Tatty Bumpkin’s Easter Yoga Stretch

Here at Tatty Bumpkin we have put together 3 simple ‘Eastery’ Yoga inspired poses for you to do with your child. The poses will stretch and strengthen muscles, develop co-ordination and, if you do them in the order below, they will hopefully leave you both feeling ‘just right’ – not too excited – not too drowsy – in fact just right!

Preparation

• Remember if you, or your child, start to feel uncomfortable - listen to your bodies and stop! 
• Find a clear space  -on a carpet or mat or maybe go outside. Make sure you both have room so you don't bump into each other.
• Take off your socks and shoes to prevent slips and to help your child receive accurate sensory information through their feet. 

Tatty Bumpkin’s Easter Pose 1. Sun Pose to Warm up and Stretch

Stretch for the sun!

• Start sun pose standing opposite your child - with your feet hip width apart. 

• Slowly stretch your arms out to either side, palms facing upwards. Encourage your child ‘to reach as far as they can go’ or to see if they can ‘touch the walls on each side’ - they may be surprised how long their arms are!  Hold this position for a few seconds to make the stretch extra effective. 

• Now take your arms above your head in a wide arc keeping your elbows straight - encourage your child to copy you. Try to do this movement slowly so your child has a chance to really work their upper body i.e. their shoulder, tummy and back muscles. 

• Gently bring your hands together above your head so your palms are touching. Then look up at your hands and feel how tall you are! Caution - Don't extend your neck too far back. 

• To finish, slowly bring your arms back down to your sides and look straight ahead.  

• If you child is older, encourage them to take a big breath IN as they bring their arms UP and to breathe all the way OUT as they LOWER their arms.

• If your child is younger they may find it easier to do sun pose either sitting on the floor or back on their heels. This is a more stable position allowing them to concentrate on  stretching their arms out wide and above their head.

Reach for the sun!

Why Sun Pose is Good for Me

As your child does sun pose they will be: 

• Stretching upper body muscles for good posture. Even young children can spend quite a bit of time sitting - playing with toys and devices. They may sit in a slumped position and hunch their shoulders as they concentrate. When your child does sun pose they will be stretching and activating their upper body muscles i.e. their chest, back, tummy, shoulder and arm muscles.

• Refining head movements for whiteboard skills. As your child moves their head in sun pose they will be refining this selective movement i.e. keeping their body still whilst they move their head. In the class room, your child will be using this movement as they look up to the white board and back down to their desk. 

• Becoming more aware of their breathing. As your child takes big breaths in sun pose they will become more aware of their breathing and how it feels to take deeper breaths. When they breathe in and raise their arms above their head your child will be giving their chest muscles an even bigger stretch!  

Tatty Bumpkin’s Easter Pose 2. Rabbit Pose to Organize and Alert

Easter bunny hops

• Start squatting down on your heels - alongside each other.

• Keeping your feet STILL, reach forwards with your hands and place them on the floor in front of you. 

• Show your child how they can lean forwards - to take weight onto their hands - then hop their feet up towards their hands. Repeat the movement to 'lollop' like a rabbit!

• Children under 4 years may find rabbit pose hard to do. If your child is younger encourage them to bend and straighten their knees in standing - this is a great 'foundation movement' for jumping. 

Bounce as a bunny!

Games to Play around Rabbit Pose

Place a thin scarf, or streamer, on the mat in front of your child (a green streamer could be 'spring grass', a blue streamer could be a river!). Guide your child to look at their streamer, place their hands over it and then hop their feet over. This extra visual prompt 

gives your child something to look at and jump over. (Remember to supervise your child closely with the scarf or streamer and never leave them alone with it). 

Why Rabbit Pose is Good For Me

When your child does rabbit pose, they will be:

• Activating shoulder muscles for writing. Rabbit pose is an excellent prewriting activity.  If your child’s shoulder muscles are active and strong, they will use these muscles to support the weight of their arm, freeing their delicate hand muscles for writing. If shoulder muscles are inactive or weak children may try to support their whole arm with their hand muscles, this can lead to a tight pencil grip and hand ache. 

• Improving co-ordination skills. Rabbit pose is hard to do - but  the movement sequence is an excellent way for your child to become more aware of their body. 

