Earth Day Kids Yoga Lesson: Teaching Mindfulness & Connection

April 24, 2026

In honor of Earth Day, we’re excited to share our newest DharmaKids Lesson Plan—beautifully inspired by We Are One. This month’s theme invites children to explore connection, kindness, and care for the world around them through simple, engaging mindfulness practices.

Designed to be easy, playful, and impactful, this lesson blends movement, breath, and reflection—helping kids understand that even small actions can make a big difference.

Download your printable pose guide (PDF) featuring a few highlighted poses from this sequence!

Recommended Tools:

1. Opening with Namaste

We begin by greeting each other with Namaste, which means:

“The light in me sees the light in you.”

For young children, I explain this as:
We each have something special about us—something we’re really good at, something we enjoy doing, or something we’re learning to do. Examples of this are, jumping high, running fast, drawing, cooking or learning to read. I hold out one hand and say,

“This hand reminds me of something that makes me special.”

Then I talk about how we all do kind things for others—like helping a friend who is sad, putting recycling in the bin, or cleaning up the classroom. I hold out my other hand and say,

“This hand reminds me of all the kind things I do for others.”

When we put our palms together, it shows that we are both special and kind. That is our light. When we begin and end yoga, we honor that light in each other with Namaste.

2. Breathing Practice

We sit criss-cross applesauce and begin to breathe deeply to prepare our minds and bodies for yoga.

Inhale through the nose like you’re smelling a beautiful flower, hands on our bellies, which get bigger as we breathe in.
Exhale through the mouth, gently, making our bellies smaller again.

We repeat this three times. To help visualize the breath, we use the Hoberman Sphere, which expands and contracts like our bellies do when we breathe. Children can open the ball slowly or quickly to match their breath. This “breathing ball” is also a useful focusing tool in later poses.

3. Reading We Are One by Jennifer Black

We read the book We Are One by Jennifer Black one page at a time. After reading each page, we pause to do the corresponding pose together. Once we’ve completed the pose, we return to the book and continue reading. We repeat this pattern—read a page, do the pose—until the story is complete. Then we transition into Savasana.

