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Hi, my name is Melissa. Pour yourself a cup of tea and stay a while. I'm completely devoted to my Savior, madly in love with my husband, and joyously raising my daughters. I'm so glad you stopped by and I hope you enjoy your time here!

Monday, September 9, 2013

Praise Moves for Children from Praise Moves: Review


One are that is sometimes hard for me to fit into our homeschool day is intentional exercise and movement. My girls would much rather be reading or playing pretend rather than get active. We do get outside and run around, but before long we're ready to come back into the house. I'll also be honest and say intense exercise just isn't my thing so I don't always think to seek out ways to get my daughters intensely active. PraiseMoves is helping to change this!


A few months ago I had the opportunity to try out Morning and Evening PraiseMoves which was a great blessing on so many levels. I typically tried to exercise in the early mornings or evenings while the kids were in bed, but some days my young daughters would be around. It didn't take long for them to join in! Grace especially seemed fascinated by the new "extercise" Mommy was trying out! She is your typical flexible three-year-old and can quickly maneuver into postures I still am struggling with completing accurately. Not to mention she is enormously adorable when she says things like, "I really love to extercise with you Mommy. Can I use your mat too?" Of course you can sweetheart!

I was very excited for my girls to tryout Praise Moves for Chrildren. Just as I have been encouraged to try out yoga, I've also been encouraged to give it a go with my girls. I'm very much aware of the roots of yoga and did not want my girls to have any part of it. Although I've been teased for my stance even by Christians, I have stood firm, knowing the latest trend does not always lead to a good end. My girls have been so greatly blessed by this sweet exercise DVD. They enjoy it and feel as if they are dancing while exercising.



There are two separate work-outs in addition to instruction on how to correctly form each posture. The girls were ready to jump right in and get active! I made sure they worse loose clothing and they chose to be barefoot. I only have one mat, so we just went with the carpeted floor which worked just fine until part-way through when the girls remembered seeing me use a mat. I quickly pulled it out and all three shared the same one. I'm sure glad it was long!

Rose and Beth were a little shy at first even though it was just me in the room with them! I think they were nervous about doing something incorrectly and looking funny. The wonderful thing is that soon after they stared they were quoting Scripture and forgot all about being unsure of themselves! I found it interesting how self-conscious they seemed to be and I realized I have the same tendency. I don't typically enjoy exercising in front of anyone else, including my husband, unless it is something simple like a walk. Praise Moves is so wonderful in that it takes my mind off of me and focuses it on God instead. I don't think so much about how I look or if I'm doing things right, but simply dwell on the Scripture while I work out. 

Oh to be so flexible again! Grace can bend and stretch in ways I can't even begin to try! I'm sure this has to do with the limberness of young children and I hope Praise Moves can help her keep this flexibility. It was fun to see her bend and stretch without any struggle at all!
This was Rose and Beth's favorite posture, the prayer warrior! This was a more difficult posture for Beth who is 6, but she allowed me to turn her foot and adjust her body until she was more correctly aligned. Rose who is 8 had no trouble with this one. By this time in the DVD little 3-year-old Grace decided she was done and was playing with some alphabet letters on the floor. The girls didn't even seem to notice she was there as they were so focused on what they were doing!

I absolutely love this picture of Beth lifting her eyes towards heaven as she exercises because that is what Praise Moves is really all about. Yes it is healthy exercise, but it is just so much more. Laurette Willis consistently points the children towards thinking about Christ and His Word while also promoting a healthy accept who they are in Christ, encouraging them to view their bodies as a temple of the Holy Spirit. I usually will exercise with the girls. There is nothing childish or too easy about this DVD and it excellent for me to model the habits I want to see in them. Not to mention giving me time to center on Christ myself! 
Other titles available for children are Power Moves Kids and the PraiseMoves Kids TV Show. Even with just my short time using PraiseMoves for my children and myself and I can tell you with confidence these would both be excellent 


If you are looking for a new way to exercise with your kids give this a try. They'll have fun, learn Scripture, and be healthy all at the same time! 

Disclaimer: I received the PraiseMoves for Children in exchange for an honest review.  I was not required to give a positive review. I was not compensated in any other way. 







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