It’s fall, y’all, and that means it’s time for scarecrows to get to work keeping farmers’ fields safe from pesky birds that want to eat the crop! Get imaginative and silly with your littlest yogis with these scarecrow-inspired yoga activities.
First, let’s create a SCARECROW POSE. Just because it’s not traditional doesn’t mean it’s not yoga! Imagine what a scarecrow might look like in a field. Grow a tall spine, like the pole that holds up the scarecrow. The rest of your body is loose and floppy, wiggling freely. Try rotating your head, arms and legs right and left, keeping your torso straight. Imagine you are looking across the field for crows. When you look left, your arms and right leg might swing left. When you look right, your arms and left leg may swing right. Try the movements slow and then speed them up. Make it a game by smoothly flopping left and right until someone says, “Crow!”. Then you try to freeze in place.
Next, Change the old song, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star into a scarecrow dance. Start in any pose (start with something easy, like Mountain) and follow the movements described in the song:
Scarecrow, Scarecrow, turn around
Scarecrow, Scarecrow, look at the ground
Scarecrow, Scarecrow, raise your arms high
Scarecrow, Scarecrow, wink with one eye
Scarecrow, Scarecrow, bend your knees
Scarecrow, Scarecrow, flap in the breeze
Scarecrow, Scarecrow, wave and sway
Scarecrow, Scarecrow, keep those crows away
Finally, play a balance game. Find a partner. One person is the scarecrow and the other is the farmer. The farmer takes stackable props (yoga blocks. Legos, pompoms, dice, anything) and balances these objects on the scarecrow who is holding a pose (try Tree or Star). The farmer can stack props on the scarecrow’s head, hands, shoulders… anywhere! After a set amount of time, switch roles.