• Developing concentration and visual skills for learning. Your child will have to focus on, and look at, the streamer as they hop over it. Your child will build on these skills as they concentrate to read. 

Tatty Bumpkin’s Easter Pose 3. Butterfly Pose to Calm and Compose

What colour are your wings? 

Finally, sit together on your mat or carpet (If you, or your child, finds butterfly pose uncomfortable – try siting on a low cushion).

Butterfly Pose for Parents

• Start by putting your hands under your bottom and feel for the two boney areas in each buttock. These are your ‘sit bones’ - part of your pelvis. 

• Ideally you should be pushing up from your sit bones as you do the butterfly pose. (Because we get used to sitting in comfy chairs we often tend to roll back and actually sit on the area behind these boney points). Take your hands away and, sitting as much as you can on your sit bones, gently straighten your back whilst keeping your legs stretched out in front of you.

• Now slowly bend your knees, and slide your feet up towards you. Only take your feet up as far as is comfortable.

• Bring the soles of your feet together – so they are touching each other and your knees are falling out to the side - don’t force the movement. If you cannot bring the soles of your feet together, don’t worry, concentrate on keeping your back straight.

• Hold your feet tightly with both hands - you can place your hands underneath your feet for added support.

• Take a deep breath in, and, as you breathe out, let your thighs and knees fall a little further out to each side and downwards towards the floor. Again don’t force the movement. 

Butterfly pose with your child

• Now, encourage your child to copy you. If they are tending to slump backwards - guide them to rock forwards onto their 'sit' bones - as above. 

• Together, gently flap your knees up and down - like the wings of a butterfly. Start slowly then increase the movement.  

• Alternatively, if you are sitting in butterfly pose yourself, let your child sit inside the circle of your legs. Gently encourage them to bring the soles of their feet together so that their knees fall out to the side in butterfly pose.

• Whilst you are in Butterfly pose you can both imagine what colour your wings might be?! 

Games to Play Around Butterfly Pose

Blowing Butterflies 

Caution - Supervise your child carefully with the butterfly props. Do not make ‘butterflies’ out of tissue paper as the dye can come off if your child does manage to put them in their mouth. 

• Cut out some paper butterflies – origami paper is good as it's stiffer than normal paper.
• Blow the butterfly prop yourself, to show your child what to do, this also gives you a chance to take deeper, more calming breaths.
• Encourage your young child to blow their paper butterfly high into the air. If they are younger, your child may find it easier to blow their butterfly off the back of your hand. 
• Make the game more meaningful by placing a bowl in front to be a ‘butterfly nest’. Your child then has to blow their butterfly into the nest!
• Younger children find it hard to blow – often this skill is not truly learnt until about 3 years. If your child is younger encourage them to pick up their butterfly and put it in the nest. As they do this they'll be developing their 'pincer' hand grip. 
• Don't let your child do too many deep breaths in a row as this can make them dizzy!

Once more - developing concentration and visual skills for learning 

Do Butterfly pose to Tatty Bumpkin Butterfly song 

The Tatty Bumpkin Butterfly song has a lovely, relaxing beat which you can follow as you do the pose with your toddler or young child. Download the song from iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/bendy-giggly-clever-strong/id376349531

Why Butterfly Pose is Good for Me

As your child does Butterfly pose they will be:

• Developing and refining their sitting position for back health and writing. Being able to sit well is crucial not only for lifelong back health but also for accurate arm and hand movements. From about 7 months your child would have started to push down through their ‘sit bones’ against the floor (remember our sit bones are the boney projections at the base of our pelvis). As they started to do this your child would have been able to take their hands off the floor. With improved sitting balance your child would have found arm and hand movements easier. However, if you child is at school, they may have started to sit in a more slumped position - largely as a result of poorly designed chairs. Butterfly pose will remind them to push up through their ‘sit bones’ and extend their lower backs. 

• Gently stretching hip and thigh muscles. Butterfly pose gives your child the chance to stretch the muscles on the front and inside of their thigh. It's the ideal pose to do after sitting in a buggy or car seat for a while! 

• Improving eye hand coordination and fine motor (hand) skills for reading and writing skills. As your child plays with their butterfly prop they will be improving their 'tracking skills' (the ability to follow an object with their eyes). Your child uses their tracking skills as they read or write. Picking up butterfly props will give your younger child the chance to perfect their finger 'pincer' grip. 

