Mia's Mountain Hike: A Forest Yoga Book for Kids

I am a kids yoga teacher and this book makes it very easy to both read and do the corresponding yoga pose without losing the children’s focus.I have used other kids books during a class that we’re very confusing because the corresponding yoga pose was not mentioned or shown on the page being read, causing a need to look in the back for what the authors reference is. Kids wiggle and focus gets lost. This book is simple (kids can practice on their own). It shows a picture of the pose on the story page, and also has a list of all of the poses with the animal or object they represent, and another reference offering cues for teaching the pose. Perfect for anyone...child, caregiver, teachers, and yoga classes. The story encourages time with special family members and the peacefulness of being in nature!

I read this book with my daughter and she loved doing the poses throughout the story! She wants to read more of these!

I teach Preschool and am always looking for ways to bring yoga and mindfulness to my classroom. KidsYogaStories is an amazing resource. Their books, cards, and ideas are always there to help. This book, like their others' is a great way to incorporate this into our circle time! Thank you to Giselle Shardlow for helping all of us teachers!!

The story, the pictures, and the way to incorporate yoga are all very well done.

Nice story and great wY to incorporate poses.

I use a literacy-based approach to a yoga/creative movement enrichment program for early childhood centers and will be using this book.Giselle Shardlow's Mia's Mountain Hike is developmentally appropriate for children from about four years (maybe look and point with younger children) to around first grade. Lauren Hughes illustrations are engaging and will encourage children to discuss the natural world around them. While reading the story children and their caregiver(s) can practice different yoga poses with Mia and her Aunt as they hike along and/or can follow the complete flow presented with pictures and instructions after the story. The parent-teacher guide in the back of the book provides helpful suggestions. Lastly a big thank you for encouraging mindfulness and deep breathing; our little ones benefit when they feel they have the power to calm and respect their own bodies!

As a father, as a kid’s yoga teacher, and as a hiking lover, this is a book that really touches my heart in many different ways. It’s a wonderful voyage through the forest that invites all the kids to explore nature and the outdoors through yoga poses. The text is quite simple and that's very useful when you are reading stories to kids from 4 years old, but can be easily expanded and also adapted for older kids. I like to plan my lessons in time with the seasons and the holidays. We are just entering into spring so the book story is just perfect to encourage students to participate in all the activities done during this season, for example, hiking. It can be also used during fall.Finally, as I always write in my reviews, the parent-teacher guide is a wonderful tool if you are a parent and you want to introduce yoga to your children or, if you're a kids yoga teacher, it can simply be a source or a reminder of how to teach yoga to children in a properly and funny way.

When i first recieved this book i read this book to my 2 pre-school yoga class of about 12 students per class. Each student has their own mat and participates in yoga regularly over the course of the school year. Most students in the class i used it in on this day are 3 years old.The story did a good job of keeping their attention. I like to work my lesson plans to correlate to seasons and holidays. We are leading into spring so the book story is relevant to what activities (hiking) students could be particpating in now. It would also be great incorporated into a fall theme. The children became excited to do the yoga pose that matched each segment of the story. The story and poses flowed very well for a transition to lay and relax/ reflect at the end. The artwork was well done and the pose examples were well incorporated into the picture. I enjoyed toe-ga which added a sensory element to our practice. The length of this book was perfect as each class last 30 minutes. It held the attention of the young children for a good amount of time while leaving room for discussion and reflection. I would recommend this book for personal use practice at home for one on one practice with families with very young children. It was also a wonderful tool for a classroom of multiple young children discussing activities and seasons. It worked well with my 3 year old class but it will be appropriate for some of my school age classes as well.