etc.

Instructions to make a Bubble Painting Fish or Turtle

Fill cups 1⁄2 way with bubble solution
Add 3-5 drops food coloring into each cup
Place cardstock into tray
Hold cup with bubbles over the paper
Blow into each cup through a straw, allowing bubbles to spill over the cup and onto the paper
Immediately pat dry.
Once dry, add googly eyes.
Color the outlines of the animals using markers or crayons.

Tips for the Best Bubble Painting Experience

I’ve been doing bubble painting with my kiddos since my oldest were little, and I have some tips to make things easier and better all around.

Do not use paint with younger kids. Use food coloring, because it is taste safe in the event this mouth-centered activity goes a little awry.

Throw the mess away. I recommend using disposable straws, and not a reuseable straw since it will be tricky to get the paint washed out.

Thin as needed. If the bubble solution is to thick to blow easily, just add a little water at a time till you get the perfect viscosity.

Wear old clothes. Because you need to use food coloring, getting stains out of clothing might be tricky. You probably will be able to get stains out, but it might be more trouble than it is worth if you can find paint clothes that don’t matter.

Take it outside. The easiest way to contain the mess is to do the whole project outside where it can be washed away when you are finished.

Poke a hole. If you make a hole or slit in the straw about one inch below the top, it will help prevent sucking the liquid up into the mouth. This is not foolproof, but it helps.

Important Note: Only do this activity with kids who are able to blow through a straw without sucking up the bubble mixture.

Variations for this Activity

Experiment with paints and colors. If you have older kids with little to no risk, you can experiment with different types of non-toxic paints for a more intense color and different effects. You can combine different colors and see what happens if bubbles are dipped into two different colors.

Different Tools. The size of the straw can change up the results. Your child might also enjoy using a bubble wand instead of a straw.

Use different bubble solutions. Each bubble solution is different. Some make big bubbles and some make tiny bubbles. Some make super strong bubbles and some are just normal. You can find all kinds of recipes on the internet to try, or you can just buy a bottle at the local store.

Make it a print. Instead of overflowing bubbles onto the paper like we did, you can instead fill up your art tray with bubbles and then press paper down onto the bubbles to make a print.

Try the blowover method. Take the paper outside and blow the bubbles onto the paper using a bubble wand.

What to Do With Your Bubble Paintings

Once you have the little fishies or turtles painted and drawn, you can cut them out. Then, you can glue magnets on the back to make refrigerator magnets or a magnet fishing game. You can use them on notecards. They can be hung on a mobile or straight on a wall. Fish and turtles can be used to decorate containers, classrooms, posters, and more! They could even be turned into ornaments.

Frequently Asked Questions

I have a toddler. Can we enjoy bubble painting?

Yes. As long as your child can blow through a straw and isn’t likely to suck through the straw, you can have fun with this activity. Your toddler will be captivated by all of the swirling, poppable color.

I have a tween. Is bubble painting worth it?

Yes. Older kids and adults will enjoy experimenting with different techniques, effects, and ideas to come up with even more creative bubble art.

Why should I care about doing process art with my kids?

Process art is all about the experience. Its not about the end result at all — there is no judgement. Your child is free to explore and become captivated by the experience without fear.

More Sensory Painting Activities

Exercise Bingo Game Free Printable

By Sharla Kostelyk

What if you know you need to get your kids moving more but aren’t sure how to make that happen? Maybe it’s raining outside, or maybe they are angry at their bikes or afraid of bees or something. Perhaps your child is just resistant to movement completely. Whether you need a complete change of pace or a fun way to get everyone warmed up, Exercise Bingo is the perfect choice.

If you’re looking for other interactive sensory Bingo experiences, our Yoga Bingo is a great option. While the suggestions in this Exercise Bingo are more alerting in terms of sensory input, the Yoga Bingo suggestions are perfect for calming.

The Benefits of Exercise Bingo

Wake up the brain. Have you seen what happens to the brain when you exercise? The heat map of the brain after exercise is incredible. All of those neural pathways light up and get ready to receive information. I like to tell my kids exercise is like magic for the brain. If your child is stuck on math, have them take a break. No matter how hard it is to put the pencil down, have the kids step away from math and gather for Exercise Bingo. Ten or fifteen minutes playing this game and you can reset your entire day and wrap your brain around math again.

