2013 Week 7:Tatty Bumpkin's POSE for the Week is PENGUIN!

By Sue Heron – Training Co-ordinator Tatty Bumpkin and Paediatric Physiotherapist
 
The activity of this week in Tatty Bumpkin classes is PENGUIN POSE; in the sessions your child will go on an adventure with Tatty Bumpkin to the Antarctic – to meet the penguins.

What PENGUIN POSE Looks Like

Can you balance an toy egg or bean bag on your feet?!

How To Do It (What to tell your child)

Stand up tall, then rock back on your heels so your toes and the balls of your feet are off the floor. Balancing just on your heels see if you can shuffle forwards, backwards or even sideways! Put your arms by your side then turn your hands up so they are like little penguin wings.

Want to Make it Harder?

Carefully place a bean bag or a rolled up pair of socks on your feet, then move onto your heels as you did before seeing if you can keep the beanbag balanced on your feet – just like a penguin carrying its egg!



 

Why it is ‘Good For Me’

When your child balances on their heels (with their ankles in a ‘dorsiflexion’ position) this facilitates pelvic floor muscle activity which in turn increases abdominal muscle activity i.e. strengthening of the tummy muscles. Strengthening and activation of the abdominal muscles can aid overall posture and co-ordination.

Naturally as your child walks on their heels in penguin pose they have less of their feet on the floor. Whilst they are having to stabilise themselves on this decreased foot area they will automatically progress their balance skills.

Penguin pose also provides your child with an excellent calf muscle stretch hence this pose is ideal, fun activity if your child has a tendency to walk on their tiptoes.

To improve co-ordination skills, especially eye foot co-ordination, your child can practise standing & walking with a bean bag balanced on their feet – just like a penguin with its egg!

To strengthen their intrinsic foot muscles and abdominal muscles your child can enjoy picking up the eggs with just their feet in the sitting positon and collecting them in the bucket.


 

Make it Multi-Sensory, Educational & Fun

Through the magic of a Tatty Bumpkin class Penguin pose can become both a multi-sensory and an educational activity.  In Tatty Bumpkin classes we always try to stimulate a variety of senses, to add to the fun, give choice & to help the learning process.

If your child is attending a Tatty Bumpkin class this week  they will have the opportunity to dance to Tatty Bumpkin Cockerel song then pick up ‘eggs’ with their feet as Penguin visits the hen house on Wobble Farm in search of eggs for pancakes! This multi-sensory activity will promote their sense of rhythm, imagination and creativity whilst being fun to!             

All our classes are linked to the new 2012 EYFS framework meaning that your child will have the opportunity to progress in all areas of their development, giving them a truly holistic experience. 

Children love doing things together, by watching others they also learn a great deal – often finding out a better way of doing things.

Wrapping Penguin pose inside a story, means your child will get involved in the story and find the pose and the other activities more meaningful and hence more fun to do. In 'Pancake Penguin' story your child will visit the cold Antarctic with Tatty Bumpkin and the penguins. One penguin loves pancakes so Tatty Bumpkin suggests he visits Wobble Farm…..
 
Find your local Tatty Bumpkin class at  http://www.tattybumpkin.com/classes/find-class.html

2013 Week 6:Tatty Bumpkin's POSE for the Week is DOLPHIN!

By Sue Heron – Training Co-ordinator Tatty Bumpkin and Paediatric Physiotherapist

The activity of this week in Tatty Bumpkin classes is DOLPHIN POSE, in the sessions your child will go on an adventure with Tatty Bumpkin after she finds a message in the bottle on the beach….

 

What DOLPHIN POSE Looks Like

Swim and dive through the sea with the dolphins!

How To Do It (What to tell your child)

Lie on your tummy, resting on your forearms. Put your hands together in front of you ‘lacing’ your fingers together but keeping your palms apart. Bend your knees and rock back and forth over your forearms like a dolphin diving through the waves.

 

Want to Make it Harder?

As you are diving forwards, see if you can rock far enough forward so your nose is over or even in front of your hands. Or imagine you are a ‘dancing dolphin’ i.e. stand up with your arms above your head and your fingers laced together as before. Then swoop down with your whole body adding in twists & turns to dance in the cool water!

 

Why it is ‘Good For Me’

When your child does dolphin pose they activate several core muscles i.e. the shoulder, spinal and abdominal muscles. Active and strong core muscles lead to a good sitting posture. Dolphin posture focuses on the shoulder muscles, so this pose is especially important for aiding fine motor skills.
 
