How Yoga turned into Gaga

I am the type of person who likes to be prepared and organized way before things are due. I plan all of my events for the year in the Summer. A Yiddish quote I love is דער מענטש טראַכט און גאָט לאַכט or in English:"Man plans, G-d laughs." I try to plan my events around the Jewish holidays. I like to incorporate learning into my events. Some events have more Judaism in them while others are purely social events. My October event was supposed to be Yoga for an hour and then a craft making havdallah spice boxes. I love yoga and I wanted to share the practice with the kids in my youth group. I got so far into planning where I had the yoga teacher almost booked and the supplies in my Amazon cart. But like the quote, it didn't work out as I planned. The group of kids I got this year are amazing, don't get me wrong. They are really sweet, listen, and show kavod (respect). They are just the type of group that would prefer active games like gaga rather than relaxing yoga. I found this out in September, four weeks before the supposed yoga event. With all of the major Jewish holidays in between, I had a short window of time to prepare.  Frantically, I begin researching event ideas. I turned to books, blogs, and pinterest. Ideas came and went and nothing was grabbing me. Then it hit me, during the September event, the kids loved being outside. Since the weather is still nice in early October why not a Gaga Pit tournament? The kids always talk about it. But there is a problem. I have never played and I don't know how to play. So I turned to Google for help. I have been researching Gaga (not Lady Gaga even though that is the first result) for weeks now. But of course we do need more activities than just Gaga and we also need a backup incase of rain. Which is how I came up with an obstacle course. You may remember my first blog post about the Yom Ha'atsmaut training like an Israeli Soldier/ obstacle course. That course was for the older kids who enjoyed it so much I thought the little kids would like it too.  Like with all of my events, if I can incorporate Judaism, I will. After all this is a Jewish youth group. For this event I looked through my books: Jewish Holiday Games for Little Hands, Kids Love Jewish Holiday Crafts, and Jewish Holiday Crafts for Little Hands. I highly recommend these books to any Jewish youth group advisors. They have great ideas for crafts and games that kids actually enjoy. For the October event, I took inspiration from Jewish Holiday Crafts for Little Hands. 

The kids will be making their own Tzedakah Boxes. Since I don't drink nearly enough coffee for 20 children to have empty canisters, I found DIY Tzedakah Boxes. I have never used this website before so I am hoping for the best. The other supplies I found on amazon including: glitter glue, sticker foam shapes, and markers. Like all crafts, some of the kids will take two minutes and some will take 15. I come prepared with coloring sheets and backup games.  So the event is not the same event that I planned for in July, but I think it is shaping out to be a great event. I think the kids will enjoy being outside one last time before it starts getting cold out. When they make the Tzedakah boxes, I think it is important for me to teach them about Tzedakah and the importance of charity and giving back. As for yoga, maybe the older kids will be more willing to practice. I hope to work with the yoga teacher with the older kids. My next event for them is Harry Potter broom decorating but more on that in another post.  Remember, "Man plans, G-d laughs." Until next time,  Lilli