• Becoming aware of their feet to improve balance. It's a good idea to give your child time to sit with bare feet as even whilst sitting, your child will be using their feet to keep steady. As you guide your child to bring their feet together in butterfly pose you may see them curling their foot inwards and upwards, these movements  strengthen their foot and ankle muscles. Next time you are sitting with your child on their floor - look closely at their feet to see how they move! 

• Calming themselves. Butterfly pose and butterfly breaths will help your child to calm themselves after the alerting rabbit pose. Leaving them, and you, feeling just right!

Happy Easter!

Love Tatty Bumpkin 

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Say 'Hello to the Sun' with Tatty Bumpkin - Stretching and Activating Key Muscle Groups for Writing

By Sue Heron - Head of Training at Tatty Bumpkin and Paediatric Physiotherapist. 

At an education conference in 2015 Mr Bob Drew, headteacher at Grearies Primary School Essex, highlighted teachers at his school “had noticed very weak upper body strength particularly in four and five year old boys." 

He explained that over the past two years his teaching staff had initially noticed the children’s handwriting was becoming increasingly ‘spidery’. On looking carefully, they established that the children’s pencil grip was also very poor.  

Mr Drew speculated that this shaky pencil grip was related to weakness in the upper body, possibly a result of increased use ‘soft touch’ digital technology and less frequent physical activity. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/12031506/Children-physically-weaker-than-previous-generation-a-leading-teacher-has-said.html

Weak upper body strength related to poor pencil grip? 

As a paediatric physiotherapist I feel Mr Drew could be correct as we need strong shoulder, back and tummy muscles to support our arms as we write or draw. 

When your child does Tatty Bumpkin’s Sun pose they will not only be gently stretching tight shoulder and chest muscles they will also be strengthening their upper body. 

Tatty Bumpkin’s Sun Yoga Activity

Preparation 

• With your child find a clear space on a carpet or mat. Make sure you both have room to stretch out your arms. 
• Take off your socks and shoes to prevent slips and to help your child feel the floor accurately. 
• Remember if you, or your child, start to feel uncomfortable as you do the pose - listen to your body and do stop! 

The Pose 

Stretch your arms out wide and above your head to be a lovely sun!

• Start Sun pose standing on your mats with your feet hip width apart. 

• Slowly stretch your arms out to either side with your palms facing upwards. Encourage your child ‘to reach as far as they can go’ or to see if they can ‘touch the walls on either side', they might be surprised how long their arms are!  Hold this position for a few seconds to make the stretch extra effective. 

• Then take your arms above your head in a wide arc keeping your elbows straight - encourage your child to copy you. Try to do this movement slowly so your child has a chance to really work those upper body muscles i.e. their shoulder, tummy and back muscles. 

• Gently bring your hands together above your head so your palms are touching, slowly look up at your hands and feel how tall you are! Caution - Don't extend your neck too far back. 

• To finish, slowly bring your arms back down to your sides and look straight ahead. You have both made a big sun shape with your arms with you head in the middle!

• If your child is younger they may find it easier to do Sun pose sitting on the floor or back on their heels - see below. As this is a more stable position they will be able to concentrate on the main movement of this pose -  stretching their arms out wide and above their head.

Would you like to make Sun pose harder?

Encourage your child to take a big breath in as they bring their arms above their head and to breathe all the way out as they lower their arms back down.

Why Sun Pose is ‘Good for Me’

Sun pose will give your child a chance to: 

1. Stretch and strengthen their upper body muscles 

Even young children can spend a great deal of time sitting and playing with objects,  toys, (and digital devices) which they hold in front of them. In this playing position they can tend to slump, hunch their shoulders and not work their upper body muscles. 

When your child does Sun pose they will exercise all these upper body muscles i.e. their chest, back, tummy, shoulder and arm muscles whilst giving these muscles  a really good stretch! 

2. Refine their head movements for whiteboard skills 
As your child moves their head in Sun pose they will be stretching and strengthening their neck muscles and refining their postural skills i.e. keeping their body still whilst they move their head. In the class room, your child will use these selective head and neck movements as they look up to the white board and back down to their desk. 

3. Become more aware of their breathing

As your child takes big breaths in Sun pose they will become more aware of their breathing and how it feels to take deeper breaths. When they breathe in and raise their arms above their head your child will be giving their chest muscles an even bigger stretch!  

