Collina Italiana, an Italian language and cultural center for adults and children, is scheduled to start offering CiaoYoga!, a program for children ages 3-7 to learn Italian through yoga-inspired tales, on Jan. 27.
The engaging 10-lesson program is designed to help children improve their Italian language skills through unique yoga-related stories and activities. During each class, a story is narrated in Italian by a certified teacher based on simple yoga related words and positions.
“We wanted to create a program that combines learning and movement. We know children learn best when they can play and move, so we decided to combine language and yoga in a really fun way,” says Alessandra Greco, director of the children’s program.
“Il delfino e la luna” (the dolphin and the moon) will take the children on a magical journey to learn the barca (boat) and mezzaluna (half-moon) yoga positions. Like traditional yoga, children will stretch and move their bodies under the guidance of a teacher, except in CiaoYoga! all the yoga positions will coincide with a sweet and fun Italian story. Children will also learn about about the gatto (cat) and lepre (hare) through a classic tale of wisdom, “Il gatto e la lepre.”
CiaoYoga! classes will take place on Saturdays from 11:30am-12:30pm for 10 hour-long sessions. Collina Italiana on the Upper East Side also offers private tutoring; painting workshops; and Girotondo, a year-round language program with hands-on art instruction and play activities.
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