Resolve big emotions. Exercise releases endorphins, and endorphins can help calm those big emotions. So if Mom is having a grumpy day after the math struggle, she should join in Exercise Bingo too.

Sensory Feedback. If a child has lost their place in space (proprioception), exercise is a grounding activity that will help your child get that sense of normalcy and security they crave. Pressure on muscles and joints through exercise is an invaluable sensory experience your kids will come to crave.

The proof is in the pudding. I know for me, my kids did not believe the power of exercise until they experienced it for themselves. I showed them the pictures of the brain after exercise, and then had them try school work after cardio. Now when they are struggling, they voluntarily find a physical activity. This is something that happens over time, not overnight so don’t give up modeling Exercise Bingo with your kids.

How to Play Exercise Bingo

Supplies

Printout of the sheet for each child.
Laminating the printouts will allow you to use them over and over with dry erase markers.
If you don’t want to laminate them, you could use stickers in the boxes, which is also fun.

Instructions

Complete an exercise.
Mark off the box for that activity.
Complete a row to win.

Variations for Exercise Bingo

While at it’s core, the steps I described above are how to play, I love the fact that bingo gives you so much flexibility. Try any of these variations!

Work in teams or as individuals.

Reward completion of rows, four corners, or the entire board with different levels of prizes.

You could also give a bingo award for learning four new skills, trying for arm exercises, etc. Get creative with the groupings!

Fun fact: Exercise Bingo is a great way to run off some energy at stops on long car trips!

What Kids Practice During Exercise Bingo

Balance. Many of the exercises require balance and coordination to be completed correctly. Of course, they don’t have to be correct every time you play, but over time with consistency these skills will improve.

Following Directions. If they are uncertain what a specific exercise is, they will have to listen and follow instructions to get credit for the activity.

Large Muscle Movement. Coordinating large muscle movement (gross motor skills) is an essential first step in developing small muscle movement (fine motor skills). If your child is struggling with fine motor skills, start with exercise.

Proprioception. Kids who struggle understanding where there body is in relation to the world (sensory perception) benefit so much from grounding activities that provide direct feedback about body position. That’s what exercise is – it’s proprioception practice. Yoga Bingo is another fantastic way to work on this type of feedback.

Names of Exercises. Knowing what a squat is or what tug of war is — these are actual concepts that kids should learn and recognize. It’s a whole new vocabulary. A shocking number of kids don’t know what it means to frog jump or crab walk and all of these exercises are so good for body development, but are also a part of the common shared experience — helping us relate to each other.

Tips for Exercise Bingo Success

Keep it low key and low pressure. Turning exercise into something stressful is not a good idea, so take it easy at first, set minimal expectations, and keep everything as light and fun as possible.

Participate with your kids. Kids are amazing imitators and if they see you having fun with an activity, they are far more likely to join in. Conversely if they hear you grousing about an activity, they are far less likely to have a good attitude. Set the bar high by having a happy heart and enjoying the game.

Make sure you have plenty of useable space. Whether inside or outside, everyone needs room to move around without bumping into each other so spread out, and clean up that toy room if necessary.

Encourage positive participation. You don’t have to offer physical rewards like toys or candy or treats. Encouragement is so powerful! Use life-giving words to encourage your kids when you see them participating in something that stretches them, demonstrating a good attitude, or setting a good example for siblings.

Grab your free printable Exercise Bingo game here:

Harvest Sensory Bottle

By Sharla Kostelyk

Do you have toddlers to teens at home and find yourself needing a handy way to calm someone down, keep a little someone occupied in a quiet setting, or fight boredom on a long trip? You are not alone! Our Harvest Sensory Bottle is the perfect tool to have on hand this Fall when the need for distraction arises. Your children will be enthralled.

If you haven’t read about sensory strewing before, be sure to check out that article to learn how valuable it is to just leave things like sensory bottles laying around, waiting to be discovered. Implementing this concept in your home can be life changing! That’s why I do what I do.

How to Make a Harvest Sensory Bottle

Supplies

Sticks. Gather these from outside.
Acorns. Gather these from outside as well.
Resin Pumpkins and Leaves. Found in the Halloween section at Dollar Tree or other dollar store
Sunflowers. Found in the fall section
Mini Fall Florals. Look for the tan spiky pieces.
Multi-Colored Beans.
Plastic Bottle. I get mine from Amazon.

