Top Prop Tips!

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Top of the Props! Ten top tips for effective use of props in kids yoga lessons
In my years of being a kids yoga teacher, I have amassed a huge collection of props.
I love the excitement of buying new things to play with and bringing joy to my yoga classes.
BUT is it necessary?
To prop or not to prop?
Some people would argue that you shouldn’t need props for yoga, that it should be a time to connect to yourself.
I don’t believe this, and here’s why: our brains are wired for novelty. This means that when we bring something new to our kids yoga lessons, the children are more likely to be engaged, enjoy themselves, and remember what they have learnt.
Props are also a great way of supporting and extend the learning in the yoga lesson.
Having something to hold is also a really supportive way of helping children feel safe in your class. Many children experience anxiety from being in a new environment with a different teacher and different expectations. This can result in the dreaded mat picking! When children have something to hold, they are much less likely to pick at your lovely yoga mats, they are also less likely to search for stimulation elsewhere (looking around the room, trying to find things to fiddle with).
 
Here are my top tips

1. Safety first! Ensure that your prop choice is appropriate for the age and development of children that you are teaching. Pom poms can be a lot of fun, but if the children that you are teaching are at the age or stage of development where they still put things in their mouth, they should be avoided.
2. Keep it clean It is really boring but, it is really important that you clean and maintain your resources regularly. How often depends on how many children you teach, how often the props are being used, the setting that they are being used in and the way that they have been used. It’s also really important to check the safety of the props regularly, is there any loose stitching or parts that are loose that could be a choking hazard?
   
3. Remember the rules Always introduce your rules and boundaries of using the props: what can the children do with this prop/ resource? What are they not allowed to do? Reinforce these rules every single time you use the prop, even if you have used it before with this group of children. When we express our expectations clearly, kids know how to succeed- which, at heart, all children want to do.
4. Get the number right Whether you are teaching a group of 8 children in a community group or 30 children within a school lesson, you need to ensure that the number of props that you have is appropriate to the number of children. I learnt this one the hard way pretty quickly in a lesson where I had 30 children and only 1 hobermansphere! We were going to pass it round the circle…. It did not go well!
5. Get your money’s worth! Props and resources are expensive, especially if you are teaching large groups. Make sure that you are using the prop multiple times within the lesson, how can you use the same prop in different ways throughout the lesson? Can you use it in the warm up? As a mindfulness tool? In a breathing technique? For supporting or extending a pose? In a game?  Can you utilise the prop in the relaxation? Make sure that you are using the prop in as many creative ways as you can within the lesson, otherwise, it is just an expensive fidget toy! There are some ideas for this in my freebie here.
6. Foster creativity Yes, you will have ideas of how you plan for the prop or resource to be used but don’t be too fixed here. Allowing children the freedom to explore and get creative with their prop may give rise to an idea that you hadn’t thought of. When children feel in control, they grow in confidence.
7. Don’t overwhelm So, you have some new props that you are excited about and your want to use them all right now! STOP! I’ve already talked about how novelty excites the brain, well too many new things can confuse the brain. When faced with too many different things all at the same time, many children (and indeed adults) shut down. Our confused brains says no, we can’t learn with so much stimulation. Just choose one or maybe two props in each lesson. This also makes transporting it all much easier!
8. Think before you buy Sometimes we can get excited about a new exciting prop idea that we saw someone else use. I know that I did, for the first few years I bought loads of different props thinking that they were an ‘investment’. Things are only really an investment if they add value. Before you purchase something new for your business, think really carefully about how you will use it, do you already know how you would put it to use? How many different ways can you think of using it?
9. Avoid one time use When I first started out, I spent an awful lot of money in hobby craft buying art supplies for mindful crafts. As much as the kids (and me) loved these activities, when I worked out how much I was spending on these ‘one time’ activities, I worked out that I was hardly earning much in my lessons at all. It might sound obvious, but it took me quite a while to learn that it is possible to have mindful activities that you can use again and again. For example, instead of making mandalas using stickers or paper, consider using gems, stones and lolly sticks and allowing the children to take photos of the finished article. This is also better for the environment and teaches a lesson about impermanence.
10. Mix it up! Kids love novelty, kids also love familiarity! It’s great to have a tool box of props that you use regularly. This way, the children you teach get excited by the props you bring, but over time, they return to familiar ones, like old friends. You don’t need a brand new prop every lesson!

 
Are you wondering which are my ‘go to’ props? Check out my freebie Top of the Props! Which is a list of all of my favourite props that I use regularly and some great ideas on how to use them.

I hope that you found this helpful, let me know if you use props and which ones are your favourite.

Julia