Using Yoga Mats for Kids and School

You may have read about some of the many versatile ways that you can reuse an old Yoga mat around the house, in the yard, for camping and countless other use. But maybe there are other fun things to do that you haven’t heard about or thought of yourself yet. There are so many great things that you can do for the kids with Yoga mats, old or new. They can even be used for teaching aids for pre-school children.

Here are just a few ideas for exciting projects for your kids and other entertaining uses for Yoga mats. If you are a pre-school teacher or work in a day care center, some of these ideas can be carried over to the classroom as learning tools. By utilizing the versatility of the mats and taking advantage of the many different bright colors that Sunshine Yoga mats come in, you can keep the kids amused and distracted for hours at home or in school.

1.Have the kids make their own mobile. Using different shaped cookie cutters and different colored 1/8-inch mats if you have them, cut fun shapes and hang them with string or thread from the two wooden or plastic crosspieces. The kids will love to see their handiwork hanging in their bedroom or their classroom.

2.Use the cookie cutters again, along with colorful pieces of mat, and have the kids make their own Christmas tree ornaments.

3.Entertain the kids in the day care center by playing “musical mats” instead of musical chairs. This is where a variety of colored mats would be great.

4.A great way to teach colors to very young children is to use these colored mats and play a game. The first one to the purple mat wins! Or have them make a color wheel by directing them to a specific color and making each colored mat be a spoke in the wheel.

5.Use the same mats you use for musical mats and teaching colors for naptime for the little ones.

6.Help the kids make a variety of toys. Cut into a circle, a piece of a Yoga mat makes a great Frisbee. Cut them into fun shapes or letters of the alphabet and you’ve got bathtub or pool toys. Help them design masks and hats and then add a little string or elastic to hold them on.

7.The mats also work great as a play surface for the kids. This is ideal because they can be wiped clean or washed to get rid of the sticky remains of things like clay, play dough, or finger-paints.

8.Cut them into squares and use them for bases for spur of the moment baseball games.

9.If you have enough old mats and enough patience you can even cut them up into small pieces and use them as landing spots at the bottom of a slide on the jungle gym.

If you are thinking of using some of these ideas for the little ones at day care or preschool, you will probably need to buy a number of new mats rather than relying on finding enough mats that are used. Sunshine Yoga offers their 1/8” thick mats for only $8.49 apiece if you buy a dozen, or only $12.99 each for a single mat. Another good thought is to buy Yoga matting by the roll if your school or after school center has the funds. A 104-foot roll of Yoga matting through Sunshine Yoga is $127.99. That’s enough for 18 adult-sized mats, so think of how many little mats for the kids you could get from one roll. One roll would also be a nearly endless supply of materials for all the toys and projects using fun shapes listed above.