Steps to Make Sensory Bottles

Wash the jar with hot soapy water and dry it.
Layer the beans with the other supplies on the list.
Depending on the child, you may want to super glue the lid in place. On the other hand you might want to re-use the bottle so it is up to you.

Tips to Make Your Harvest Sensory Bottle the Best It Can Be

Do not overfill the bottle. Ideally you want the items in the sensory jar or sensory bottle to be able to move around, make noise, disappear and reappear, etc.

Even young children can enjoy sensory bottles with small objects as long as the bottles are glued shut and the activity is supervised. But the cool thing is, big kids and adults enjoy them as well!

Can’t find everything on our list? Other small items found at the Dollar store while you are there can be equally delightful. Small erasers, beads, flowers, or toys that fit with the harvest theme can be substituted!

Clean it off first. As you gather sticks, acorns, or other small items from the outdoors, be sure to tap the sticks on the ground to shake off any loose bark or dirt that might make a mess in the bottle and rinse any dirt off of the acorns. Give everything time to dry before you make the bottle so you don’t invite moisture to the party either.

You will probably have enough supplies to make two bottles. Sharing the expense with another mom is a great idea!

How to Use a Sensory Bottle

This calming activity can quiet an over stimulated child, help someone regain focus and concentration, end tantrums or boredom, and inspire hours of quiet exploration. Here are just some of the ways one of these bottles can provide a valuable experience for your child.

Visual Perception Skill Building.

This refers to the ability to make visual connections between to options and develop an understanding of depth, spatial relationships, and positional concepts like above, below, under, and behind.

Problem Solving

“I’m sure I just found a purple bean. I want to find it again. Let me see how to make that reappear.” These are the kinds of thoughts that come out of sensory bottle play.

Auditory Sensory Feedback

The sound of the beans in the bottle can have a calming or stabilizing effect. It also helps exercise those auditory discrimination skills.

Large Muscle Movement

The smaller the child, the more of a large muscle workout a sensory bottle will be, and as they shake it, move it, turn it and bang it around they will be getting all kinds of kinesthetic feedback to the central nervous system. Just remember you cannot allow free play with a sensory bottle unless you are present to supervise. Even a glued on lid can come undone. Ask me how I know!

Harvest Sensory Bottle Expansion Activities

Read books about Fall. Some suggestions include Leaf Man by Louis Ehlert and Fall Mixed Up.
Rake and jump in leaves together.
Go on a hike in the woods to look for items in the sensory bottle.
Find and draw or name each different kind of item in the sensory bottle.
Visit a field of sunflowers.
Talk about the four seasons.

More Fantastic Sensory Bottles to Make

We love this Thanksgiving Sensory Bottle and its the perfect time of year to buy the supplies for both this and the Harvest one at the same time. For some extra fun, make this I Spy Birds Sensory Bottle. The I Spy bottles are perfect for taking on long car rides or events that will get tedious for little ones. We have so many different sensory bottle ideas, but one more I want to specifically call out that I think you will love is the Van Gogh Inspired Starry Night Sensory bottle.

The Day the Crayons Quit Sensory Bin

By Sharla Kostelyk

Building a sensory bin around a book is a genius idea. Reading aloud is so incredibly valuable for our children. Not only will The Day the Crayons Quit Sensory Bin encourage you and your children to read aloud together, it will also provide positive sensory input. Plus, your kids will be working on fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, gross motor skills, observation, and color theory.

Bright and engaging colors, a variety of interesting textures, and a story to tell, retell, and imagine will make this a sensory bin your kids won’t want to leave. The value of sensory input for children cannot be overstated. The same can be said for literacy. This activity encourages both.

About The Day the Crayons Quit

A delightful book, The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt and Marichelle Daywalt, tells the story of a time when all the crayons were dissatisfied with their lot in life. Each of the crayons leaves behind a letter to explain their plight and a dissappointed young man must convince them to take up their posts again so that he can color. The book covers themes like communication, feelings, empathy, and respect.

Why Connect a Sensory Bin to a Picture Book

The beauty of reading picture books to children is that the pictures help to bring stories to life for children and help them engage with the story even as they work separately on the skill of picturing a story as they read. Reading out loud to your children has immense value because they can hear and understand far more than they can read on their own. So by reading, you are providing an enriched literary experience they will come to crave for themselves.

