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