Mountain Pose (Tadasana), pages 1-2- Stand tall with arms down by your side, feet together. Feel the ground beneath you and think about every living creature on earth. Take three deep breaths in and out.
Shooting star (Utthita Tadasana), pages 3-4- Start by standing tall with your feet together and arms by your sides. Bend your knees a little, take a big breath in, then jump your feet out wide and arms out to the sides, exploding into a big Star Pose as you breathe out. Land softly, inhale, then jump back in, exhaling as you do so. Inhale and exhale as you explode again like a bright, bursting star in the sky!
Caterpillar (Anahatanasana), pages 4-6- Start on your hands and knees, then walk your hands forward and melt your chest down toward the ground. Keep your bottom up high and wiggle forward like a slow, stretchy caterpillar. Take a few gentle breaths.
Airplane (Dekasana), pages 7-8- Stand tall on one leg and stretch your arms out like wings. Lean forward and lift your other leg behind you like an airplane flying through the sky. Look at something that isn’t moving on the floor, such as a Hoberman’s Sphere ball, and take a few slow, steady breaths.
Sun (Urdhva Hastasana), pages 9-10- Start small by crouching down like a tiny sun just waking up. Slowly stand up and reach your arms higher and higher, growing into a big, bright sun. Spread your fingers like sun rays and take a big, warm breath in as you look up towards the sun. Breath out and bring the sun’s warmth to your heart. Inhale, reach your finger overhead and look at the sun, exhale, bring the light to your heart.
Earth (Balasana), pages 11-12- Kneel down and curl your body forward, resting your forehead on the ground to make a round shape like the Earth. Wrap your arms in close or rest them on the floor and take slow, gentle breaths. Imagine we all live together on one big, round planet, sharing the same air.
Igloo (Adho Mukha Svanasana), pages 13-14- Come onto your hands and feet and lift your bottom up high to make an upside-down “V,” like a cozy igloo. Keep your arms and legs strong as you hold your shape. Take a few slow breaths inside your warm igloo.
Mermaid (Eka Pada Rajakapotasana), pages 15-16- Sit with both legs folded to one side like a mermaid tail. Place one hand on the ground and reach the other arm up and over like a big ocean wave. Take a few slow breaths and imagine you’re a mermaid stretching in the sunshine.
Spider (Malasana), pages 17-18- Start standing, then slowly squat down with your feet a little wider than your hips and your heels either on the floor or lifted if needed. Place your hands on the floor in front of you, letting your elbows gently press into your knees so your legs feel like a spider’s body and legs.
Possum (Uttanapadasana), pages 19-20- Lie on your back with arms by your sides, then slowly lift both legs straight up toward the sky. Keep your belly strong and legs reaching tall, like a possum hanging upside down from a tree branch. Imagine gently swaying or wiggling your “tail” (your legs) while staying calm and steady with slow breaths.
Frog (Mandukasana), pages 21-22- Start by coming down onto hands and knees, then slowly widen the knees apart while keeping the ankles in line with the knees. Lower down onto forearms or keep hands on the mat, and imagine being a little frog resting by a pond. Encourage kids to gently rock or “ribbit” as they breathe, feeling their hips open while staying low and calm like a relaxed frog.
Pig (Ananda Balasana), pages 23-24- Lie down on your back and give your knees a big hug. Now reach up and grab the outsides of your feet, opening your knees wide. Gently rock side to side like a happy pig rolling in the mud—squish, wiggle, and maybe even giggle while you take slow, happy breaths!
Bicycle, pages 25-26- Lie on your back and bring your hands behind your head with your elbows wide. Lift your legs up and begin to pedal them slowly like you’re riding a bicycle—one knee comes in while the other leg stretches long. Keep your movements smooth and steady, and take slow breaths as you ride.
Heart Mudra (Hridaya Mudra), pages 27-28- Sit up tall with your legs criss-crossed in easy pose. Make gentle fists with your hands and point your thumbs down, then bring your knuckles together and open your fingers a little to form a heart shape. Hold your heart up to your chest and take a few big, slow breaths in and out, feeling grateful for each other and the world we share.
Rainbow (Marjaryasana), pages 29-30- Come onto your hands and knees like a table. Push the floor away, round your back up high like a rainbow, and tuck your chin in. Take a slow breath and feel your rainbow back growing big and strong.
Tree (Vrikshasana), pages 31-32- Stand tall with your feet rooted on the ground. Bring one foot to your ankle, calf, or inner thigh, and place your hands at your heart or reach them up like branches. Find something to look at on the ground, (such as a Hoberman’s Sphere ball), stay steady, and grow tall like a strong, peaceful tree.
Hug (Sukhasana), pages 33-34- Sit up tall with your legs criss-crossed and your hands resting on your knees. Lengthen your spine like you’re growing up toward the sky, and relax your shoulders down. Take a slow, gentle breath in as you raise your arms over your head, let the breathe out slowly as you give yourself a great big hug.

4. Savasana (Final Rest)

After we finish our story and poses, we quiet our minds and calm our bodies with Savasana.

“Savasana helps our brains become calm and clear, making room for new thoughts and ideas.”

I demonstrate with the Yoga Dust Brush—a clear-handled brush filled with floating glitter. I show the kids how the glitter swirls when the brush is moving and settles when the brush lies still. I explain:

“Our thoughts are like that glitter—when we lie still, they settle down and our minds become clear.”

Children lie on their backs, breathing gently.

Optional tools: Eye pillows or breathing buddies (stuffed animal) on bellies, and/or star machine with calming music or the bird timer.
I gently “brush” a little yoga dust on each child’s forehead to help them relax.
I guide them to breathe in through their noses, expanding their bellies to rise, and out through their mouths, letting their bellies fall.

5. Magic Yoga Hugs & Closing Namaste

After a few quiet minutes, we begin to wake up:

Stretch arms overhead for a full-body stretch.
Hug knees to chest, and slowly roll up to a criss-cross seated position.

We bring our hands to our hearts and think of someone or something we love—family, friends, pets, even a favorite toy or blanket. It can be someone alive or someone who’s passed on.

Breathe in and raise your arms up.
Breathe out and give yourself a hug.

“As we breathe out, whoever or whatever you were thinking of will receive a magic yoga hug, wherever they are!”

Repeat once more, either with the same person/thing or someone new.

Then, we place our special and kind hands together and bring them;:

On our hearts: > “We respect each other with loving hearts.” Have the children repeat “loving hearts”.
On our mouths: > “We respect each other with kind words.” Have the children repeat “kind words”.
On our foreheads: > “We respect each other by trying new things with open minds.” Have the children repeat “open minds”.

Finally, we all say together:
“Namaste.”

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