Love Tatty Bumpkin x

Tatty Bumpkin Sessions 

Tatty Bumpkin sessions provide children with a chance to be active as they learn key skills. All the sessions are directly linked to the 'Early Years Foundation Stage' and the 'Curriculum for Excellence' (Scotland). Find out about sessions running in your area at http://www.tattybumpkin.com/classes/find-class.html

Would You Like to Train as a Tatty Bumpkin Teacher or are You Interested in Running your own Tatty Bumpkin Franchise?

It takes hard work, dedication and enthusiasm but the rewards are immense:

• Flexible working around your family life

• Great job satisfaction

• Strong financial rewards

Discover more about owning your own Tatty Bumpkin Franchise at  http://www.tattybumpkin.com/business/index.html

To Wake Up Little Feet - Pick Up Tatty Bumpkin’s Penguin Pose

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

This week Tatty Bumpkin is off exploring the South Pole learning to how to do ‘Penguin pose’ with her penguin friends!

Penguin pose is a fun way to bring activity into your child’s day. Little movement breaks over the day - all add up. The British Heart Foundation  website has some great ideas see http://www.bhfactive.org.uk/earlyyearsguidelines/index.html

Tatty Bumpkin’s Penguin Yoga Pose 

Try to do Penguin pose with your child, or encourage brothers and sisters to join in. Research shows young children bond with their parents and ‘key people’ not only through touch but also by moving with them.
For further great games to strengthen the bond with your little one see http://pro.psychcentral.com/child-therapist/2014/08/5-attachment-based-activities-to-strengthen-parent-child-relationships/# 

Move, play, have fun, get to know each other better!

Tatty Bumpkin's Penguin  Pose

• Find a clear space on the carpet or a mat with your child. Make sure you both have a space around you so you don’t waddle into each other!

• Take off socks and shoes. Your child will greatly benefit from doing penguin pose barefoot. They will be able to move their feet and toes properly and receive accurate sensory information up through their the soles of their feet.

• Stand up tall together. Show your child how they can rock back onto their heels, so they have their toes, and the balls of their feet, off the ground. This can be quite hard for some children – so be patient. Placing a small beanbag under the front of their foot may help them to get the idea.
  (When they first start to walk, less than fifty per cent of children use a heel strike. Instead, most children will put the whole of their foot on the ground as they step. Heel strike usually develops at around 18 months.)

• Now, just balancing on your heels, see if you can both shuffle/waddle forwards, backwards or even sideways together! 

• A great rhyme to recite as you waddle:

"Penguins shuffle. Shuffle to the left, left, left, 

Penguins shuffle. Shuffle to the right, right, right, 

Do a little wriggle, do a little hop, 

Shuffle round the iceberg - never want to stop!"

Do the 'Penguin shuffle!' 

• Put your arms by your side and turn your hands up and outwards to be little penguin wings.

• Want to make it harder? Carefully place a bean bag or a rolled up pair of socks on your feet, then see if you can waddle in penguin pose - just like a penguin carrying its egg! 

Picking Up Penguin Eggs – with your feet!

Supervise your child closely during this game to prevent then falling backwards. 

Have a go at picking up ‘eggs' - but not with your hands - with your feet! 

• Sit down with your child and your egg props (bean bags or rolled up socks are ideal) and a shallow tray or basket. 

• Guide your child to put their hands down on their mat by their sides so they can safely lift their feet off the ground whilst taking weight through their hands. 

• Show your child how they can pick up the ‘egg’ with their feet and put it in a container. A shallow container will be easier than a deeper one. 

Picking up with your feet!

• Encourage your child to watch you for a few goes so they get the idea. You might have to help them though - place the ‘egg’  prop between your child’s feet and encourage them to wrap their feet round it so they are holding it between the soles of their feet.

• Keep practising. Then enjoy the look of triumph on your child’s face as they realise they can use their feet like their hands! 

Why Penguin Yoga Activity is ‘Good for Me’

Penguin pose will help your child to: 

1. Activate their tummy muscles

As your child balances on their heels in penguin pose they will increase the activity in their tummy muscles. This will help their overall posture. 