Dolphin pose also provides your child with an opportunity to:

• Refine their visual tracking skills, especially upwards & downwards (similar to spider pose). Your child benefits from improving this visual skill as they will use it whilst looking up to the whiteboard or a person and then down to their paper

• Vary their levels of alertness. As your child rocks their head back & forth in dolphin pose they stimulate their ‘vestibular sense’ in different ways & this has a direct impact on their overall level of alertness i.e. If they rock slowly this can be calming, whilst if they rock more quickly this will help them be more alert.

 

Make it Multi-Sensory, Educational & Fun

Through the magic of a Tatty Bumpkin class Dolphin pose can become both a multi-sensory and an educational activity.  In Tatty Bumpkin classes we always try to stimulate a variety of senses, to add to the fun, give choice & to help the learning process.

If your child attended a Tatty Bumpkin class this week they would have done dolphin pose to the Tatty B Dolphin song, surrounded by a blue ‘sea’ filled with sea creature props. This multi-sensory activity would have promoted their sense of rhythm, imagination and creativity whilst being fun to!             

All our classes are linked to the new 2012 EYFS framework meaning that your child will have the opportunity to progress in all areas of their development, giving them a truly holistic experience. 
 
Children love doing things together, by watching others they also learn a great deal – often finding out a better way of doing things.

Wrapping Dolphin pose inside a story means your child will get involved in the story and find the pose and the other activities more meaningful and hence more fun to do. During the 'Quiet Dolphin' story your child will go with Tatty Bumpkin to visit the dolphin who cannot squeak! Tatty Bumpkin may need suggestions on how to help him especially as the octopus is not being helpful! Find your local Tatty Bumpkin class at http://www.tattybumpkin.com/classes/find-class.html

2013 Week 5:Tatty Bumpkin's Activity for the Week is GLOOMY CLOUD POSE!!

By Sue Heron – Training Co-ordinator Tatty Bumpkin and Paediatric Physiotherapist
 
The activity of this week in Tatty Bumpkin classes is GLOOMY CLOUD. In the sessions your child will go on an adventure with Tatty Bumpkin and her friends to cheer up the Gloomy Cloud, giving him suggestions for different shapes he can be: a cloud train, a cloud boat even a cloud frog, that will soon cheer us all up! 

 

What GLOOMY CLOUD Pose Looks Like

We might be sad sometimes!

How To Do It (What to Tell Your Child)

Sit on the floor, slump your shoulders and make your body very droopy. Do a ‘sad’ face and imagine your whole body is feeling sad! Take a deep breath, puff out your cheeks, and let the air out in a big sigh. Now imagine you are happy; sit up tall, puff out your chest and smile your biggest smile! 

Note to parents: If your child is younger, play a peek-a-boo game with them, encouraging them to mimic your expressions i.e. say “1, 2, 3, sad cloud” and make a sad face, then say “1, 2, 3, happy cloud” and make a happy face!
 

Want to Make it Harder?

Look in a mirror and try to make different shapes with your face. Can you make a ‘cross’ face or a ‘shy’ face? Did you know that if you make a smiley face and giggle, it makes you feel happy!

Go on - Give yourself a smile!

Why it is ‘Good For Me’

It is good for your child to explore their emotions and to realise that they do not have to feel active and happy all the time. This is all part of learning how to manage their feelings and behaviour.

Whilst doing Gloomy Cloud pose, your child can:

• Mimic your facial expressions i.e. ‘smiling’ faces & ‘gloomy, sad’ faces

• Learn the ‘labels’ for different emotions  i.e. ‘sadness’ or ‘happiness’

• Take a big breath & imagine their whole body is feeling ‘heavy’ and ‘sad’.

Through using emotional gestures & words in symbolic play, your child becomes more aware of their own feelings & those of others, and practises expressing their own feelings to others.  Remember to follow a ‘sad’ face with a ‘happy’ face!


 

Make it Multi-Sensory, Educational & Fun

Through the magic of a Tatty Bumpkin class Gloomy Cloud pose can become both a multi-sensory and an educational activity.  In Tatty Bumpkin classes we always try to stimulate a variety of senses, to add to the fun, give choice & to help the learning process. 

If your child is attending a Tatty Bumpkin class this week they are likely to be doing Gloomy Cloud pose and then being cloud shaped frogs to Tatty Bumpkin Frog song whilst reaching for a fluffy white cloud!  This will make the activity truly multi-sensory for them and will promote both their eye-hand co-ordination skills and their sense of rhythm. 