When you add a sensory bin to the picture book experience, you are extending the magic. You keep the story alive in their minds and give them one more way to explore the concepts introduced by the book. As they play, they replay or continue the story in their heads or outloud with each other. This gives kids practice using vocabulary, communicating with each other, using imagination, and exploring the world.

The connection between the sensory bin and the book strengthens neural pathways in the brain and improves comprehension through play. It’s a new way to process and work through new information.

How to Make a “The Day the Crayons Quit” Sensory Bin

Supplies Needed

Step-By-Step Instructions

Fill the sensory bin with rainbow rice.
Add rainbow pom poms and number mini erasers.
Add small bowl, tongs, magnifying glass, and dice.
Set the book next to the bin.

Suggested Activities to Go with The Day the Crayons Quit Sensory Bin

Read the book.
Roll the dice and find a matching number mini eraser with the magnifying glass.
Roll the dice and use the tongs to place the correct number of pom poms in the bowl.
Use the magnifying glass to take a closer look at the book.
Locate a color in the book and find the matching colored pom poms.

How to Play with A Sensory Bin

Sort and organize. This is such a valuable activity for kids. You can sort items in the bin by color, type, or size.
Encourage your children to enjoy free play in the bin and see how they approach the experience. Let them run their hands through the rice, scoop and pour it, and play for as long as they like.
Compare and contrast. Talk about how the textures, colors, shapes, and sizes of each object compares to the others. Use descriptive words like smooth, soft, fluffy, or bright to describe the objects and compare them.
Gather and distribute. Move all of the pom poms to the bowl. Then dump the pom poms and move all the number erasers to the bowl. Use tongs, tweezers, or thumb and index fingers to work on fine motor skills a variety of different ways.

Sensory Bin Variations

You do not have to use rainbow rice. You could use rainbow pasta, rainbow beans, or a different sensory bin filler in primary colors.

Be creative! You can find mini crayon erasers and all kinds of things to use in your sensory bin if you have the room in your budget, but you can also pick things up at yard sales, at thrift shops, and from around your home. For this sensory bin focus on primary colors or rainbow colors to go with the theme of the book.

Add funnels, scoops, tweezers, measuring cups, spoons, and other tools to help your child experience the different materials in the bin.

Learning Extension Activities for The Day the Crayons Quit

Create Your Own Follow-Up Story: The Day the Crayons Were Happy

The Day the Crayons Quit Coloring Page

Make Crayon Ornaments

How to Melt Crayons and Make New Ones

Cool Whip Play Dough

By Sharla Kostelyk

Did you know that the simple act of playing with play dough has incredible benefits for kids? It’s a fantastic tool to keep in your parenting toolbox at all times. This taste-safe recipe for Cool Whip Play Dough is a fun way to engage your kids in sensory play for thirty minutes, an hour, or maybe an entire afternoon.

We like to make new and exciting playdough recipes to change things up, even though we love our Basic Homemade Playdough Recipe for everyday use. This recipe is so fun for kids because it is edible playdough, and they can help make this simple recipe. In fact, I recommend letting your kids help whenever possible!

Pro Tip: This is the perfect way to use up Cool Whip you forgot about over the holidays and found in your freezer three months later!

Cool Whip Play Dough Recipe

8 oz. frozen Cool Whip
1 cup powdered sugar
2-3 cups cornstarch
Food coloring – optional

How to Make Cool Whip Play Dough

In a medium bowl, add the frozen Cool Whip and 1 cup of powdered sugar. Stir to mix together well.
Add 1 cup of cornstarch to the Cool Whip and powdered sugar, then mix again.
If you’d like to add food coloring, add 4-5 drops and mix in.
Place the Cool Whip mixture back into the container and refreeze overnight.
Add the Cool Whip mixture into a bowl.
Add another cup of cornstarch and mix well with a spoon.
If the mixture is still sticky, add another 1⁄2 cup of cornstarch and knead with your hands.
Play!

Pro Tip: If the Cool Whip play dough is still sticky, add the remaining 1⁄2 cup of cornstarch and knead well. More cornstarch may be needed as the dough absorbs moisture in the air over the next few days.

How to Store Cool Whip Play Dough

This is not the kind of play dough you can keep on the counter. Instead, store your leftover edible playdough in an air tight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.

Variations

You can substitute some of the cornstarch with chocolate cocoa powder or strawberry drink mix powder for different flavors.

