We had a BLAST last week for our Winter Holiday Arts Camp. We covered themes like ‘Backwards Day’, ‘Spies & Mysteries’ & ‘Magic Carpet Around the World’. One highlight for me was special guest & kids yoga teacher Janet Williams, of Childrens Yoga Books showcasing her new ‘Yoga Match’ game. She even made a video of the kids enjoying the game. Thank you to all our little campers who joined us. We sure had fun doing yoga, creating art, and just being plain goofy during drama games. Looking forward to the next one!
Today my son Julian, brother Ryan and myself headed right down to the heart of Toronto – Yonge and Dundas. Right across from the Eaton Centre there is a new ING Direct café – but it doesn’t feel at all like a bank — it’s more of a communal space for hangin’ out, drinking coffee and getting work done on your laptop. This week was kid’s week at the downtown location and Centre for Art & Soul was invited to give a yoga a class… We didn’t know if anyone would be there to participate, but thankfully, we had a fairly good turnout. Always a support (lucky me), Julian was there to help show kids how the poses are done, even though yoga is not his favourite anymore (it’s all about soccer, dontcha know?!). And thanks to Ryan who was there to take photos, sing songs and be his usual friendly self with the parents. After 2 years of running this business, I’m grateful to say that these types of things don’t scare me one bit. In fact – I actually enjoy getting out, meeting new families and spreading some Art & Soul love! A big thanks to the folks at Network Orange for the opportunity!
Sunday Feb. 27th Mixed Media Art For Kids Workshop: 10:15 a.m. ‘til 11:45 a.m. – Mandala Art. Have wanted to do a mandala workshop for quite some time now. So when I came across the story ‘The Dot’By Peter H. Reynolds, I thought what a great story to inspire a discussion about dots and circles and the art of creating mandalas. We’ll watercolour paint our circles first, and then later doodle with pen and ink to add detail to the mandala. Looking forward to a blissed-out, zen-calm class! I wonder?
*Please note: Weekend Drop-in/Drop-offs now alternate between Saturdays and Sundays.
See you there! We would greatly appreciate it if you could call or email us if you intend to come to one of our drop-ins. It helps with prep when we have an idea of the number of kids participating. Thanks!
This is not a news flash either — it’s in the media all the time, but how did we get here?
Echoing Janet Williams’ view on the childrens’ health crisis, read on if you’re wondering how this happened… Great article.
“When I was young, my father used to joke around with us children and say, “When your mother was pregnant, she must have been startled by a kangaroo because you children never stop bouncing around!”. All the children in my neighbourhood were active. We ran endlessly around the neighbourhood playing Hide & Seek while the older boys played football on the street in the summer and hockey in the winter. The girls did gymnastics; swinging like monkeys on the monkey bars and swing sets and doing cartwheels and handstands on the grass. What we all had in common was that we never stopped moving and we could all see our ribs. We would rather run than walk and were constantly being told to “slow down”. Read more…
Janet Williams is a certified Primary/Junior Teacher, Yoga Instructor (RYT), and Author of the book “What I See, I Can Be: A Guided Yoga Flow for Children”. The book is accompanied by a CD and other resources including a DVD, Poster and Teacher Resource Materials Manual. To see more please go to http://www.childrensyogabooks.com/
This is a new go-to site for teen girls looking for a way to cope with some of life’s everyday challenges. How to Chill‘s got tips on self-care, breathing, meditation, yoga, healthy relationships, school and so much more. I thought it was really well done and worth spreading the word about. It’s put out by Child Development Institute here in Toronto. Nice work guys!
Yoga for children can seem unnecessary. After all, they’re young, so aren’t they already limber? They shouldn’t have any problems with stretching, their lives aren’t as stressful as those of adults, and it would probably be difficult to get children interested in a yoga routine.
As it turns out, scientific research has proven that logic wrong. Read more at my go-to resource ‘Young Yoga Masters‘ — for info from these studies here!
Great article written by a wonderful woman who I have had the pleasure of meeting and getting some guidance from — Aruna Santokh. She writes many wonderful articles on her ‘Young Yoga Masters’ blog – which I follow religiously. Aruna has been a source of inspiration for me and I will continue to look to her for encouragement and support. I really love this latest post. Had no idea they did this in Times Square! Wouldn’t it be great to do this at Yonge and Dundas here in Toronto!?
Thisweek’sart workshop is inspired by Kira Willey’s song ‘Colors’.
Saturday May 15th, Multimedia Art For Kids Workshop: 10:30 a.m. ‘til noon. For some reason spring inspires in me the idea of painting with watercolours. This Saturday we’ll explore how different colours evoke different feelings and create paintings telling a story of colours.
Our Saturday class schedule is as follows:
Multimedia Art for Kids (4 yrs +) 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (Drop-in/drop-off)
See you there! We would greatly appreciate it if you could call or email us if you intend to come to one of our drop-ins. It helps with prep when we have an idea of the number of kids participating. Thanks!
