I had the opportunity to sub a class last week with the preschoolers at HOME Power Yoga . I gathered up some of my favorite October activities and pulled out my cauldron and plastic spiders. Toe-Ga is taught in many of the children’s yoga curriculums and is exactly what it sounds like – yoga for your toes! This type of yoga has many benefits. It helps with balance, strengthens and stretches your toes and muscles in your feet (did you know there are 29 muscles in EACH foot??!), and improves mobility & strengthens ankles.
When I learned Toe-Ga, I was taught to use pom poms and to scatter them around the yoga room. The children are then asked to try and collect the pom poms by ONLY using their toes. Once they are grasping the pom poms with their toes, encourage them to walk over to their mat/bucket and drop the pom poms off. Variations include asking the children to only pick up certain colors/sizes, walk on their heels/toes to collect the pom poms, time the challenge and see how many each student can get in 30 sec./one minute. The possibilities with this activity have proven to be endless.
Toe-Ga with Spiders!!
I use this activity several times a year with my students and I am always looking for new ways to teach it. Once October hits, my creepy spiders come out. We work as a team and pick up the spiders up with our toes. Next, we walk on our heels over to the cauldron. We practice balancing on one foot when we lift our toes to try and drop the spider(s) into the cauldron. I heard lots of giggles in class and the children loved this twist on a fan favorite. Before I break it out, I always ask the kids if anyone is afraid of spiders. I once had a child that was terrified, so I wanted to warn him that they were fake. I like to play spooky music and encourage the children to use BOTH feet.
This week, I opened with this activity. This gave me the opportunity to chat with the children and learn the names. We then did this at the end of class when the children were winding down and getting ready for Savasana, our final resting pose.
Do you teach Toe-Ga? What variations do you use?
The above post contains affiliate links. I earn from qualifying purchases.
2 thoughts on “Toe-Ga – with Spiders!”