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

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

What PENGUIN POSE Looks Like

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

How To Do It (What to tell your child)

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

Want to Make it Harder?

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



 

Why it is ‘Good For Me’

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

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

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

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

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


 

Make it Multi-Sensory, Educational & Fun

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

What DOLPHIN POSE Looks Like

Swim and dive through the sea with the dolphins!

How To Do It (What to tell your child)

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

 

Want to Make it Harder?

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

 

Why it is ‘Good For Me’

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

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

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

 

Make it Multi-Sensory, Educational & Fun

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

What GLOOMY CLOUD Pose Looks Like

We might be sad sometimes!

How To Do It (What to Tell Your Child)

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

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

Want to Make it Harder?

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

Go on - Give yourself a smile!

Why it is ‘Good For Me’

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

Whilst doing Gloomy Cloud pose, your child can:

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

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

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

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


 

Make it Multi-Sensory, Educational & Fun

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

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

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

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

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

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