2013 – 2014 Term 2 Week 6: Tatty Bumpkin's Pose for the Week is Monkey!

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

The posture for this week in Tatty Bumpkin classes is MONKEY.

In the sessions your child will go on an adventure with Tatty Bumpkin deep into the jungle to help the monkeys build a new nest after the big storm. 

Monkey Pose – Older Children

 

Swinging through the trees!

Description of Pose 

Note to parents – It is always best to do monkey pose with your child so they can copy you; this is especially true if your child is younger. Recent research demonstrates that doing activities and movements together helps the bonding process between parents/carers and their child.
 
Find a clear, non-slip area of floor or carpet. Ideally take off your shoes, so you can use your feet to help you balance. Start in a squatting position then leap up into the air, moving your arms up and down like a monkey whilst making ‘Ooooh’ sounds! When you are up in standing; hop from one leg to the other and stretch your arms up to either side - imagining you are a monkey swinging through the jungle trees.

 

Want to Make it Harder? 

As you hop from side to side as a monkey, try balancing on one leg imagining you are clinging onto a branch - ask an adult for a little bit of support if needs be.

Note to parents – If your child is finding it hard to balance on one leg, it is best to offer them some support so they can experience balancing in a ‘straight position’. If your child keeps trying to balance by themselves in a crooked position i.e. with their legs wrapped round each other this might become a habit. As soon as your child starts to ‘get the idea’ of balancing in a good position, stand back, and let them try by themselves. Maybe suggest they use a wall or a chair rather than your hand for support.  

Standing on one leg - with a little help!

Then try reaching 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.
 
 

Reaching for a banana!

Games to Play with Your Child In Monkey Pose

• Do monkey pose to the Tatty Bumpkin Monkey song. Either download this lively song from iTunes or ask your Tatty Bumpkin teacher for details on the Tatty Bumpkin ‘This is the Life’ CD.

• Swinging through the trees!  Find a wooden spoon or a smooth twig. Sit on the floor facing your child with your legs stretched out in front, encourage your child to do the same. Carefully place your legs over your child’s so you can get closer to each other. Then, both of you firmly grasp hold of the stick or spoon with the back of your hands uppermost. (Parents perhaps position their hands on the outside of the stick whilst encouraging their child to hold the stick in the middle).  Now gently rock back and forth. The rocking movement should be controlled and rhythmical with you both pulling against a slight resistance. This activity stimulates the proprioceptive sense and can be either gently alerting, if you are feeling a bit drowsy, or calming – if you are feeling a bit over excited. 

Swinging through the trees!

• Monkey on a branch. This is a good game to play if your child is just learning to stand on one leg. Find a low box or step (only a few centimetres tall) and place it on the ground. Encourage your child to put one foot on the box whilst keeping their other foot on the floor. In this position they can try and reach across their body for a ‘banana’ or a stick – like a monkey eating in his tree. This activity will give your child the experience of standing more on one leg – and hence is a good introduction to actually standing on one leg.

Why Monkey pose is ‘Good For Me’ - Older Children

As you child does monkey pose they will have the opportunity to:

1. Strengthen their leg and arm muscles. As you child leaps as a monkey from squatting to standing they will be exercising and strengthening the quadriceps muscles in their legs. When your child swings their arms up above their head and side to side they will be stretching and strengthening their shoulder and arm muscles.

2. Refine their balance skills/postural control. Your child’s balance system (postural control) is largely developed by the time they are seven years old. Up to this age they will be refining their balance skills through improving their ‘balance reactions’ (those small body adjustments we make when we are trying to keep our balance) and their sensory organisation. With a mature balance system, your child will gradually be able to do more complex tasks. Encourage your child to hop in monkey pose from side to side and then see if they can remain on one leg for a little longer. Play the ‘monkey on a branch’ game so your child can ‘get the feeling’ of standing on one leg.

3. Increase their awareness of their right and left hand sides. Monkey pose is great for developing your child’s awareness of their right and left hand sides in a fun lively way.They will be hopping from one leg to another and moving one arm and then the other as they imagine they are swinging and jumping through the trees.

4. Develop their awareness of their ‘midline’. The midline of our body is the imaginary line from our head to our toes which separates our left from our right sides. Most children are able to cross their midline by the time they are 4 years old – taking one arm or leg across their body to the side of their other arm or leg. Crossing the midline is an important skill to learn as we need to do this quickly and smoothly for a most tasks i.e. to dress ourselves or to write words across a page. Encourage your child to reach across their body for a banana or a stick whilst they are doing monkey pose, giving your child something to reach for will make the activity both meaningful and fun for them and hence easier to do.

Monkey Pose –Babies and Toddlers

For Babies

Swinging from branch to branch!

Description of Pose

Note to parents. Remember never to force the movements whilst doing the poses with your baby and to keep looking at them as you do the actions - to make sure they are comfortable. If your feel any resistance or your baby becomes unsettled, do stop. Once they have settled gently try the pose again, perhaps making clicking sounds or using a toy to distract them. If your baby remains unsettled do not persist with the pose and ask advice from your Baby Bumpkin teacher.

This adaptation of monkey pose is great if your baby is about 4 months or younger and has yet to gain good control of their head and upper body. Settle your baby on a mat in front of you. Firstly put your index finger in one of your baby’s palms encouraging them to grasp hold of your finger. This will help your baby feel ‘in control’ of the movement. Then gently move your baby’s arm out to their side and upwards as far as it will comfortably go, remembering not to ‘force’ the movement (very young babies will not be comfortable moving their arms above their head). Smile and make monkey gestures and sounds at your baby – they will love to see your different expressions and hear your voice! Return your baby’s arm to their side and repeat the movement with their other arm. After you have done a few repetitions with both arms, see if your baby can anticipate the movement and do the action more by themselves. To encourage this: wait at the beginning of the movement and, whilst doing the movement, see if your baby starts to ‘take over’. Try saying “1, 2, 3” before you do the movement.