A bit of peppermint flavoring (not extract) will make this the perfect Christmas or winter play dough and add that amazing smell for sensory play. I don’t recommend using extracts because of the bitter taste of uncooked alcohol, but you can find alcohol-free flavoring oils in the cake decorating section of your local craft store.

Playing with Play Dough

I’m always looking for common household objects that will make our playdough play more fun. Set out the play dough with a few interesting possibilities and create an invitation to play. Here are some fantastic ideas for things that either cut play dough or make fun imprints, and most of these you already have or can grab at the dollar store.

Plastic Cups
Plastic Cookie Cutters (letters and numbers are fabulous!)
Cookie Press Cutters
Dough Roller
Toy Rings or Jewelry
Lego® or Duplo® (this may be a permanent sacrifice, so proceed with caution).
Plastic silverwear (knives, forks, spoons)
Combs
Plastic Beads
Bubble Wrap
Hair Brush
Whisk
Plastic Animals
tooth brushes
doggy toothbrush
leaves, flowers, and plants

Pro Tip: Contain the mess with play dough mats. I hear parents mention repeatedly that the reason they don’t do “XYZ” is because they don’t like the mess. As grown-ups we can figure out ways to contain and deal with that mess for a few years so that our kids get the powerful benefits of sensory play. Our Play Dough Mats Bundle can help you, and will even extend the fun! As a side note, this edible play dough wipes up easily with a hot wash cloth, and stray pieces on the floor may be snapped up by your pets.

The Benefits of Play Dough Play

This playdough provides significant sensory feedback, including tactile (touch), proprioceptive from the squeezing and squishing of the dough, and gustatory (taste) sensory input. If you add smelly food-safe flavoring oils it can also add olfactory (smell) sensory input just like our Pudding Playdough or Melting Ice Cream Playdough.

Besides sensory input, play dough also builds fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, imagination, concentration, and problem solving.

Like most sensory play, playdough is therapeutic and can relieve stress or tension as a calm-down activity for both kids and adults. Try our Calming Lavender Scented Playdough.

This is a huge list of benefits, and doesn’t even touch on ideas for using play dough to extend learning in math, science, and other academic areas — check out Dinosaur Fossils in Playdough as an example!

Tips to Keep Play Dough Time Fun and Interesting

Even though the sensory input is invaluable, some kids might find play dough boring after a while, and need inspiration to keep enjoying the experience. Here are some ideas.

Change up the toys. Don’t give your child all the things for play dough all at once, keep a few different bags of play dough tools and toys to rotate through.

Change up the recipes. We have a huge and growing collection of play dough recipes on our site!

Connect it to hobbies and interests. Whatever your child is into right now can be connected to sensory play whether its play dough or sensory bins. Dinosaurs? No problem. Counting. Easy! Flowers? Piece of cake!

Change the smell. Some kids may dislike the natural smell of our play dough recipes. Add a drop or two of essential oils, extracts, or food-safe flavorings to keep it fresh. *Make sure to use food-safe ingredients if your child puts everything in their mouths!

More Thematic Play Dough Recipes Your Child will Love

Frozen Inspired Elsa Microwave Playdough

Peter Rabbit Playdough Invitation to Play

Apple Tree Colour and Counting Playdough Game

Rainbow Playdough Colour and Counting Game

Yoga Bingo for Kids Free Printable

By Sharla Kostelyk

When self-regulation is a struggle, simple yoga activities can help. These centering activities for the whole body are a great way to calm down in stressful situations. When your child needs to regain control, suggesting yoga poses can stop the spiral fast. First, your child needs to know how to do the yoga poses. Practice yoga poses using our free printable Yoga Bingo for kids. Spend ten or fifteen minutes on this activity daily for long-term rewards as they help your child regulate his or her sensory, vestibular, proprioception, and tactile sensory systems.

Yoga poses are just one tool in your “calm-down” arsenal. At The Chaos and The Clutter, we are all about arming kids with the tools they need to gain control and self-regulate on their own. Your goal is to help your child become an independent adult who can navigate tricky emotions and stressful situations successfully on their own. You’ll find ideas for sensory bins, strewing, and games to help your child learn self-regulation throughout this website.

The Benefits of Yoga for Children

Vestibular System Function. The vestibular system is one of the sensory systems that helps create a sense of balance and spatial orientation to coordinate movement with balance. Yoga provides direct feedback and practice for this system.

