'In an active life is sown the seed of wisdom' - How Active Are Our Children?

By Susan Heron Tatty Bumpkin Trainer and Paediatric Physiotherapist

"If we could give every individual the right amount of nourishment and exercise, not too little and not too much, we would have found the safest way to health." Hippocrates

Even in 400BC Hippocrates ‘the father of western medicine’ recognised  the importance of levels of exercise in health. Now, nearly 2500 years later, we are still grappling with the same problem i.e. finding the ‘just right level’ of exercise and food to keep healthy.

 

Getting the balance right?

Two recent reports have highlighted levels of exercise or rather the ‘too little’ aspect of exercise

Activity in the Early Years

Last week saw the publication of the report on activity levels in British children in the UK.
The report, titled ‘How active are our children? Findings from the recent Millennium Cohort Study’(https://www.bmjopen-2013-002893), notes  that:

• Only 51% of 7-year-old UK children achieve current recommendations for daily physical exercise i.e. 1 hour of moderate (still being able to have a conversation whilst doing the activity) and vigorous (more difficult to talk whilst doing the activity) activity per day.

• Girls were significantly less active than boys: 38% compared to 63%

• 50% of all UK 7 year olds were sedentary for over 6 hours per day.

Apart from these headline grabbing statistics, the paper highlights the following:  

• It recognised the importance of physical activity, not only to for a healthy heart and bones but also its effect on psychological self-esteem 

 

Tatty Bumpkin Lions - Be as strong as a  lion - feel strong!

• Levels of physical activity as well as sedentary behaviour tend be set at an early age and are hard to change with age. Hence children with low levels of activity may be at risk of continuing at this level in later life. No doubt with this in mind they plan to do follow up studies to examine the consequences of this level of activity for health in later childhood and adolescence

'In an active life is sown the seed of wisdom' Edward Young

• Currently schemes to promote activity levels are not working and that a “A comprehensive policy response is needed to boost physical activity and decrease sedentary time among all young children”

 

Activity in Adults and the Elderly

Another report came out this summer from a research team based at Bristol University, on the levels of physical activity in the adult population in England titled ‘The Socioeconomic Gradient in Physical Inactivity in England’ (www.bristol.ac.uk/cmpo/publications/papers/2013/wp311.pdf)

Again their results made startling reading:

• Generally levels of physical inactivity in England are very high.

• Nearly 80% of adults do not hit key national government targets i.e. Adults aged 19 – 64 yrs are recommended to do 2.5 hours per week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity such as cycling or fast walking plus strengthening exercises.

• In a four-week period

1. about 8% of the adults, that can walk, did not walk continuously for a period of five minutes or more 
2. 46% of adults had not spent 30 minutes walking for leisure
3. 20% of over 16-year-olds only do minimal exercise

• There was a significant relationship between socio-economic position and levels of activity. This finding, backed up by previous research, suggests that: lower incomes tend to led to more inactivity, this is understandable as less money to spend on leisure means less choice, and that more education appears to enable people to be more active with a given set of resources, education possibly increasing awareness of the consequences of inactivity.

• There was clear evidence of a link between activity, income and age. The correlation between income and physical activity seemed to increase with age. Hence poverty in old age appears to lead to greater inactivity.

The study concluded that: 

• England is building up a large future health problem

• A wide range of social, economic and cultural  aspects of English society need to be targeted to influence behaviour around activity 

• Many current campaigns may not be reaching those who need them most.

In Summary

Physical inactivity is increasingly recognised as:

• An important precursor of chronic ill health with large costs for both individuals and society

• Potentially the most important health behaviour that we can change to prevent chronic disease

Both reports mentioned above call for comprehensive, targeted policies to promote physical activity - perhaps taking account of our individual approaches to exercise.

So, whilst being mindful of the benefits of traditional sporting activities and our ‘Olympic legacy’, surely it makes sense to think more creatively about exercise:

1. Introducing our very young children to exercise in an inspiring, fun, non-daunting way. Appreciating that ‘every child is a unique child’
2. Bringing more movement into the school curriculum. Introducing activity opportunities for our children throughout their whole school day, not just restricting it to playground and PE activities i.e.  short ‘movement breaks’ 
3. Providing a wider range of activities to children in the PE curriculum and the playground. Including activities which offer children choice, enabling them to feel in control and not under pressure i.e. dance, yoga, walking.
4. Supporting each other in exercise throughout their lives. Recognising we are all motivated to move in different ways and by different things and that some of us may need more support at different points in our lives
5. Highlighting the importance of exercise – as Hippocrates said the right level nourishment and exercise is the safest way to health. 

'Cat lapping up her milk' activity makes press ups fun! And as they activate the shoulder girdle muscles they are an excellent pre-writing activity

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

References

Griffiths LJ, Cortina-Borja M, Sera F, et al. How active are our children? Findings from the Millennium Cohort Study. BMJ Open 2013
The Socioeconomic Gradient in Physical Inactivity in England. Lisa Farrell, Bruce Hollingsworth, Carol Propper and Michael A.Shields July 2013. Working Paper No. 13/311

2013 Week 30: Tatty Bumpkin's pose for the Week is CANDLE

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

The pose for this week in Tatty Bumpkin classes is CANDLE. 