 

For Older Babies / Younger Toddlers 

Leaping through the trees!

Description of Pose

This adaptation of monkey pose is great if your baby is about 4 months or older and are able to hold their head up confidently in sitting. Note - if your baby is getting very heavy or you know you have problems with your back then do be careful when doing this pose and if it feels painful do stop. Always tighten your tummy muscles as you do this pose as this will help to protect your back - if you are unsure how to do this ask your Baby Bumpkin teacher.
Find a comfortable place to sit on the floor with your baby. Either actually sit on the floor or sit back on your heels. Hold your baby securely around their middle so that they are facing you then lift them up into the air – like a monkey swinging through the trees! As with the pose above encourage your baby to anticipate the movement by saying, “1, 2, 3!” as you lift them up. This activity is likely to quickly excite your baby so, to prevent over-excitement, do not do it for too long – do 2 – 3 jumps then rest. Keep looking at your baby to make sure they are enjoying themselves.

 

For Toddlers

Jumping through the jungle!

Description of Pose

If your toddler is older, and wishing to be more independent, encourage them to toddle through the jungle with you! Take off their shoes and socks so they can feel the floor with their feet and spread out some pillows or cushions on non-slip surface. Put on some lively music, or Tatty Bumpkin Monkey song, then, giving them support if necessary, guide your toddler to step on and off the various pillows and cushions - as if they are monkeys swinging through the trees.

Games to Play with Your Baby/ Toddler in Monkey Pose

Do monkey pose to the Tatty Bumpkin Monkey song. Either download this lively song from iTunes or ask your Baby Bumpkin teacher for details on the Tatty Bumpkin ‘This is the Life’ CD.

• Swinging through the trees! N.B. Remember: never to force the movements whilst doing the poses with your toddler and to keep looking at them as you do the actions - to make sure they are comfortable. If your toddler becomes unsettled, do stop.  

Swinging through the trees!

 
From about the age of 6 – 7 months your toddler will have developed a strong grasp and be able to keep hold of an object against resistance. Find a smooth, clean wooden spoon or something similar for them to hold. Note do not let your toddler play with the spoon unattended as they will definitely put it in their mouths and could injure themselves. Position your toddler on your lap, either facing you or in side sitting, and support them round their hips if needs be. Then encourage them to grasp the spoon handle with both hands. Gently move the spoon back and forth a little way so your toddler is encouraged to join in with the movement and to pull back against your resistance. Remember to keep smiling and talking to your toddler as they play this game with you.

Why Monkey Pose is Good for Your Baby or Toddler

As you do monkey pose with your baby or toddler, you will give them a chance to:

1. Become more aware of their arm movements. As your baby moves their arms up and down in monkey pose with you they will be building up their repertoire of arm movements. Note that your young baby’s shoulder and elbow joints are delicate and your baby will not be able to move them through their full range until they are about 5 months old. A new born baby is usually unable to move their arm actively above 90 degrees and will not be able to fully straighten their elbows by themselves until they are about 5 months. However, if your baby has been sitting in a car seat or baby seat for a while, doing the gentle arm movements of monkey pose will give them a lovely stretch. Remember to encourage your baby to ‘join in’ with the movement as much as possible – if they are doing the movement for themselves, this not only boosts their self-confidence, it also makes the movement far more effective.

2. Develop their reaching and grasping skills. As you do monkey pose with your baby, either putting your index fingers in their palms or playing with the wooden spoon handle, you will helping your baby to develop their hand ‘grasp’.

• Your new born baby would have had a strong ‘grasp reflex’ this is not a voluntary movement. At this age they are unable to ‘let go’ so you would have had to prise the object from their hands. In the first month your baby continues to have this grasp reflex and remains largely unaware of objects placed in their hands.

• At about two months your baby may start to become aware of objects in their hands but they will still not be able to ‘let go’ by themselves. As your baby automatically clutches objects in their hands e.g. their blanket, you may notice them automatically bending their elbows.

• By three months your baby may start to hold things voluntarily (as their grasp reflex fades). At this age their middle finger is often the strongest and they do not actively use their thumbs.

• At four months your baby may approach objects they wish to hold with their hand open. They will start to alter the way they hold things depending on the shape of the object but the most usual ‘holding’ method is often by flexing all their fingers around the object without using their thumb.

• At five months your baby may start to actively use their thumb as they hold onto things- this is the beginning of their ‘palmar grasp’ i.e. your baby wraps their fingers round the object, holding it in their palm against their thumb.

• At six months your baby will no doubt be actively exploring the objects they are holding, either by looking at them, shaking and listening to the sound they make or, of course, by putting them in their mouths! The strength and accuracy of their grasp will often depend on how much support their body has i.e. when they are lying on the floor with full support or sitting on your lap with support round their middle they will be more able to explore and grasp objects. Hence, encourage your baby to play with a toy by giving them more support with your hands round their middle or shoulders. Of course, also give your baby time to work on their balance skills with less support – just don’t ask them to play with a toy and practice their sitting balance at the same time!

• At seven to nine months of age your baby will be developing a really strong grasp and will be able to hold onto things against resistance – so the ‘swinging through the trees game’ starts to become good fun!

• From seven months your baby will also be starting to develop a more refined ‘pincer’ grasp – where they start to hold objects between their thumb and index finger – this is usually well developed by the time they are nine months old. During these ages you will notice your baby becoming more adept at letting things go. At about nine months they may be able to let things go in mid-air – playing games of such as letting things go into a large container will help your baby become more aware of the size and depth of objects.

• From about ten to twelve months your toddler may start to consistently use a favoured hand. They will love pulling and pushing objects, feeling the sensory feedback through their body. Hopefully they will really engage with you in the ‘swinging through the trees’ game, but remember, do not carry on this game for too long as it may lead to over-excitement!

3. Organise their sensations and movements (older babies/younger toddlers). As you lift your baby or young toddler  up into the air whilst doing this version of monkey pose you will be stimulating their vestibular sense. Our vestibular sense tells us where our body is in relation to gravity and whether we are moving or still. The receptors for this sense are in our inner ears and are stimulated by head movements. Appropriate stimulation of vestibular sense will help your baby’s brain sort out and combine the huge variety of other sensations they will be experiencing. Although you cannot see this organisation happening you will probably know when your baby wants to be lifted up and down in monkey pose – sensations that make your baby feel happy tend to be ‘organising.’ Remember this activity can quickly excite your baby so do not do the activity for too long as your baby may become overexcited and stressed.
 
4. Develop their balancing skills in standing (toddlers). Walking on uneven surfaces, stepping on and off cushions is a great way to develop your toddler’s walking balance.

• At around eight months your toddler may begin to walk with two hands held. You may notice they are able to lift their foot up from the floor but find it difficult to ‘organise’ their leg movement coming back down i.e. They may tend to take too big a step or put their foot too far out to the side. Your toddler might walk ‘stiffly’ or ‘up on their toes’ in their effort to step and they might tend to tip their body too far forward over their legs. As your toddler gets older you will notice they get more control over their stepping action. 

• At about nine to eleven months, your toddler will enjoy pulling up to different surfaces i.e. a small table or the sofa. Giving your toddler the opportunity to pull up to a variety to surfaces of different heights will help to develop their standing and balance skills. Also around this age your toddler may start to step from one support to another. Again, giving them the opportunity to safely stand and step on a variety of surfaces i.e. cushions, tiles, carpet.  This will give them a range of different experiences. This is important for developing their postural control in standing and walking.

• As your toddler’s balance and postural control in standing develops they will need increasingly less support, perhaps holding on with just one hand to your clothing or the side of a plastic laundry basket. If they let go of support with this hand they will often flex their whole body to make themselves more stable i.e. they will flex their elbows, knees, hips and toes. Alternatively your toddler may try to take steps before they can stand without support – often heading off across the room, falling from foot to the other, until they lose their balance.

• Your toddler’s first steps will require all their concentration. It is helpful for one person to give support to your toddler whilst another encourages them by smiling, eye contact and making encouraging sounds. Repetition of this game will help your toddler improve their stepping skills.

Please note that the age at which a toddler walks by themselves is extremely variable , some walk as early as nine months others may not walk until they are fifteen or sixteen months. If you have any concerns do speak with your health visitor. If your toddler is happier crawling and moving on the floor do not ‘rush’ them up into standing and walking, they will still be developing their balance skills and postural control in these other positions.

 

Make it Multi-Sensory, Educational & Fun

In Tatty Bumpkin classes we use unique storylines to make the activities meaningful and to fire the imagination.

All our classes are multi-sensory comprising of:

• Adapted yoga poses and activities which both stimulate and calm the body senses

• Dedicated songs and rhythms which are relevant to the stories

• Bespoke hand-woven props to look at and feel. Tatty Bumpkin has its own range of fairly traded animal props to back up the yoga poses and bring the stories to life. Our teachers are supported to use natural props in the classes which are great to feel as opposed to smooth plastic.

• We have carefully linked each Tatty Bumpkin to the new 2012 Early Years Foundation Stage framework. Importantly supporting children to learn ‘how to learn’ not just focusing on what on they learn.

So … The Adventure This Week  ..

In this week’s adventure Tatty Bumpkin finds herself in the jungle. All is quiet, the animals and birds are sound asleep. Parrot is sleeping in his tree, bear is snoozing in his cave and the monkeys are snuggled up cosily in their nest.
 
Then CRACK, FLASH, BOOM!! A huge thunderstorm rips across the jungle sky and in this violent storm the monkey’s nest is destroyed.
 
Will Tatty Bumpkin be able to help them? She might need some good ideas on how to build a new nest …

This story will give your child an opportunity to:

1. Develop their balance skills as they do tree and monkey poses

2. Increase their awareness of their right and left hand sides as they hop and swing from side to side in monkey pose and wriggle and roll in snake pose

3. Use gestures or words to express their thoughts i.e. Feeling 

• ‘Sleepy’ with the jungle animals
• ‘Nervous’ in the thunderstorm
• ‘Sad’ with the monkeys when they lose their nest .. then ..
• ‘Determined’  with the monkeys as they decide not to give up and to start building a new nest. 

 4. Develop their sense of rhythm as they dance and clap to Tatty Bumpkin Monkey song 

5. Come up with their own ideas and spark their imagination as they help Tatty Bumpkin build a new monkey nest

6. Develop their fine motor skills as they build the nest out of twigs and leaves
Have fun with their friends - snoozing as bears and snakes, dancing and swinging through the trees as monkeys and then working together to build that new monkey nest!

 

What kind of monkey nest would you build? A castle? A wigwam?

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

2013 – 2014 Term 2 Week 5: Tatty Bumpkin's Pose for the Week is Mouse!

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

The posture for the week in Tatty Bumpkin classes is mouse.

This week Tatty Bumpkin sets off to visit her friend the giant. He lives in a huge house, with a huge door on the other side of the Giggle Tree.

The giant invites Tatty Bumpkin in for tea but, as she tiptoes across one of his giant rooms, Tatty Bumpkin spies a little mouse looking lost. Mouse tells Tatty Bumpkin that he would love a little, snug house of his own – where he can snuggle up, keep warm and hide from the pesky cat.

Tatty Bumpkin has a think and suggests they have a look in each of the giant’s rooms – surely there must be a little corner which would be perfect for a little mouse house?

 

Mouse Pose – Older Children

How small is your mouse?

Description of Mouse Pose  For Older children

Note to parents – It is always best to do mouse pose with your child so they can copy you; this is especially true if your child is younger. Recent research demonstrates that doing activities and movements together helps the bonding process between parents/carers and their child.
Find a comfortable place on the floor. Then start the pose by kneeling back on your heels with your arms by your sides. Now curl forward and pretend to ‘kiss your knees’. It is often a good idea to say this to your child so they get the idea of curling forwards rather than just lying on their tummy. Take deep breaths and lie very still. Shut your eyes. Imagine you are a very tiny mouse.

Want to Make it Harder? 

Lift up your head and make a few squeaking sounds then wriggle you fingers either side of your mouth to be mousy whiskers.
Stretch out each of your legs in turn behind you and wave it from side to side - as you’re a magic mouse with TWO tails.
Finally come up onto all fours and scamper round the room to run away from the pesky cat.

 

Games to play in Mouse Pose

Mouse in his house! Imagine you’re a little mouse curled up small in your own tiny house. See if you can keep still for at least 20 seconds. Then ‘wake up’ and peek outside your little house – lift up your head, ‘twitch your whiskers’, shake your two, magic tails. Uhoh - the cat is about! Jump up onto your hands and knees and scamper round the room. Look around for another place to hide, far away from that pesky cat and curl up once more. See if you can hear your own breathing as you rest in your new, snug mouse house!   
 
Do mouse pose to the Tatty Bumpkin Mouse song – you can either download Tatty Bumpkin Mouse song from iTunes or ask your Tatty Bumpkin teacher about the Tatty Bumpkin CD. Mouse song encourages your child to relax and be still, whilst curling up as a tiny mouse and then to ‘let off steam’ as a mouse scampering away from the cat!

 

Why Mouse pose is ‘Good For Me’ - Older Children

As you child does boat pose they will have the opportunity to:

1. Calm themselves. When your child curls into mouse pose they will stimulate their sense of touch and their ‘proprioceptive sense’. Our proprioceptive sense provides us with information on how stretched our muscles are, how tense are tendons are, and the position of our joints at any one time. Stimulation of both these senses in mouse pose can often help children to calm down, particularly if they have become over-excited and are finding it hard to ‘move on’ from spinning or running round the room! It is important for your child to start to learn how to control their ‘levels of alertness’. For some activities we need to be more alert i.e. when playing in the playground or doing a sport. At other times we need to be ‘less alert’ i.e. when we need to sleep. To learn new things efficiently we need to be alert but too alert and excited.
 
2. Refine their fine (hand) 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.
 
3. Develop their speech and confidence. Encourage your child to squeak as a little mouse, softly then loudly! As they scamper round the room your child may find it easier to make different noises.

Mouse Pose For Babies and Toddlers

Mouse Pose For Babies 

 

Hickory, dickory, dock!

Description of Pose

N.B. Remember: never to force the movements whilst doing the poses with your baby and to keep looking at them as you do the actions - to make sure they are comfortable. If your feel any resistance or your baby becomes unsettled, do stop. Once they have settled gently try the pose again, perhaps making clicking sounds or using a toy to distract them. If your baby remains unsettled do not persist with the pose and ask advice from your Baby Bumpkin teacher.

Do mouse pose and actions with your baby to the rhyme of ‘Hickory Dickory Dock’.

‘Hickory, dickory, dock’ – On a clean mat or carpet settle your baby in front of you. Start in swan pose at your baby’s feet i.e. rock back on your heels, lean forward and stretch out your upper body close to the floor with your arms over your head so that you’re touching your baby’s feet or ankles with your hands – your touch will reassure your baby. 

‘The mouse ran up the clock’ – Sit up, resting back on your heels, but still leaning over your baby, so that you can catch their eye. When you have eye contact smile at your baby and/or make squeaking sounds whilst you run your fingers up your baby’s legs and body.

‘The clock struck one’ – Come onto your hands and knees over your baby. Then, if you feel confident, bend your elbows to do a little ‘press up’ and kiss your baby on their forehead. As you give your baby a kiss, smile and talk to them!

‘The mouse ran down’ – Run your fingers back down your baby’s body and legs finishing with a little tickle on their feet.

‘Hickory, dickory, dock’ – Rock back onto your heels once more and return to swan pose – gently keeping hold of your baby’s feet.

‘Tick-tock, tic-tock’ – Come back onto your hands and knees over your baby and, if you feel confident to do so, end the rhyme by doing two more mini press-ups to give your baby two more kisses!

Mouse Pose For Toddlers

Curl up as tiny mice!

Description of Pose

Find a comfortable place on the floor to play ‘mouse pose’ with your toddler. Start by sitting back on your heels, encouraging your toddler to copy you. Then say “1, 2, 3 mouse!” and curl up over your knees. You may find that your toddler automatically moves onto their tummy instead of curling up – this may be due to an immature reflex action which they have not yet fully grown out of. If your toddler does go onto their tummy guide them back to the starting position (sitting back on their heels) and this time suggest they ‘kiss their knees’ to curl up like a mouse.

See if your toddler can stay in mouse position for a few seconds, as this is a very calming position. Encourage them to do a few mouse squeaks with you and then guide them to jump up with you onto their hands and knees to scurry round the room like naughty mice! After crawling round the room in various directions and stopping to ‘hide’ under furniture come back to rest in mouse pose – this will help your toddler to calm down after the excitement of crawling! Or finish the game by curling over your toddler, snuggling up to them a like a mouse in a house!

Mouse - snug and warm inside their house!

Other Games to Play with your Toddler in Mouse Pose

Hiding mice – Your toddler may love repeating mouse pose over and over again, especially if you add to their anticipation by saying “1, 2, 3, hide!” or “1, 2, 3, mouse!” as you do the pose. Once you are curled up in mouse pose again add to the anticipation and excitement by saying “Ready, steady run!” or “1, 2, 3 run!” just before you both start crawling and scurrying around the room. Find some pieces of fabric and balance them on your and your toddler’s head whilst you are both curled up in mouse pose. Using the fabric will help your toddler to keep still. Then, when your both jump up to scurry round the room, see if you can either make the fabric fall off or stay on your heads!
 
Follow the actions to the Tatty Bumpkin Mouse song – This song tells the story about a little mouse being happy in their little house before scurrying off to hide from the pesky cat! You can either download mouse song from iTunes or buy the Tatty Bumpkin CD from your Tatty Bumpkin teacher.

‘Why Mouse Pose is Good for Your Baby or Toddler’

As you do mouse pose with your baby or toddler, you will give them a chance to:

1. Develop their close bond with you. Mouse pose is a real opportunity to be both emotionally and physically close to your baby or toddler. At around six months of age you may notice your baby gaining a series of abilities which makes it easier for them to express their needs to you i.e. Your baby will be able to:  

• Do several different facial expressions to make their feelings known rather than relying on the more obvious ways like crying, fussing cooing or being quiet.
• Make more consistent eye contact with you.
• Reach up towards you in both lying and sitting.

These abilities are a consequence of your baby gaining more control of the middle of their body. As a result they are able to control parts of their body further away from their middle i.e. your baby will now be able to control the muscles in their eyes, hands and face and mouth. As you do mouse pose with your baby notice how they gradually start to respond to and play with you i.e.

• Maybe they will start to reach out to you
• Maybe they will make a quizzical expression or smile back at you
• Maybe you will notice them following you with their eyes as you move towards and away from them.

Not only will your baby be starting to understand you better but also they will be starting to make sense of the world.
 
Doing mouse pose with your toddler will continue to develop the bond between you both. As mentioned above research is now showing that the process of bonding not only happens through touch abut also through movement. Hence as your toddler copies you, moving and curling up in mouse pose, they will be reinforcing that bond between you both.

2. Develop their reaching (arm and hand) skills and leg movements whilst lying on their backs – babies. Mouse pose is a fun way to play with your baby on the floor. Although tummy time is important – your baby also needs time to play on their back on the floor.

3. Increase their body awareness. As you do the ‘hickory, dickory, dock’ rhyme with your baby you will be drawing their attention to their hands and toes.
For toddlers - Mouse pose and game challenges them to move quickly and smoothly between two quite different positions i.e. Your toddler:

• Starts with their whole body curled up in mouse pose
• They then change position rapidly to come up onto their hands and knees to scurry as mice
• And finally they go back to hide in mouse pose.

These quick and big changes in body position will help your toddler to become more aware of how their body and limbs work together. Your toddler is growing quickly and will be building a mental image of their body in their brain – their body schema. It will take many years before they develop an accurate body image in their minds – but this mental body image is crucial for accurate, effortless movement and confidence. Therefore, it is never too early to help your toddler become more aware of their body and how their body, arms and legs can work together to make different shapes. 
4. Learn how to calm themselves – toddlers.  When your toddler curls their body up in mouse pose they will be gently stimulating their ‘proprioceptive sense’. Our proprioceptive sense is stimulated through receptors in our muscles, tendons and joints and it tells us how our body parts are moving in relation to one another and the general position of our body at any one time. Often gentle pressure to the muscles and joints and stimulation of proprioceptive sense will help a young child to feel more secure and hence to calm down. So when your toddler folds their body up in mouse pose, gently squeezing their body against their legs, and as a result stimulating their proprioceptive sense, they may find this pose very soothing. If your toddler has become upset or overexcited, you may find that prompting them to do mouse pose for a few seconds helps them to calm themselves down. 

Make it Multi-Sensory, Educational & Fun

In Tatty Bumpkin classes we use unique storylines to make the activities meaningful and to fire the imagination.

All our classes are multi-sensory comprising of:

• Adapted yoga poses and activities which both stimulate and calm the body senses
• Dedicated songs and rhythms which are relevant to the stories
• Bespoke hand-woven props to look at and feel. Tatty Bumpkin has its own range of fairly traded animal props to back up the yoga poses and bring the stories to life. Our teachers are supported to use natural props in the classes which are great to feel as opposed to smooth plastic.

We have carefully linked each Tatty Bumpkin to the new 2012 Early Years Foundation Stage framework. Importantly supporting children to learn ‘how to learn’ not just focusing on what on they learn.

So … The Adventure This Week  ..

In this week’s adventure Tatty Bumpkin visits her friend the giant in his huge house!
In a corner of one of the giant’s enormous rooms Tatty Bumpkin spies a little mouse. The mouse is looking for a place he can call his own – it needs to be small and snug.

So together mouse and Tatty Bumpkin set off to explore the giant’s house – peering into the cupboards, looking inside the bath and under the beds. Where would be the perfect place for a mouse? 

Where could a mouse live?

 This story will give your child an opportunity to:

1. Develop their body awareness as they stretch up high as a giant and curl up small as a mouse
2. Come up with their own ideas on where would be the best place for the mouse to have his house
3. Use gestures or words to express their thoughts i.e. Feeling

• ‘A bit worried’ as they creep into the giant’s house
• ‘Sad’ as a mouse without a home
• ‘Confident’ to go exploring round the giant’s house
• ‘Excited’ at finding the perfect home for mouse

4. their sense of rhythm as they curl up and scamper to Tatty Bumpkin Mouse song
5 Calm themselves and become more aware of their breathing as they curl up in mouse pose
6. Develop their fine motor skills as they twitch their mouse whiskers and then help mouse to build his own little house
7. Have fun with their friends. Curling up and scampering round the room like little mice, stomping up and down like huge giants and then working together to make the perfect little house for mouse.

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

2013 – 2014 Term 2 Week 4: Tatty Bumpkin's Pose for the Week is Boat!

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

The posture for the week in Tatty Bumpkin classes is boat.

This week Tatty Bumpkin finds herself on a beach along with her friend Rabbit. 

Lying on the sand, at the water’s edge, she spies some pieces of wood, a square of cloth and an old sturdy box. Tatty B has a think, what can she build out of all these bits? Of course a boat!
 
Soon Tatty Bumpkin and Rabbit are sailing on the wavy ocean and it is not long before they discover a little Island. Ever ready to explore Tatty Bumpkin and Rabbit creep through the island’s forests and find a group of enormous statues, standing still and tall in the middle of the island!  

BOAT Pose - Older Children

Row back and forth with your friend!

 

Description of Boat Pose - Older children

Note to parents – Boat pose is a pose for two people, as you do boat pose with your child you will not only be having fun but will be strengthening the bond between you both.
 

 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 either inside and under or, outside and over your partner’s legs. Rock gently backwards and forwards with your friend. 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.

The waves are getting bigger!

Variation

To go canoeing on your own; sit with your legs stretched out in front and reach forward to 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.

Go exploring in your own canoe..

Why Boat pose is ‘Good For Me’ - Older Children

As you child does boat pose they will have the opportunity to:

• Develop their social and communication skills - whilst they are moving and playing with their friends or you!

• Refine their sitting posture. The rocking action of boat pose will promote your child’s sitting balance and provide 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. 

• Stimulate their ‘movement senses’ and manage their ‘level of alertness’ for learning. When your child rocks forwards and backwards in boat pose they stimulate their movement senses, especially their vestibular sense (see toddler section for further info). Stimulation of the vestibular sense can directly affect our ‘levels of alertness’ i.e. slow, rocking actions can be soothing and quietening whilst 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 as 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!

Description of Boat pose – Younger Children and Toddlers

 

Option 1

Option 1

Find a comfortable place to sit on the floor with your toddler. Stretch your legs out in front of you and either gently sit your toddler on your thighs facing you, or invite your toddler to sit in between your legs (see picture). Remember to keep smiling and talking to your toddler! Then, holding their forearms and wrists, gently rock forwards and backwards with your toddler – like a boat on the waves. After two or three rocks, if your toddler is happy, try rocking a little faster and do the pose to the ‘Row, row your boat’ song.

Option 2

Option 2

This is a fun adaptation to do with another adult or part of a group so your toddler can look at someone else. Find a comfortable place to sit on the floor with space in front of you. Stretch your legs out in front and place your toddler on your thighs facing away from you, supporting them with your hands around their hips. Shuffle forwards on your bottom, gently rocking your toddler from side to side as you go. After you have moved forward a little way - shuffle backwards. Once again sing the ‘Row, row, row your boat’ song as you do the movements. If your toddler is enjoying the game, make the rocking movements bigger so that they are challenged to keep their balance on your lap. Your toddler will enjoy the movement of their body against gravity, but do keep checking to make sure that they are not starting to feel anxious.

When doing either of the above poses, with your toddler remember not to do the more vigorous rocking movements for too long as this can overstimulate them and cause them anxiety.

‘Why Boat Pose is Good for Your Toddler’

As you do boat/rowing pose with your toddler you will give them a chance to:
 

• Gradually develop their ‘postural control’ becoming more stable in the sitting position. From about 3 months your baby will be relying less and less on their baby reflexes and will be learning how to move and control their body in space. If your toddler is about 8 months or older you may notice they are starting to consistently put their arms down to either side to ‘save’ themselves when they feel they are losing their balance. This saving action is a mature ‘postural reaction’ which we all use to protect ourselves throughout our lives. As you do rowing pose option 2 with your toddler try gently tipping them to either side to see if they are starting to put their arm out on that side to keep their balance. Remember always do this movement slowly and when your baby is old enough as you do not want to make them anxious! (Image courtesy of safehandsbabysitters.com)

For example: Babies will put their left hand down to 'save' themselves as they tip to the left

• Activate their tummy and spinal muscles in a coordinated way. As your toddler gently rocks back and forth with you in boat/rowing pose they will be alternatively activating and working their tummy and then their back muscles. These muscle groups have to work together for activities such and sitting and rolling

• Organise their sensations and movements. Our vestibular sense tells where our body is in relation to gravity and whether we are moving or still, the receptors for this sense are in our inner ears. This sense begins to function in the womb, at about 5 months after conception, and is well developed at birth. As your toddler starts to move into standing their vestibular sense starts to play a bigger role in the overall organisation of their senses and movements. This is because stimulation of vestibular sense helps the brain to sort out and combine the huge variety of other sensations it will be experiencing and it also underpins the control of posture, balance and movement.  Although you cannot see this organisation happening you will probably know when your toddler wants to be rocked as in rowing/boat pose – sensations that make your toddler feel happy tend to be ‘organising'.

• Start to control their ‘levels of alertness’ ready for learning. The vestibular sense plays an important role in balancing our ‘state of alertness or activity’ i.e. faster rocking movements, which quickly stimulate our vestibular system, tend to raise our alertness levels and increase our overall muscle tone and activity, whilst gentle rocking movements, slowly stimulate our vestibular system and lower our levels of arousal helping our muscles to relax and our body to calm down. Hence if you wish to calm your toddler, try doing gentle rocking in rowing/boat pose, alternatively if your toddler is wide awake, and wanting to play, they will probably enjoy more vigorous rowing actions as they experience the movement of their body against gravity. However, do not do these more vigorous rocking movements for too long as they may become too much for your toddler and then their overall effect will become disorganising. As your toddler’s vestibular system matures over the first few years of their life they will be increasingly able to keep themselves in a calm but alert state, which is the ideal state for investigating and learning about new things. 

Make it Multi-Sensory, Educational & Fun

In Tatty Bumpkin classes we use unique storylines to make the activities meaningful and to fire the imagination.

All our classes are multi-sensory comprising of:

• Adapted yoga poses and activities which both stimulate and calm the body senses
• Dedicated songs and rhythms which are relevant to the stories
• Bespoke hand-woven props to look at and feel. Tatty Bumpkin has its own range of fairly traded animal props to back up the yoga poses and bring the stories to life. Our teachers are supported to use natural props in the classes which are great to feel as opposed to smooth plastic

We have carefully linked each Tatty Bumpkin to the new 2012 Early Years Foundation Stage framework. Importantly supporting children to learn ‘how to learn’ not just focusing on what on they learn.

So … The Adventure This Week  ..

In this week’s adventure Tatty Bumpkin takes on the challenge of building a boat so that she and Rabbit can explore the open seas.

As the two friends bob up and down on the ocean they meet their friend the octopus. They give him a friendly wave before heading on their way.

Soon Tatty Bumpkin and Rabbit come across a desert island – all seems still and quiet as they set off to explore. Then right in the middle of the island they come across a group of huge statues standing still and tall.....
 

This story will give your child an opportunity to:

1. Develop their social skill as they do boat pose with their friends

2. Come up with their own ideas to help Tatty Bumpkin build her boat

3. Use gestures or words to express their feelings. Feeling:

• ‘Excited’ as they set sail on the open seas 

• ‘Happy’ when they meet their friend the octopus

• Perhaps a little ‘worried’ as they set off to explore the island

• ‘Surprised’ and ‘curious’ as they meet the statues.

4. Develop their sense of rhythm as they wave their arms and legs to the Tatty Bumpkin Octopus song
 
5. Calm themselves and become more aware of their breathing as they stand ‘still as statues’
 
6. Develop their fine motor skills as they explore the statues and help Tatty Bumpkin build her boat
 
7. Have fun with their friends: rowing across the ocean, dancing with the octopus and meeting and exploring the statues.

 

Strange statues ....

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

2013 – 2014 Term 2 Week 3: Tatty Bumpkin's Pose for the Week is Butterfly!

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

The posture for the week in Tatty Bumpkin classes is butterfly.

This week Tatty Bumpkin sets off on an adventure into the mountains. She finds one mountain full of very busy people and animals and another mountain full of very gloomy people and animals.

Tatty Bumpkin has a think – what to do? How can she help?

Then she remembers her friends the ‘Magical Mountain Butterflies’. Maybe they would be able to calm and cheer up these busy and gloomy mountain folk?

Come and find whether Tatty Bumpkin’s idea works out at your local Tatty Bumpkin class – do remember to pack your hat, climbing shoes and sun cream!


 

Butterfly Pose

What colour are your butterfly wings?

 

Description of Butterfly Pose - Older children

Note to parents - It is always best to do butterfly pose with your child so they can copy you; this is especially true if your child is younger.

 

Two butterflies flutter by!

 

How to do it (What to tell your child)

Sit 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 to parents: It is helpful for your child to become aware of a ‘good’ sitting posture whilst they are doing butterfly pose (See section on ‘Why Butterfly pose is Good for Me’). To realise this ‘good sitting position’ your child needs to sit up as straight as they can by pushing up through their ‘sit bones’. To help your child find out where their sit bones are guide them to sit on their hands whilst in butterfly pose and then to slowly rock forwards and backwards over their hands. They will feel a ‘boney’ bit in each of their buttocks – this is their ‘sit bone’ (the bone at the base of their pelvis). It maybe that your child finds it quite hard to sit up in this way they will have to gently arch their lower back and sit up tall!

Want to make it harder? 

Sit on the floor with your knees out to the side and 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. Try to straighten your knee as much as you can!

It can be hard work being a butterfly!

Then try to lift both your legs up together! Slowly try to straighten your knees to make really big butterfly wings! To rest, lean forward over your feet like a sleeping butterfly.

Being a King or Queen Butterfly!

Butterfly pose – Younger children and Toddlers

 

Being butterflies together

 Description of pose

Find a comfortable place to sit with your young toddler. If it is comfortable to do so,  sit with the soles of your feet together, letting your knees fall out to either side like fluttering butterfly wings. If this position is not comfortable either try siting on a small cushion or sit cross legged. Now sit your toddler in front of you, if you are sitting in butterfly pose yourself it is nice to let them sit inside the circle of your legs. Gently encourage your toddler to bring the soles of their feet together so that their knees also fall out to the side in butterfly pose.
N.B.Some mums may find sitting in the butterfly position very uncomfortable especially if they have had ‘pubis symphysis’ pain during and after pregnancy. If this is the case do not strain your pelvis and sit either in side sitting or back on your heels.

Other Games to Play in Butterfly Pose

 

Blow those butterflies up high!

Blowing Butterflies - Cut out some paper butterflies (origami paper is best as this is stronger). Then spread out a piece of blue fabric or maybe a flower drawn on a large piece of paper in front of you and your child. Encourage your child blow the paper butterflies up into the sky (the blue fabric) or onto the flower.  Giving your child something to aim at when they blow their butterfly will help them to focus and to persist.
If your child is finding it hard to ‘get the hang of’ blowing, you can make this easier by placing the butterfly on the back of your hand and encouraging your child try and blow the butterfly from this position. Once they have the idea, your child can try to put the butterfly from the back of their own hand. 

Do butterfly pose and the blowing game to Tatty Bumpkin Butterfly song – you can either download Tatty Bumpkin Butterfly song from iTunes or ask your Tatty Bumpkin teacher about the Tatty Bumpkin CD – Butterfly song has a lovely, relaxing beat which you can follow as you do butterfly pose with your child.

Why Butterfly Pose is ‘Good For Me’

As your child does butterfly pose they will be:

• Improving their sitting posture for better hand skills. Butterfly pose will help to improve your child’s sitting balance, sitting posture and arm movements. As your child does butterfly pose encourage them to ‘push up’ from the surface they are sitting on, through their ‘sit bones’ (these are called the ‘ischial tuberosities') which are at the base of their pelvis. 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 (see below). Over time we fall into bad habits and start to slump whilst sitting down - putting extra strain on our lower backs.

Most classroom chairs do nothing to encourage a good sitting posture as  they tend to be ‘bucket’ shaped which tend to cause children to sit in a ‘slumped’ position. In a slumped position your child may tend to scoot their bottom forwards on their chair, rocking their pelvis backwards and hence curling their lower back rather than arching it. This incorrect pelvic position leads to a poor sitting posture which consequently might affect their fine motor skills (i.e. writing skills) or cause back stiffness. By doing Butterfly pose your child will become more aware of their sitting posture, which will help them throughout their lives. 

• Improving their eye/hand coordination. As your child plays with the paper butterflies they will be continuing to develop their ability to follow an object with their eyes as it moves through the air – ‘tracking skills’ -  and time their hand movements to reach out for it. Paper butterflies are ideal as they float through the air slower, giving your child time to react.

• Gently stretching their hip and thigh muscles. Butterfly pose will give your child the chance to stretch the muscles on the front and inside of their thigh – an ideal pose to do, along with other games, after sitting for a while!

• Practicing their breathing skills. Blowing the paper butterflies is a great way to encourage your child to become more aware of their breath. Taking deeper breaths will help your child to calm themselves.

‘Why Butterfly Pose is Good for Your Toddler'

As your toddler sits with you in Butterfly pose they will be:

• Developing the control of their upper body and arms movements in the sitting position.Being able to sit in a variety of positions is vital for efficient development of arm and hand movements i.e. 

1. Crucially from about 7 months your toddler will be starting to push down through their ‘sit bones’ against the floor or seat (The sit bones are the boney projections at the base of your pelvis - to feel your own ‘sit bones’ sit on your hands  and slowly rock forwards, you will gradually feel the two boney areas). When your toddler starts to actively push down through their sit bones their arms will be able to do freer movements 
2. From about eight months you may notice your baby or toddler is tending to sit by themselves in a kind of 'butterfly pose' - bringing one of their legs closer to their body. This sitting position requires more control and balance but allows your toddler to both reach for toys and move between sitting and crawling with greater ease (see picture courtesy of yaymicro.com). As your toddler reaches forward in butterfly pose, maybe to catch a paper butterfly, they will be learning how to move their chest and body over their hips and legs. Encourage your toddler’s ‘reaching skills’ by placing the paper butterfly to either side of them so they have to reach diagonally and/or twist round to pick it up.

Sitting with one leg held closer to their body

• Gently stretching their hip and thigh muscles. Butterfly pose will give your toddler the chance to stretch the muscles on the front and inside of their thigh – an ideal pose to do, along with other games, after sitting in the buggy for a while!

• Becoming more aware of their feet. As you guide your toddler to bring their feet together in butterfly pose you will be bringing their attention to their feet. Even in the sitting position, your toddler will be using their feet to keep themselves steady - next time you are playing with your toddler in sitting look closely at how they change the position of their feet to balance themselves. It is a great idea to give your toddler time to sit with just bare feet so they have a chance to actively move and strengthen their foot and ankle muscles. In butterfly pose you may see your toddler curling their foot inwards and up strengthening these muscles around their ankle (see picture courtesy of colourbox.com).

Using foot muscles to keep balance whilst sitting

• Improving their eye/hand coordination. As your toddler plays with the paper butterflies they will be improving their ability to follow an object with their eyes as it moves through the air (tracking skills) and time their hand movements to reach out for it. Paper butterflies are ideal as they float through the air slower, giving your toddler time to react. N.B do not make your ‘butterflies’ out of tissue paper as the dye can come off if your toddler puts them in their mouth!

• Improving their hand (fine motor) skills. Picking up paper butterflies in and out of butterfly pose will give your toddler the chance to perfect their finger movements. Progress the game by putting a pot or bowl in the middle of the room then encourage your toddler to pick up a butterfly, walk over to the bowl, and then drop it into the pot!

Make it Multi-Sensory, Educational & Fun

In Tatty Bumpkin classes we use unique storylines to make the activities meaningful and to fire the imagination.

All our classes are multi-sensory comprising of:

• Adapted yoga poses and activities which both stimulate and calm the body senses

• Dedicated songs and rhythms which are relevant to the stories

• Bespoke hand-woven props to look at and feel. Tatty Bumpkin has its own range of fairly traded animal props to back up the yoga poses and bring the stories to life. Our teachers are supported to use natural props in the classes which are great to feel as opposed to smooth plastic. 

We have carefully linked each Tatty Bumpkin to the new 2012 Early Years Foundation Stage framework. Importantly supporting children to learn ‘how to learn’ not just focusing on what on they learn.

 

So … The Adventure This Week  ..

In this week’s adventure Tatty Bumpkin sets off into the mountains. She is amazed by the stillness and quietness of the huge mountains and is filled with wonder at their beautiful snowy tops.
 
But all is not well. On one mountain she discovers all the people and animals are rushing around like crazy, never taking the time to stop! They are flying aeroplanes, driving trains – just busy, busy, busy! Whilst on another mountain all the people and animals are very sad. They are crying and making mournful faces…
 
What can Tatty Bumpkin do to calm the ‘busy mountain’ folk and cheer up the ‘gloomy mountain’ folk?

Then Tatty Bumpkin remembers her fiends the ‘Magical Mountain Butterflies’ – surely they can help? So off she goes - striding down the mountain paths and scrambling over the rocks and boulders.
 
Will Tatty Bumpkin find the magical butterflies and will they be able to help? Come and find out at your local Tatty Bumpkin class!

Climbing over the mountians

This story will give your child an opportunity to:

• Become more aware of a good sitting posture as they do butterfly pose
• Use gestures or words to express their feelings – imagining they are feeling:
• ‘Rushed’ and ‘tired’ with the busy mountain people and animals
• ‘Sad‘ with the unhappy mountain folk 
• ‘Happy’ and ‘Calm’ with the magical Mountain Butterflies 
• Develop their sense of rhythm as they stretch and flutter to Tatty Bumpkin Butterfly song
• Express their own ideas as they think of:

      1. Things to pack in their rucksacks on this mountain adventure
      2. The different shaped mountains or different coloured butterflies they would like to be 

• Calm themselves and become more aware of their breathing as they blow the paper butterflies
• Have fun with their friends: standing as still as mountains, flying as aeroplanes, climbing over the rocks and boulders and then playing with the magical butterflies. 

 

Flying as aeroplanes on the busy mountain!

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