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
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| 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
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