All our classes are linked to the new 2012 EYFS framework meaning that your child will have the opportunity to progress in all areas of their development, giving them a truly holistic experience. 
 
Children love doing things together, by watching others they also learn a great deal – often finding out a better way of doing things.

Wrapping the Gloom Cloud pose inside a story, means your child will get involved in the story and find the pose and the other activities more meaningful and hence more fun to do. 

In Gloomy Cloud story your child will go with Tatty Bumpkin to visit the gloomy but magical cloud and he might well need suggestions on different shapes to turn into– perhaps he could become a dinosaur cloud? 

Find your local Tatty Bumpkin class at http://www.tattybumpkin.com/classes/find-class.html

2013 Week 4:Tatty Bumpkin's Activity for the Week is CROCODILE POSE!!

By Sue Heron – Training Co-ordinator Tatty Bumpkin and Paediatric Physiotherapist
 
The pose for this week in Tatty Bumpkin classes is CROCODILE. In the sessions your child will go on an adventure with Tatty Bumpkin and her friends to the scary Crocodile’s river, don’t worry too much -  he might be scary but he is also very sleepy!

 

What CROCODILE Pose Looks Like

Be a snappy, scary crocodile with your Carer or friends

How To Do It (What to Tell your Child)

Lie on your tummy, with your arms above your head, roll onto one side and SNAP your arms and hands together. Then roll onto your other side and SNAP. Try to keep your elbows straight when you are doing your snaps. Make scary, snapping, crocodile sounds or count the number of snaps you do.
 
Note to parents: younger children may find it hard to snap with their arms above their head. If this is the case, encourage your child to stretch their arms out in front at shoulder level, and then snap.

 

Want to Make it Harder? 

Lie on your tummy lift your head, shoulders and arms off the floor and do a SNAP out in front. Then rest your arms down on the floor. This activity is harder as you have to lift both your arms off the floor – and arms are heavy! So do be careful and if anything hurts stop.

Note to parents: if you are doing this pose with your child, tighten your buttocks before lifting your arms off the floor, in this way your will use the correct muscles and not strain your back. 

Snap with your arms out in front

 

Why it is ‘Good For Me’

When your child rolls from side to side in Crocodile pose, snapping with their arms and hands they will increase:

• The activity and awareness of their shoulder, back, tummy and hip muscles, their ‘core muscles’. Strengthening and increasing awareness of these muscle groups will improve your child’s sitting posture and increased activity in their shoulder muscles will aid their fine motor skills.

• Their co-ordination of their right and left hand sides. This is a basic motor skill which your child will draw upon if they start doing more complex sporting activities like football, dance or rugby.

 

Make it Multi-Sensory, Educational & Fun

Through the magic of a Tatty Bumpkin class Crocodile pose can become both a multi-sensory and an educational activity.  In Tatty Bumpkin classes we always try to stimulate a variety of senses, to add to the fun, give choice & to help the learning process. 

If your child is attending a Tatty Bumpkin class this week they are likely to be doing Crocodile pose along to the Tatty Bumpkin Crocodile song whilst snapping at our toy fish. This will make the activity truly multi-sensory for them and will promote both their eye-hand co-ordination skills and their sense of rhythm. 

All our classes are linked to the new 2012 EYFS framework meaning that your child will have the opportunity to progress in all areas of their development, giving them a truly holistic experience. 

Children love doing things together, by watching others they also learn a great deal – often finding out a better way of doing things.
 
Wrapping the Crocodile pose inside a story, means your child will get involved in the story and find the pose and the other activities more meaningful and hence more fun to do. 

In Crocodile story your child will go deep into the jungle with the elephants, monkeys and Tatty Bumpkin – they will need to work out a way to cross the Crocodile’s river without waking him … Umm they could do with some ideas!  
Find your local Tatty Bumpkin class at http://www.tattybumpkin.com/classes/find-class.html

2013 Week 3:Tatty Bumpkin's Activity for the Week is BLOWING FEATHERS!

By Sue Heron – Training Co-ordinator Tatty Bumpkin and Paediatric Physiotherapist

The activity of this week in Tatty Bumpkin classes is BLOWING FEATHERS, in the sessions your child will go on an adventure and encounter the ‘Caring Feather’. With Tatty Bumpkin your child will explore the many different ways the feather helps the ‘Baby Bird’. 

What FEATHER Activity Looks Like

Take a deep breath and blow a feather high into the air!

How To Do It (What to tell your child)

Stroke the feather over your skin, how does it feel? Stroke your arms, legs, feet and forehead with the feather, does it feel different on your feet compared with your forehead? What words would you use to describe the feeling: soft, tickly? 

Now put the feather on the back of your hand and see if you can blow it up high into the air. Take a big breath in and then do a big blow out just under the feather.

Note to Parents: Younger children, 2 – 3 year olds, may need the support of an adult or friend to hold the feather, so they can concentrate on blowing.

Blowing a feather together!

Want To Make it Harder?  

Turn your hand over and place the feather on the palm of your hand. Try to keep your palm really flat, as this will make it easier for you to blow the feather into the air.

Why it is ‘Good For Me’

When your child concentrates on blowing the feather they will become more aware of their breath, as this activity encourages them to take deeper, slower breaths. As your child takes slower breaths their heart rate will also slow and their blood pressure will lower slightly, this helps them to calm down and relax.

If you give your child opportunities for relaxation and ‘quietness’ during their day, along with ideas on how to do this, they will become more aware of their ‘levels of alertness’ and will be able to self-regulate these levels when they become too excited.  

The action of blowing feathers also encourages your child to:

• Activate their tummy muscles

• Strengthen their hand and wrist muscles as they support the feather

• Develop their eye hand co-ordination.

Exploring, investigating and talking about the nature of the feather: how it feels, moves and looks, enhances your child’s wonderment of their environment along with their vocabulary.    

Make it Multi-Sensory, Educational & Fun

Through the magic of a Tatty Bumpkin class blowing feathers can become both a multi-sensory and an educational activity. In Tatty Bumpkin classes we always try to stimulate a variety of senses, to add to the fun, give choice & to help the learning process. During this weeks class your child will have the opportunity to investigate the nature of their feather to the lovely Tatty Bumpkin Feather Song.

All our classes are linked to the new 2012 EYFS framework meaning that your child will have the opportunity to progress in all areas of their development, giving them a truly holistic experience. 

Children love doing things together, by watching others they also learn a great deal – often finding out a better way of doing things.

Tatty Bumpkin will be doing FEATHER ACTIVITY this week when the ‘Caring Feather’ tumbles to the ground in front of her, amongst the snowflakes and the last of the winter leaves. The ‘Caring Feather’ then tells Tatty Bumpkin his special story; he tells her how he kept the Baby Bird warm, taught the Baby Bird to fly and protected the Baby Bird from cats … I am sure there are many other ways the feather helps the Baby Bird – do you have any ideas?

Wrapping the pose inside a story, means your child will get involved in the story and find the poses and exercises more meaningful and hence more fun to do. In this story your child will have the opportunity to wonder at their environment and investigate the nature of feathers. Find your local Tatty Bumpkin class at http://www.tattybumpkin.com/classes/find-class.html

2013 Week 2:Tatty Bumpkin's Pose for the Week is SPIDER!

By Sue Heron – Training Co-ordinator Tatty Bumpkin and Paediatric Physiotherapist

The posture of this week in Tatty Bumpkin classes is SPIDER pose, in the sessions your child will go on an adventure with Tatty Bumpkin… back to her house! There you will help 'Spider' find her baby spiders!

 

What SPIDER Pose Looks Like

How to do it (What to tell your child)

On the floor crawl on your hands and knees - crawl quickly as a scuttling spider, and then crawl slowly as a sleepy spider. Crawl forwards, backwards and maybe sideways! If you are doing spider pose with friends, gently tickle their toes but, be careful, they may tickle you back!
 

Want to make it harder? 

Squat on the floor and rock from side to side on your toes, you can use your hands for support. Try to creep forwards, backwards and sideways staying in the squat position.

Why it is ‘Good For Me’

When your child crawls in SPIDER pose they increase the activity in their shoulder, back, tummy and hip muscles. Activity in these ‘core’ muscles will encourage your child to adopt a good sitting posture; activity in their shoulder muscles will aid your child’s fine motor skills.

Your child will also benefit from having the opportunity to ‘return to crawling’, as crawling:

• Helps your child to refine their visual tracking skills, especially looking upwards & downwards. Your child has to do this ‘tracking’ action many times during their day, when they look up at a person, or at a whiteboard, and then down to their paper, so it is important the action is as smooth as possible.

• Promotes and strengthens the connections between the right and left hand sides of your child’s brain. These neural connections enable your child to: smoothly co-ordinate the right and left sides of their body and to retrieve, sort and sequence information. If these connections are not well established a child may have difficulties with knowing their left from right sides, number, letter and word reversals (b/d, on/no) and memory.  

Moving to Tatty B Spider song in the adventure will have supported your child’s sense of rhythm. The breath activity of blowing the baby spiders home would have helped your child to calm, ready for the rest of their day. 

Blowing the baby spiders home!

Make it Multi-Sensory, Educational & Fun

Through the magic of a Tatty Bumpkin class spider pose can become both a multi-sensory and an educational activity. In Tatty Bumpkin classes we always try to stimulate a variety of senses, to add to the fun, give choice & to help the learning process.

All our classes are linked to the new 2012 EYFS framework meaning that your child will have the opportunity to progress in all areas of their development, giving them a truly holistic experience. 

Children love doing things together, by watching others they also learn a great deal – often finding out a better way of doing things.

Tatty Bumpkin will be doing spider pose this week as she meets mummy spider whilst giving her home at Wobble Farm a good clean after the Christmas muddle. Spider has some crazy ideas on where to spin her web; in the washing machine, on the toaster, even on the telephone! Oh dear! Can you please help spider find a better place for her spider family?

Wrapping the pose inside a story, means your child will get involved in the story and find the exercises more meaningful and hence more fun to do. In addition your child will have the chance to think about the different jobs people do in their community. Find your local Tatty Bumpkin class at http://www.tattybumpkin.com/classes/find-class.html

2013 Week 1:Tatty Bumpkin's Pose for the Week is STARFISH!

By Sue Heron – Training Co-ordinator Tatty Bumpkin and Paediatric Physiotherapist

The posture for the first full week of 2013 in Tatty Bumpkin classes is STARFISH pose. In the sessions your child will go on an adventure with Tatty Bumpkin to the beach (we all need a bit of sun at this time of year!) to play with Starfish and his shoes!

 

What STARFISH Pose Looks Like

Cousins doing Starfish Pose!

How to do it (What to tell your child)

Stand with your feet wide apart and stretch both your arms out to the side - in the shape of a starfish. See how wide you really are! 

Want to make it harder? 

What to tell your child: Stand with your feet together and your arms by your sides - jump into a starfish shape and then jump back. In standing or lying practise waving your five starfish tentacles: wave one leg in the air, then the other, then wave your arms and finally your head – 1, 2, 3, 4, 5!

Note to parents – On occasions it is a good idea to offer your child a little bit of support when they are balancing, especially if they are just learning to do this.  Support your child , gently round their hips so their arms are free to do the appropriate balancing movements, they then have the opportunity to experience the act of  balancing in a ‘straighter’ position or ‘in alignment.' Your child will also be encouraged to use their mature balance reactions. If your child keeps trying to balance in a crooked position i.e. with their legs wrapped round each other, this may become a habit. As soon as your child starts to ‘get the idea’ of balancing in alignment, stand back or offer less support and let them try by themselves. Maybe suggest they use a wall rather than your hand for support.

 

Why it is ‘Good For Me’

When your child does STARFISH POSE they find out more about their body shape, your child might be quite surprised to see how far their arms can reach. This awareness of body shape results in part from stimulation of the proprioceptive sense (the receptors are in our muscles and joints). As your child grows they will benefit from having reminders on how their body shape is changing, this will give them a deeper body confidence and increase their understanding of their own bodies. 
 
As you encourage your child to wave their starfish tentacles, they will have to wave one leg, then the other, then each of their arms in turn and finally their head! This activity will not only increase their body awareness but will also progress their balance by activating their core muscles i.e. their hip, shoulder, back and tummy muscles.

Bring in some fun maths by encouraging your child to count 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, as they wave each of their starfish limbs!

 

Make it Multi-Sensory, Educational & Fun

Through the magic of a Tatty Bumpkin class starfish pose can become both a multi-sensory and an educational activity.  In Tatty Bumpkin classes we always try to stimulate a variety of senses, to add to the fun, give choice & to help the learning process.

All our classes are linked to the new 2012 EYFS framework meaning that your child will have the opportunity to progress in all areas of their development, giving them a truly holistic experience. 

Children love doing things together, by watching others they also learn a great deal – often finding out a better way of doing things.

Tatty Bumpkin will be doing STARFISH pose when she visits the baby starfish on his beach. Oh no! He is getting his starfish shoes in a muddle! Hopefully Tatty Bumpkin will be able to help him choose the right pair of shoes for all his starfish games – but she will need ideas from everyone…
 
Wrapping the pose inside a story, means your child will get involved in the story and find the exercises more meaningful and hence more fun to do. In addition your child will have the chance to think about the different jobs people do in their community. Find your local Tatty Bumpkin class at http://www.tattybumpkin.com/classes/find-class.html