2. Improve their balance skills

When your child walks on their heels in penguin pose, they have less of their feet on the ground, as a result they will be improving their balance skills.

3. Stretch their calf muscles 

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

4. Improve their co-ordination skills

As your child balances their egg prop on their on their feet they will be honing their eye-foot co-ordination - great for football skills.

5. Activate their foot muscles

As your child picks up their penguin eggs, they will be working their 'intrinsic' foot muscles. These tiny muscles support and control the foot. They are vital for balance and ensuring a good foot position through life.

Love Tatty Bumpkin x 

Would You Like to Train as a Tatty Bumpkin Teacher or Are you interested in running your own Tatty Bumpkin Franchise?

It takes hard work, dedication and enthusiasm but the rewards are immense:

• Flexible working around your family life
• Great job satisfaction
• Strong financial rewards

Discover more about owning your own Tatty Bumpkin Franchise at  http://www.tattybumpkin.com/business/index.html

Tatty Bumpkin's Swan Pose - Stretching tight muscles whilst soothing a busy mind

By Sue Heron - Paediatric Physiotherapist and Programme Coordinator at Tatty Bumpkin.

This week, in our multi-sensory Yoga sessions, Tatty Bumpkin will be flying over hills, seas and castles on the back of a magnificent white swan.

Swan pose is an ideal pose for your child to do:

• Just before they go to bed
• After a long car journey 
• After becoming overexcited or upset

The pose not only lets your child experience a great back stretch it also taps into those sensations which help your child to calm down.

Even if your child is on half term this week, Swan pose could be useful. Supporting your child to have a ‘reboot’ - enabling them move on after a long spell of sitting or after a busy, exciting activity. 

By Cicely Mary Barker 

Tatty Bumpkin's Swan Pose

Ideally, do Swan pose with your child, it will give you a chance to have a gentle stretch and perhaps have a moment of calm too! Remember, if you have issues with your muscles or joints, do check with a health professional to make sure that this pose is appropriate for you.

• Find a clear space, ideally on a non-slip mat or a clear piece of carpet

• Start on your hands and knees alongside each other

• Slowly slide your hands forwards on the mat in front of you, at the same time, rock back to rest on your heels

• Keep your arms stretched out in front of you. Try to straighten them as much as you can, letting your forearms and palms rest gently on your mat or carpet

• Lightly rest your forehead on the mat in front of your knees and lay your chest on your thighs. See suggested modifications below if you find this uncomfortable. 

• Take a few deep breaths together. Encourage your child to feel the movement of their chest rising and falling as they take each breath

• Rest in swan pose for a few breaths. Encourage your child to imagine they are flying over seas whilst snuggling into their swan's soft feathers

The Birds of Rhiannon

• If you are comfortable see if you can slide your hands a little further away, gently stretching your backs out into their natural curves

• Then slowly come up – taking care to protect your back as you do so.

Modifications for Adults

As you do Swan pose with your child, you may find it more comfortable to:

• Separate your knees a little, keeping your big toes together. If you do this adjustment you will find your chest rests almost between your thighs

• Use a small cushion to support your head - especially if you find it hard to rest your forehead directly on the floor

• Place a small cushion between your buttocks and your heels if your find your buttocks do not touch your heels. 

Why Swan Pose is ‘Good for Me’

As your child does Swan pose they will have a chance to:

Gently stretch out their neck, shoulder, arm and back muscles

Swan pose is a great way to stretch out tight muscles – especially the back muscles. For this reason, it is the ideal pose to do after sitting for a long time. Encourage your child to do Swan pose after a long car journey, or after they have been watching TV or playing with their IPAD- to give their back a lovely stretch.

Calm themselves

As your child folds their legs up, stretches out their back and rests their chest on their thighs they will be activating their deep touch and proprioceptive senses. These kinds of sensations have a calming and grounding effect on the body. Making Swan pose the ideal pose to do just before bed.

                     Sleeping Child by Brian Wildsmith

Love Tatty Bumpkin

Would You Like to Train as a Tatty Bumpkin Teacher or Are you interested in running your own Tatty Bumpkin Franchise?

It takes hard work, dedication and enthusiasm but the rewards are immense.

•       Flexible working around your family life

•       Great job satisfaction

•       Strong financial rewards

Discover more about owning your own Franchise at  http://www.tattybumpkin.com/business/index.html