Proprioception. Understanding one’s place in space is not as easy for some children as you might expect. Neurons in the muscles, joints, and tendons help a body feel grounded and aware in any environment, able to experience and understand self-movement, force, and body position. Yoga provides practice for all of three of the components of proprioception.

Tactile Sensory Play. The sense of touch may seem normal to you, but what is normal? Not everyone experiences touch the same way. Tactile play can help children who struggle with touch to interpret those brain signals more effectively. Sensory bins or bags are another great way to incorporate tactile play into your day. Yoga, especially when moving through different environments, provides direct tactile feedback for the body.

Physical Strength. Yoga is well known for building core strength and developing the muscles of the limbs as well. Children with sensory disorders often lack muscle strength because of avoidance of certain types of feedback. So any time you can participate in strengthening activities that don’t feel threatening, it’s a good thing. As an example, basketball practice builds physical strength, but because I am no good at it and it’s all about competition, it’s a very threatening experience for me. Yoga, on the other hand, is a competition with yourself. Can you do that pose better today than you did last week? That’s progress. That’s a win. As long as you keep yoga fun and low-key, it won’t be a threatening experience at all.

Grounding. There are two types of grounding. Grounding for mental health is the process of providing your brain with a distraction. Anything that uses the left brain will help take your brain away from the emotional right sphere and regulate your response. Yoga can be a left-brained activity. Counting, deep breathing, marching to a beat, and naming items in a list are other ways to engage the left brain. The other type of grounding is the process of connecting with gravity or the earth’s electrical energy. There are many theories on this, but yoga outside in the grass would qualify as grounding in this way.

How to Use Yoga Bingo for Kids

As soon as you download this printable, I recommend that you print at least one copy and laminate it so that it will survive the mom purse. Carry it with you as you are out and about with kids, and keep a copy handy at home, too. Make Yoga Bingo a habit with your kids, and they will learn all of the poses quickly and be able to take the pose when asked. Try to fit in ten to fifteen minutes of yoga per day in non-stress situations. Practice when everything is low-stress so that it is an easy ask during high-stress situations. Deep breathing in mountain pose can be done almost anywhere as long as you have practiced.

Finding Time to Fit Yoga into Your Day

Once you have a laminated copy to keep on hand, you can start working yoga training into your day. As you start making yoga bingo a habit, you will find ways to get more and more creative while out and about. Here are some ideas to get you started.

Standing in line at the grocery store? There are actually several yoga poses you can practice while waiting in line. Start with the mountain pose, and then try the tree pose. Once your children complete a pose, have them mark it off on the chart with a dry-erase marker or removable sticker. Then, look for another pose you can do without disturbing others in line. Once you learn them all, it gets easier!
Waiting between appointments? Find a grassy area in the parking lot where your kids can get a little more elaborate. Here, they can practice and learn the cat-cow pose, the downward-facing dog pose, and the camel pose. Bonus: These poses all have animal names, so you can also practice animal sounds and sing Old McDonald Had a Farm, depending on the ages of your kids.
Does your wait have to be in a carpeted room? Try some of the seated or floor-friendly poses like the frog pose, boat pose, or the seated forward bend pose. Some of these can even be done in a chair!

Make Yoga Bingo a Game

Keep it fun and low-key so that yoga is never a chore. If competition is a positive thing, you can give each child a card and have them work towards an individual bingo for the win. But, if competition is threatening or unpleasant for any of your children, work towards a family bingo instead — everybody wins, and as long as everyone participates, you can enjoy a group reward. It doesn’t have to be something you announce, and it doesn’t have to cost money. Just some form of encouragement. Here are some ideas for encouragement when everyone participates in family yoga bingo.

group cheer
high fives or fist bumps all around
group hug
a stop at a local park
pizza night (for bigger wins, like a week or month of consistent participation)

So, to recap. Print your copy of yoga bingo for kids right away so you don’t forget about it. If you have a laminating machine, get it laminated for protection, and consider making a copy for each of your kids. Practice yoga for ten to fifteen minutes per day to make sure everyone in the family learns the poses in a short period of time. Make it a game, but don’t make it a competition unless that is good for everyone. Reward positive behavior. When you are ready, encourage yoga poses in stressful situations when appropriate.

Download and print your Yoga Bingo for kids: