Tatty Bumpkin's Pose of The Week is Monkey Pose

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

The posture of this week in Tatty Bumpkin classes is MONKEY pose, in the sessions your child will go on an adventure with Tatty Bumpkin to the jungle to help the monkeys build a new nest.
 

Having Fun in MONKEY Pose!

How To Do It (What to tell your child)

Leap from squatting to standing, moving your arms up and down like a monkey – make ‘Ooooh’ sounds! Reach up with one hand and then the other and imagine you are hanging from the branches.

Want To Make It Harder?

What to tell you child: Try leaping onto one leg and balancing, ask for a little bit of help if you need it.

Note to parents – it is always best to offer your child a little bit of support, on occasions, so they have the experience of balancing in a ‘straight’ position. If your child keeps trying to balance by themselves in a crooked position (with their legs wrapped round each other) this might become a habit and they will tend to use the wrong muscles and movement patterns. As soon as your child starts to ‘get the idea’ of balancing, stand back, and let them try by themselves. Maybe suggest they use a wall rather than your hand for support. 

Now, try to reach across your body to the other side as if swinging on vines or passing a banana. 

Note to parents - If your child is younger they will find crossing their body difficult so take it slowly. Hold something in your hand so your child has something to reach for, or encourage them to imagine they are picking a banana and then passing it to you.

Why It Is ‘Good For Me’

When your child does MONKEY POSE they leap from squatting to standing and move their arms up & down these actions will strengthen your child’s leg & arm muscles & develop their balance skills. As your child moves from one leg to the other and stretches their arms up on either side they will progress these balance skills.

When your child takes their arms across their body, they will be crossing the ‘midline’ of their body (this is the imaginary line that divides the body into right and left halves). Crossing the midline is an important coordination skill for writing – more on this next week!

Make it Multi-Sensory, Educational & Fun

Through the magic of a Tatty Bumpkin class monkey 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 MONKEY pose when she visits the jungle animals in the storm. Hopefully Tatty B and her jungle friends will be able to help the monkeys build a new nest – but she may 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

Tatty Bumpkin's Pose of The Week is Mouse Pose

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

The posture of this week in Tatty Bumpkin classes is MOUSE pose, in the sessions your child will go on an adventure with Tatty Bumpkin and help Mouse find his perfect house!

What MOUSE Pose Looks Like

How To Do It (What to tell your child) 

Kneel on the floor with your bottom on your heels and your arms by your sides. Now curl forward and pretend to ‘kiss your knees’. Take deep breaths and lie very still. Shut your eyes. Imagine you are a very tiny mouse.

 

Want to Make It Harder?  

Kneel up and wriggle your fingers by your nose like whiskers, and scamper away! Shake a leg out and pretend it is the mouse’s tail. Make sure you shake out your other leg, as you are a magic mouse with TWO tails.


 

Why it is ‘Good For Me’

When your child curls into mouse pose they will stimulate their ‘deep touch’ body sense, their proprioceptive sense, and this promotes feelings of calmness. Hence mouse pose is an excellent pose for your child to do when they need to calm down and lower their levels of excitement or ‘alertness’. Learning to regulate their own ‘levels of alertness’ is an important skill for your child, as by doing this they will be able to help themselves keep at that ‘just right level of alertness’ for learning.   

To promote your child’s fine motor skills, encourage your child to wriggle their fingers and ‘twitch their mouse whiskers'. This will help to strengthen their fingers and wrists for skills such as writing and doing up buttons.
 
To aid speech and confidence, encourage your child to squeak as a little mouse, softly then loudly!

 

Make it Multi-Sensory, Educational & Fun

Through the magic of a Tatty Bumpkin class mouse 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 MOUSE pose when she visits the friendly giant and the little mouse. Where will be the best place for the mouse’s house?

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

Posture Of The Week - BOAT Pose

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

In Tatty Bumpkin classes, the posture for this week is BOAT pose, in the sessions your child will go on an adventure with Tatty Bumpkin and dog, over the sea, to the island of statues. 

What BOAT Pose Looks Like

 

How To Do It (What to tell your child) 

Sit on the floor with your legs straight out in front.With a friend or grown-up, hold each other’s wrists, and put your legs inside and under your partner’s legs. Rock gently backwards then forwards. You might feel a tightness at the back of your legs as you stretch your hamstring muscles.

Want to Make it Harder? 

With a friend or partner, rock further forwards and backwards and side to side. Be careful that you both rock in time to each other and definitely do not pull too hard! Talk about different boat shapes or the creatures you might see in the waves.

 

Variation

To canoe on your own. Sit with your legs stretched out in front. Reach forward a grasp one of your feet with both hands. Wrap one hand round the top of your foot and the other round your heel so the sole of your foot faces inwards. In line with your stretched out leg, gently bring your foot towards your body, then move it away from your body, in a rowing action. Be careful not to take your foot across your outstretched leg as this can cause an unwanted strain.

Why it is ‘Good For Me’

Boat pose encourages your child’s social and communication skills, whilst they are moving and playing with their friends or you!

The rocking action promotes your child’s sitting balance and provides them with a gentle hamstring stretch. In addition your child’s core muscles, their abdominal, spinal and shoulder muscles, will be activated. All these effects will assist your child’s sitting posture. 

When your child rocks forwards and backwards in boat pose they stimulate their movement senses, especially their vestibular sense as they move their head to and fro. Stimulation of the vestibular sense can directly affect ‘levels of alertness’ i.e. slow, rocking actions can be soothing and quietening in contrast to more vigorous head movements which can be intensely alerting. There is some evidence to suggest that rocking head movements (forwards and backwards) are organising in nature whilst spinning head movements can be quite disorganising for the brain, as in a fairground ride. Boat pose if done rhythmically, at a moderate speed, and not for too long, can gradually raise your child’s ‘levels of alertness’, in an organising way. This makes boat pose an excellent activity for your child to do in a ‘movement break’ if they need to increase their levels of concentration for a difficult, abstract task i.e. writing or maths. But remember not for too long, 1 minute is probably enough!

 

Make it Multi-Sensory, Educational & Fun

Through the magic of a Tatty Bumpkin class, Boat 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 support 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. 

Tatty Bumpkin will be doing BOAT pose as part of her adventure to the island of statues; to reach the island she will have to search the shore for wood, build her boat and then sail across the sea meeting her Octopus friends on the way!

Do Tatty Bumpkin Octopus Pose with your friends!

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

Posture Of The Week - BUTTERFLY Pose

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

The posture of this week in Tatty Bumpkin classes is BUTTERFLY pose, in the sessions your child will go on an adventure with Tatty Bumpkin to find the happy and calming 'Mountain Butterflies'.

 

What BUTTERFLY Pose Looks Like

 

 

How To Do It (What to tell your child)

Sit up on the floor, or on a little cushion, and bring the soles of your feet together. Hold onto your feet with both hands and gently move your knees up and down as if your legs are butterfly wings. Imagine what colour your wings might be. Note: Encourage your child to sit up as straight as they can, pushing up through their sit bones (see ‘Why it is good for me’ section below for more detail on this)

Want to Make it Harder? 

Sit on the floor with your feet together as above. This time hold onto your big toes with your index fingers, balance on your bottom, and lift your legs up one at a time. 

Then try to lift them both together! Slowly try to straighten your legs like the wings of a big butterfly. To rest, lean forward over your feet like a sleeping butterfly.

Why it is ‘Good For Me’

Butterfly pose will help to improve your child’s sitting balance, sitting posture and arm movements. When doing the pose encourage your child to ‘push up’ from the surface they are sitting on, through their ‘sit bones’ (their ‘ischial tuberosities') which are at the base of their pelvis. To do this your child should think about gently rocking their hip bones (the two bony points they can feel at the front of their bodies on both sides, below their tummy button) forward and arching their lower back. 

It is interesting to note that generally babies develop this ability to push up through their sit bones and lengthen their spines at around 6 months and this action is extremely important for allowing freer movement of the arms whilst in the sitting position.

Classroom seats do nothing to encourage this movement. These seats tend to be ‘bucket’ shaped and can cause your child to slump. In a slumped position your child will rock their pelvis backwards, curling their lower back rather than arching it. This incorrect pelvic position leads to a poor sitting posture which consequently might affect their arm movements. By doing Butterfly pose your child will be reminded to rock their pelvis into a better position, this will improve their sitting posture and the quality of their arm movements. Who would have thought Butterfly pose is as prewriting skill?!

 

Make it Multi-Sensory, Educational & Fun

Through the magic of a Tatty Bumpkin class butterfly 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 BUTTERFLY pose as part of her adventure into the mountains; she will be off on a quest to find the calming and happy butterflies to cheer up the gloomy frogs and calm the busy people!

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.

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

Posture Of The Week - CAT pose

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

The posture of this week in Tatty Bumpkin classes is CAT pose, in the sessions your child will go on an adventure with Tatty Bumpkin to help ‘Cat Find Out about Different Jobs!’
 

What CAT pose looks like

Cat Pose with a 'saucer of milk' to help motivation!

How to do it (What to tell your child)

Kneel on all fours with your hands under your shoulders. Arch your back up then down, being careful not to arch your back too deeply. Meow like a cat!  Stretch out one arm or leg to shake either your paw or tail. Put them back on the floor and shake your other paw or tail as you are a magic cat with two tails!!

 Want to make it harder?  

Start kneeling on all fours, stretch out one arm or paw and then your opposite leg or tail, lifting them both off the floor at the same time! Put them back on the floor and repeat, this time stretching out your other arm and leg.

Aid Motivation

Often giving you child a ‘goal’ makes the activity more meaningful for them and helps their motivation to ‘keep on trying’. Cut out a small piece of white fabric and place it on the floor in front of your child, this is their ‘milk’! Encourage your child to come forward onto their arms more and bend their elbows so they touch the milk with their noses – just like a cat sniffing the milk to see if it will taste good!(see picture above)

Why it is ‘Good For Me’

Cat pose encourages your child to stretch out their back muscles – perfect after sitting for a while. The pose strengthens their core muscles i.e. hip, spine, tummy and shoulder muscles and develops balance skills, especially when they lift an arm or leg from the floor. The activity of stretching out one arm whilst using the other for support mimics the writing action; hence it is a great pre-writing skill.
 

Make it Multi-Sensory, Educational & Fun

Through the magic of a Tatty Bumpkin class cat 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 CAT pose as part of her adventure to visit people doing different jobs e.g. Tatty Bumpkin and cat will be visiting the firemen, the farmer and others! 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

Children being held back at school because of their sedentary lifestyles – Children Need Movement!

by Susan Heron Training Co-ordinator Tatty Bumpkin / Paediatric Physiotherapist

Research conducted in a reception class at a school in the West Midlands by former headmaster, Pete Griffin and the Institute for Neurophysiological  Psychology  in Chester found the following: 

• Nearly a third of four and five-year-olds struggled with tasks such as balancing on one leg and crawling 
• The children who struggled with the basic physical exercises were significantly more likely to fall behind academically.

Sixty children in reception classes at a school in the West Midlands were given 14 short tests, including asking them to balance on one leg for three seconds and crawl a short distance.

The study found 30 per cent of pupils showed signs of physical immaturity and a further 42 per cent some signs of delays in development. Some children even appeared not to have lost primitive baby reflexes, such as their arms and head extending when their head moves to the side.
 
The study, carried out by former primary headmaster Pete Griffin in conjunction with the Institute for Neuro-Physiological Psychology in Chester, found that of pupils in the bottom half of the group for physical maturity, 77 per cent were in the lowest two groups for academic ability.
 
The researchers suggested that children increasingly spend their early years sitting in front of screens and being ferried around in prams and car seats, with fewer opportunities to roll, climb, crawl and enjoy rough-and-tumble play. 

Mr Griffin said: ‘The main issue is that children don’t have the same kind of physical challenge and upbringing they might have had 40 or 50 years ago. Children are strapped into travel systems and are not physically picked up as much. Babies also spend less time on the floor learning to roll and crawl. There’s less opportunity to climb, to roll, to jump.’ 

Mr Griffin also commented that the rise of screen-based entertainment was likely to be having a ‘dramatic effect’, both because it led to sedentary lifestyles and stunted concentration. ‘There’s less creativity involved in playing on the screen or watching TV,’ he noted.
 
Mr Griffin added that the pressures of today’s exam-focused schooling meant that children with immature physical skills were less likely to catch up.
 
This research is interesting, especially when looked at in tandem with other research on child development.  Shumway-Cook and Woollacott, both established researchers in the field of neuroscience, demonstrated that a child’s balance system (postural control mechanism) does not fully mature until approximately seven years of age and even then there is further refinement throughout life, especially in the teenage years (1).
 
In addition, a child’s sensory processing or sensory organisation ability is not mature until about seven years of age (2).  A child with good sensory organisation will be more able to filter out unwanted sensory stimulation i.e. Classroom lighting or sounds and prioritise the sensory information they need for the task.
 
As both of these processes are refined and developed through movement. Hence children need movement! 

Tatty Bumpkin class at Wobble Farm!

Without the opportunity for regular activity, these two fundamental processes of postural control and sensory organisation are at risk of not maturing as expected. As a consequence the child may have to expend more of their energy and conscious thought on skills which should be largely automatic i.e. sitting on a chair, looking up to the whiteboard and back to their paper, filtering out unwanted classroom noise or ignoring a slightly itchy label. If this is the case then the child will have less energy or focus to learn.

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2229567/The-children-held-school-lazy-lifestyles-mean-t-stand-leg.html#ixzz2BiyayKUr

Read more: http://www.inpp.org.uk/http://www.inpp.org.uk/

1. Shumway- Cook, A . Woollacott, M. (2007) Motor Control – Translating research into practice.

2. Ayres,J. (2005) Sensory Integration and the Child

Owl is the Tatty Bumpkin Posture of The Week

The posture of this week in Tatty Bumpkin classes is OWL – just right for this spooky time of year!

How to do Owl Pose

Kneel on the floor & sit back on your heels with your arms by your sides. Then kneel up, taking your bottom off your heels, & spread your arms out to the side & over your head. Hoot “Twit Twooo!”

Make it easier

It is important that your child feels they can succeed. If they look unbalanced & worried whilst doing the pose, guide them to move their arms out to the side & over their heads whilst they are sitting on the floor, either cross-legged or with their legs straight out in front. In this seated position your child will find it easier to balance & hence they can concentrate on moving their arms in a better pattern. But remember there is no right or wrong way with Tatty Bumpkin, the important thing is your child feels they have enjoyed themselves!

Want to make it harder?  

Okay, start squatting down, balancing on your toes with your arms by your sides. Then rise up into standing waving your arms over your head as before. Hoot “Twit Twooo!” Bring your arms back down to your sides whilst you squat back down on the floor. Repeat a few times to become a truly wise owl!

Why it is ‘Good For Me’

1. Owl pose develops your child’s balance & core muscle strength i.e. their hip, back, tummy & shoulder muscles. 
2. Moving from squatting to standing positions will strengthen hip & leg muscles. 
3. When your child moves their arms as owl wings they will automatically activate their shoulder muscles which is great for developing writing skills i.e. when the shoulder muscles are active & strong, they will support the weight of the arm, leaving the smaller hand muscles free to do more dextrous activities. Hand ache from writing or a tight pencil grip could be a sign that your child is tending to use their hand muscles to support their arm rather than their shoulder muscles.

Make Owl Pose Multi-Sensory, Educational & Fun

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

Our classes are all 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 owl pose as part of her adventure to visit the owl family. Wrapping the pose inside a story, means your child will not realise they are doing an exercise & their imagination will take flight too! Find your local Tatty Bumpkin class at http://www.tattybumpkin.com/classes/find-class.html

How Children Learn. Part 1

An Introduction

The 2012 Statutory Framework for the EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage) states “In planning and guiding children’s activities, practitioners must reflect on the different ways children learn and reflect these in their practice” (1).  Hence practitioners now need to respond to HOW children learn not just WHAT children learn.

Dame Tickell in her 2011 Review of the EYFS cited Evangelou 2009 “Children’s learning arises from the interplay between the unique child with their surrounding relationships and experiences” (2).

Moylett and Stewart (3) reflect on the recent research in brain development and psychology which provides evidence that babies are born with amazing learning abilities. From a very young age babies have inner drive to make sense of their experiences (explanatory drive) and a desire to ‘make things happen and be competent’ (sense of agency). Hence a young baby will:

• Show curiosity
• Make choices
• Show perseverance

Quickly the infant will develop strategies for learning and will continue to use these throughout their lives i.e.

• Finding patterns in their experience so they can make predictions
• Learning by imitating others

Strikingly, research is now showing that these characteristics and strategies can be strengthened or hampered by the experiences children meet. Moylett and Stewart state “When children are encouraged and supported to follow their curiosity, to feel the satisfaction of reaching their own challenges, to think for themselves and to plan and monitor how they will go about their activities, they become self-regulated learners who later out strip children who may have developed more early subject based knowledge but have been more passive in their learning.”

So which approaches work to foster this learning process? I will discuss these in more detail in later blogs but essentially the EYFS 2012 identifies three strands or characteristics of effective learning:

1. Playing and Exploring – whereby children investigate and experience things, and ‘have a go’
2. Active Learning – children concentrate and keep on trying if they encounter difficulties, and enjoy achievements; and
3. Creating and Thinking Critically – children have and develop their own ideas, make links between ideas and develop strategies for doing things (Statutory Framework for the EYFS 2012)

Current research demonstrates, and the 2012 EYYS Framework now states, that each area of learning and development are best supported and encouraged through planned purposeful play and through a combination of adult lead and child-initiated activity.

Reflecting on my transition from a physiotherapist working with adults to a paediatric physiotherapist, 14 years ago, I realise I learnt the therapeutic interventions, the activities, but had little training on how to encourage the children in the learning of these activities. My instinct told me to make it fun, let the children have the ideas and disguise the activities in play.

Being involved with the development of the Tatty Bumpkin programme, working with nursery and children centres groups, has brought the importance of wrapping activities into a fun, purposeful playful activity which has the flexibility to use a combination of child led and adult led activities.

As an example; about 8 years ago, as part of a NHS paediatric team working with children with Developmental Co-ordination Disorder (Dyspraxia can be placed under this umbrella term), I was involved in developing a 6 week programme for children and their parents. The programme consisted of a series of 5 home exercises which the children completed on a daily basis. One of these activities was doing a number of press ups in the crawl position. The exercise was aimed at increasing strength and activity in the shoulder girdle, which hopefully helped the child improve their posture and specifically their fine motor skills such as writing. The children duly did their ‘press ups’ and we had some marked success with the programme as a whole.

However, looking back, I think what a missed opportunity in some ways! How the rather ‘dry’ press up activity could have been made so much more engaging, less daunting, more motivating, more meaningful and altogether more FUN for the children! With imagination, an adventure story, ideas from the children themselves, a few well-chosen props, and a ‘stretchy cat’ song - the humble press up suddenly becomes a cat lapping the milk before going on an adventure! Offering the children with different strategies for being a cat means they can all feel the joy of achievement.

The Importance of Learning How to Learn

Nancy Stewart’s book on ‘How Children Learn’ (4) provides an excellent insite into our understanding of the human learning process. This learning process is surely one of the most fundamental processes we can strengthen in young children. A child who is not afraid to learn; who approaches new things with a zeal and joy, who has the resilience to keep on trying, the confidence to realise they might be wrong and hence will start again on a new approach and ultimately who enjoys their achievements is surely a child equipped for life in our constantly changing world. A world where they are going to have to adapt quickly and with enthusiasm to truly feel they can make a difference.

The learning process could be regarded as the ‘roots’ to our tree of knowledge – once again I am drawn to the research which indicates that children who have opportunity to learn how to learn will later outstrip those children who have only had the opportunity for more subject or skill based learning. I will be looking at this in later blogs.

Nancy Stewart highlights “..that it is not enough for a child to have a particular skill or know some facts. These are of little value in the end without the desire, confidence, motivation and control to use them, and the mental abilities to look at something in a new way, link ideas together and plan and manage the way forward” (4).

In this series of blogs, I am going to investigate:

• Why we want to learn – to understand how we learn we firstly have to have an awareness of what drives us to learn
• The three characteristics of the learning process –  I will discuss Playing and Exploring, Active  Learning and Creating and Thinking Critically in more detail.
• Purposeful play to support the learning process and the evidence behind this
• Tatty Bumpkin programme supporting the learning process though provision of a playful activity

by Sue Heron, Training Co-ordinator Tatty Bumpkin, MCSP

References

1. Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. Dept for Education 2012.
2. Tickell, C (2011). The Early Years Foundations for life, health and learning: An Independent Report on the Early Years Foundation Stage for Her Majesty’s Government, Dept. of Education
3. Moylett, H. Stewart, N (2012). Understanding the Revised Early Years Foundation Stage. The British Association of Early Childhood Education.
4. Stewart, N (2011). How Children Learn. The British Association of Early Childhood Education.

Tatty Bumpkin and Tatty Guroo helping children with exam stress

This week we are going to be working with older children to help them deal with exam pressures - specifically the 11 Plus test which is held as an entrance to Grammar schools in Kent. Tatty Guroo is the new programme from our Tatty Bumpkin brand to feature older children 7-11 years.

At the Tatty Guroo breakfast club, the children have learnt which postures can help them with specific problems - such as sleeping, anxiety, aches and pains associated with sport and so on. Gradually, the children have been coming to understand the importance of breath as a way of regulating emotions, and this week proper breathing will be the most important way that they can help their nerves and focus their minds.

The three main ways to combat exam stress

1. Regulate the breath
2. Positive affirmations
3. Physical Stretches

1. Breathing properly is the single most important thing we can do to offset stress, and its simple to learn and apply. Breathing completely - filling the whole of the lungs and expelling ALL of the air, is known as diaphragmatic breathing; it slows the heart rate, brings blood pressure down, clear s the mind and relaxes the muscles.

Heres how to do it...
Lie or sit, and close your eyes if you can. Breathing through the nose (with your mouth shut) bring your focus to the space between your nostrils. Feel the coolness of the air coming in, and the warmth of the air coming out. This will help you push other thoughts out of your mind and help to still the mind.

Now focus on breathing from the diaphragm. Relax the tummy and put the right hand on the belly button and the left on the chest. Imagine you are blowing up a balloon into the tummy. The hand on the chest should stay still. Take 3-5 breaths.

Other ways we engage young children in breathing, are placing an object (like a plastic duck) on the abdomen and seeing if the duck can rise up and down (swimming).

Blowing feathers with long slow breaths to make them float.

Blowing bubbles

Or, just simply sitting and listening to the breath, seeing if you can breathe out to a count of 5 - slowing the breath, slows the mind, and then coherent thoughts can form.

2. Positive affirmations and thoughts
Positive talk or affirmations can be used to feel better and create a positive attitude. An affirmation is a positive statement about who we are, and what we can become. They should evoke a positive emotion within the child, and reinforcing this thought give children self-confidence and the ability to deal with stress.

The emphasis is on the words I AM...

for example

I am intelligent and I can do this
I am clever and I can pass this exam

Whenever a child feels nervous or anxious ask them to touch each finger in turn, and silently repeat the mantra. This will replace negative thoughts and emotions and attract positive energy.


3. Physical stretches and warmups
Physical stretches are as important as a good nights sleep for reducing stress and increasing mental focus. Stretching improves circulation by increasing blood flow and in turn the muscles absorb more oxygen, releasing toxins and tensions, reducing the physical symptoms of stress.
Simple neck rolls and arm stretches help relieve neck and shoulder tension. Forward bends aid calming and can stretch the hamstrings. Inversions, send fresh blood supply to the brain and help clear thought.

Above all, the 3 points above, empower the child and help them to maximise their potential through dealing with the stress.

The National EYFS Conference and Tatty Bumpkin Part 2

The National EYFS Conference Part 2

Following on from a previous blog, http://tattybumpkinltd.blogspot.co.uk/  on my highlights of the National EYFS Conference, I would like to pass on:

Jan White’s 10 Top Tips For Embedding Physical Development as a Prime Area into the Curriculum

1.    The Opportunity for Vestibular Activity

Children need to stimulate the sense which constantly monitors the position of the head in relation to gravity (vestibular sense); twisting, sliding, tilting, moving up and down, even hanging upside down! You see this happening naturally as children seem to instinctively know this aids their ability to learn new skills.

2.    The Opportunity for Proprioceptive Activity

The proprioceptive sense tells us about our body’s position and the level of effort needed for an activity. This awareness brings self-confidence and is immensely reassuring. Proprioceptive rich activities include those where the body works against a resistance e.g. tug-of war games, press ups, pulling, pushing or lifting objects

3.    The Opportunity for Cross – Lateral Activity

Bilateral and cross lateral activities involve using both sides of the body and/ or crossing the body’s midline. Activities such as clapping, crawling, climbing, riding bikes and skipping all promote this co-ordination of the right and left sides of the body and brain.

4.    Expressions for Feet

In her blog Jan questions the necessity for shoes at all times as so much information enters the body via the feet. Toddlers and young children need to feel the ground barefoot so they can naturally activate their foot and ankle muscles.

5.    Upper Body Work

Taking weight through the shoulders and arms further develops body awareness. These activities also activate and strengthen the larger shoulder girdle muscles which support the arm and hence allow the smaller hand muscles to do fine motor tasks, e.g. writing efficiently and without tiring.

6.    Experience for The Hands

The delicate hand muscles are stimulated, right from birth, as the baby spreads their palm on the floor to reach forward with the other hand, crawling further opens up the hand. These are physical, pre-writing opportunities on which literacy skills are based.

7.    Get Children More Active!

If ‘we start active we stay active’. Research shows that children need a minimum of 3 hours activity spread across their day.

8.    Importance of Sleep

Children do not to get enough sleep to calm and restore.  Sleeping outside is especially important.  Previous generations understood this, leaving babies and young children to sleep outside in their prams.

  

9.    Training and Communication

We need more awareness of the role physical development and play in learning.

10.  The Whole Culture of the “Setting” Needs to Change

A movement rich environment and a movement rich culture is of the essence.

To learn more about Jan see her blog http://janwhitenaturalplay.wordpress.com/.

In my next blog I will show how the Tatty Bumpkin class naturally incorporates these tips. The sessions bringing physical development opportunities into a young child’s day in a fun and motivating way.