In need of some movement in class? Try these fun My Many Colored Days activities for kids to add some SEL and movement to your reading time.

Yoga is a wonderful way to engage kids in a fun and educational experience. Teaching yoga to kids based on a book or story offers numerous benefits, including promoting literacy, exploring specific themes, and incorporating movement into the classroom or home environment.

You can create exciting lesson plans for kids yoga in studios and after-school programs or practice yoga with your children at home. One of the best books to use is My Many Colored Days by Dr Seuss.

This lesser know Dr Seuss book, My Many Colored Days talks about how kids may have different feelings and emotions on different days, and how those feelings might affect them.

It's a wonderful book that can help engage children of all ages and give you an opportunity to discuss feelings and specific emotions with them. It has with vivid images and lots of descriptive language, plus animals on each page (which is great for kids yoga).

And if its “classic books of America week” at school, you can definitely choose this favorite to celebrate reading with your class.

The theme of discovering your emotions and understanding how they can change and be “different colored days” ties in really well with yoga and mindfulness.

Emotional intelligence, self-awareness, and the ability to self-regulate are all goals of yoga and mindfulness with kids.

We want them to be active in new ways, feel connected to their body, and then be able to recognize and deal with the emotions that they are noticing.

Using a book like the Dr Seuss classic, My Many Colored Days is an awesome way to tie this emotional awareness and body movement together. 

Try these fun activities with children in grades PreK and up. I would even teach this to my students 5th and 6th grades (ages 11-13).

The full printable kids yoga lesson is available here and includes:

  • Overview of the book and activities
  • Scripted Entrance, creative movement Warm Ups, Breathing activity, Discussion Questions and Story Introduction
  • Teaching tips for classroom management
  • Images of the poses with pose descriptions in the lesson (two poses for each color in the story!)
  • Discussion topics for each color: feelings, emotions, scents, and chakras (when applicable)
  • Two song links to YouTube videos for each color (all clean lyrics)
  • Full size pose images to print and show with descriptions on the back
  • Scripted Savasana
  • Printable pages for writing and drawing activities
  • Printable How Are You Feeling? chart for the “Fist to Five” check-in activity
  • Image and a basic description of the chakras according to Yoga Philosophy
  • (The book is not included in this printable lesson plan)

For a shorter overview and pose descriptions for each color, animal, and emotion—keep reading! Almost no materials needed for the activities with this great class book!

Click on the image below to be taken to the fully scripted Yoga and Literacy Lesson for My Many Colored Days:

my many colored days kids yoga lesson plan

Overview of “My Many Colored Days” activities with yoga, mindfulness, and movement

  1. Entrance/Welcome: Show a “Fist to Five” on your hands to show how you are feeling today.
  2. Warm Ups:  Feelings Freeze group dance–each time just before the music pauses, shout out an emotion for students to show on their face as they freeze.
  3. Breathing Activity: Watch the video “Just Breathe” from Mindful Schools, then breathe in and out while watching a glitter jar (either in real life, make your own! or from this video).
  4. Opening Discussion Question: Start with talking about the saying “I’m feeling blue” and discuss how sometimes people talk about how their feelings are like a color.  What other colors might be associated with feelings?
  5. Introduction to My Many Colored Days: This book might challenge our beliefs of what colors match which feelings, or it might support it. Pay attention to if you agree or disagree with the author’s ideas and opinions.
  6. Story/Movement: Read My Many Colored Days by Dr Seuss. On each page, identify the possible feelings, and do two yoga poses for each one. The poses are all animals, so it's easy to act them out. Then, listen to music that might match the feelings and colors as well. Option to talk about Chakras and other things associated with each color.
  7. Relax/Savasana: Rainbow walk– imagine yourself walking through all the colors of the rainbow and feeling them rest gently into your heart as you breathe.
  8. (Optional) Journaling/Creative Project: Have students write about their emotions, or how you feel on “mixed up” days. Draw poses to go with each.
  9. (Optional) Craft project: Cut and color a “My Many Colored Days” person. Or cut out and fill with tissue paper to make a very colorful window hanging!

Add in these fun emotions coloring pages to teach additional expressions of emotions.

You can also play a fun game of emotions bingo to help kids visually identify different faces and emotions.

Bright Red Days ( Horse ) – Excited, joyful

Horse pose (Goddess pose: feet apart with knees out, legs bent and arms up.)

Down Dog (Down dog with one leg up, then do some big kicks!)

down dog pose for kids, yoga at home with kids

Bright Blue Days (Bird) – Free, peaceful

Locust pose (Lie on your tummy and lift your arms and legs up.)

Airplane pose (Balance on one leg with your other leg behind you. Bend forward with your arms reaching to the sides or back)

bird pose for my many colored days kids yoga lesson

Brown (Bear) – Sad, lonely

Cat pose (Kneel on hands and knees, arch your back up to the sky)

Child’s pose (Sit on your feet and fold over your legs with your arms reaching forward)

Childs pose yoga for kids, girl sitting on her knees with her head resting on the floor and arms reaching over her head on the ground

Yellow Day (Bumblebee) —Jubilant, silly

Vulture (Squat on your feet and lift your heels, reach your arms back like wings)

Butterfly pose (Sit with feet together and knees wide, hold onto your feet, pretend to be a buzzy bee)

butterfly or bumblee pose for My Many Colored Days yoga lesson for kids

Grey Day (Owl)—Curious, shy

Eagle pose (balance on one bent leg and wrap your other leg around, wrap your arms up at the elbows in front of you)

Seated forward fold (Sit with your legs out straight in front of you. Reach for your toes or twist gently side to side)

seated forward fold, owl pose for my many colored days yoga lesson plan

Orange Days (Seal) —Silly, goofy

Happy Baby (Lie on your back, bring your knees in and grab onto your feet, pressing them up toward the sky)

 Up Dog (Lie on your tummy with your shoulders by your ribs. Press your arms straight, lifting your body and legs off the ground)

up dog, seal pose for my many colored days yoga lesson for kids

Green Fish—Calm, Content

Locust pose (Lie on your tummy with your arms reaching back at your sides. Lift your arms and legs up and wiggle like a fish)

Fish pose  (Sit with your legs straight out in front of you, lean back onto your elbows and press your chest up)

fish pose used for My Many Colored Days kids yoga lesson

Purple Dinosaur—Sad, lonely

Rock pose (Lie on your back, bring your knees into your chest and make a small ball)

Dinosaur pose (stand with feet wide and toes forward, fold over and reach for your heels)

wide legged forward fold pose with feet far apart and torso folded down towards the mat with hands on feet and head hanging heavy

Pink Flamingo—Happy, Energized

Dancer pose (Balance on one leg and reach for your other foot behind you)

Star pose (Stand with feet wide and arms reaching up and away from each other)

kids yoga lesson plan, breathing exercises for kids, star pose for kids yoga, mindfulness, breath

Black Wolf—Angry, frustrated

Cow pose (Kneel on hands and knees, arch your spine down and look forward or up)

Wolf (camel pose: stand on your knees, press your hands into your low back and lift your chest up, looking up)

camel pose for kids,

Mixed up!—Crazy, wacky, confused!

Create your own pose! Do a silly crazy pose and make up a silly name!

Me!—How are you feeling? What word best describes YOU?

Have students select their favorite pose, or think of one that fits your personality most of the time. Which color, animal, or feeling do you identify with most of the time?

Savasana:  Imagine the rainbow

Describe a gentle, calming scene and rainbow reaching up and over the sky above.

Guide the students through each color, slowly and calmly letting them imagine the color washing over them, or drifting up into the sky above them. Use a “breathing buddy” to help them focus on breathing in and out through their tummies while they relax.

two kids laying and resting in savasansa pose doing yoga in class

Emotional regulation and self-awareness are crucial to help children build self-esteem and confidence. 

My Many Colored Days is a popular book to help children learn to express emotions in a safe way. Use this book with it's beautiful illustrations to bring some movement and to the group and have a great time!

What other books have you used to help build up children's ability to emotionally regulate their feelings?

Don't forget to check out the fun, fully scripted lesson with full size pose images and other bonus materials to go with the book here.

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6 Comments

    1. Thank you, Marcela! I agree, it’s always good to be able to discuss our feelings, get it out and work it out 🙂
      Maia

    1. Thank you so much, Crystal! I agree, no part of teaching kids is isolated, so it’s important to try to make sure all their needs are met-physical, mental, and emotional. Thank you for reading 🙂

  1. I have a question about the classes with certification. My students are in school but currently I am not working directly with the classes. I currently am bringing the lunches to their designated areas or doing temperature checks. With that being said, I would like to do the class but am unsure when I will be able to video myself teaching students. What would you recommend?

  2. Hi Sharon!

    Thanks for your question. Are you referring to the teacher training and certification with the Ultimate Kids Yoga and Mindfulness Course that I lead?

    In the course, you are welcome to video yourself teaching imaginary students, especially now since the Covid restrictions make it much less likely to be directly in front of students 🙂

    If you have more questions about this or anything else you can email me at admin@ kumarahyoga.com

    I hope this helps!
    Maia

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