The holidays might be drawing to a close, but there is still one exciting event to look forward to on Wobble Farm – Dog’s birthday! And Tatty Bumpkin is on a mission to make an extra special birthday cake.

First of all she has a think, and decides feathers and shells would make spectacular decorations. So off she goes, swinging her basket, to visit her friends Owl and Dolphin. 

After hooting and blowing feathers with Owl, squeaking and diving in the waves with Dolphin, Tatty Bumpkin returns to Wobble Farm on the train. Her basket is full of exciting things to put on a cake but then she remembers the candles! Uh Oh! Which of her Wobble Farm creature friends might make wax for candles? Any ideas?

In the Tatty Bumpkin classes this week, come and help Tatty Bumpkin make and decorate the ‘Best Bumpkin Birthday Cake’ ever! 

What Candle Pose Looks Like!

Point your toes to light your candle!

 Description – What to Say to Your Child

Lie on your back and lift your legs, one at a time, bending your knees, into the air above you. Then point your toes; your feet are now the flame on your candle! Ask a friend to blow on your toes as if they are blowing out your candle. As they blow, bring your toes down towards you, flattening your foot (‘unpoint’ your toes) as your candle has gone out! Remember to bend your knees to bring your feet back down to the floor.

Want to make it harder?

Whilst you are holding your feet up above you, ‘have a go’ at:

• Reaching up to touch your toes with your hands

• Balancing a pillow or cushion on the soles of your feet.

 

Why it is ‘Good For Me’

Candle pose will give your child the opportunity to:

• Strengthen their abdominal muscles. As your child lifts up their legs and holds their feet above their body they will be activating and working their abdominal (tummy) muscles. Good strength and activity in these muscles is important, as they provide a ‘platform’ for good posture and balanced movement. Hence active abdominal muscles will help your child to both sit well and run smoothly.   

• Stretch out their hamstring and gastrocnemius (calf) muscles. The hamstring muscles run behind the leg from the pelvic bone to the shin bone (tibia), hence they pass over both the hip and the knee joints. Hamstrings can become tight after sitting for long periods and, when tight, can cause decreased flexibility at both the hip and knee joints - so it’s important not to let hamstrings get too tight! The gastrocnemius muscle runs from the back of the shin bone to the heel bone, passing over the ankle joint. This muscle can get a little tight if your child tends to walk on their tip toes - candle pose is a great way to stretch this muscle whilst having fun!

• Have fun with their friends! Candle pose is great for birthday parties and is a fun way for your child to learn the importance of responding to, and working with, others i.e. your child waits for their friend to blow out their candle flame before they bring their toes 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  ..

Dog’s birthday! Tatty Bumpkin is so excited she dances all the way to the Giggle Tree, her head full of ideas for an extra special cake!

First she finds Owl, hooting on a branch above her head, he kindly gives her some of his feathers he no longer needs. Tatty Bumpkin blows the feathers high above her head and 'has a go' at catching them in her basket. 

Have a go at blowing your feather in the basket!

 She even experiments with putting the feathers between her toes!

Can you catch a feather between your toes?

Then it is off to the beach to find Dolphin and his family. Dolphin dives through the waves, kindly collecting strange and beautiful shells for Tatty Bumpkin.

Dive and dance like a dolphin in the waves!

Her basket full, Tatty Bumpkin opts to take the train back Wobble Farm. She has to hold on tight to her basket as the train whizzes round the corners, and she nearly knocks it flying, when a loud ‘TOOT’ takes her by surprise! 

Careful round those corners everyone!

Back at Wobble Farm she begins to make the cake itself. I wonder what kind of cake she will make? Any ideas? 

Umm - What is your favourite cake?

 
Then Tatty Bumpkin remembers the candles! Oh No! She has to think hard, which one of her Wobble Farm creature friends would be able to help her make a candle? I’ll give you a clue … it begins with a ‘B’!

This story gives your child an opportunity to:

• Activate and strengthen their core muscles i.e. their hip, back, shoulder and abdominal muscles as they do the owl and candle poses

• Bring their attention to their breath as they ‘have a go’ at  blowing Owl’s feathers into the basket

• Dance and dive with Dolphin to the Tatty Bumpkin Dolphin song

• Think and talk about the times they have felt excited, just like Tatty Bumpkin

• Come up with ideas on ‘what to put into the cake’

•  Play with others to do candle pose and help make the cake

• Use their imagination and creativity to decorate the ‘Best Bumpkin Cake Ever!' 

The Best Bumpkin Cake Ever!

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

2013 Week 29: Tatty Bumpkin's pose for the Week is HEDGEHOG

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

The pose for this week in Tatty Bumpkin classes is HEDGEHOG!

As the summer days start to shorten, and the early mornings become mistier and cooler, Tatty Bumpkin ventures into the forest to see what she can find. Underneath the trees she discovers mushrooms of all shapes and sizes; she looks at them carefully, knowing that some can be dangerous, and is startled by a little face peeping out from a particularly large mushroom – who can it be?

This week Tatty Bumpkin not only helps a friend but visits the magical world of the woodland wizards and fairies…..

What Hedgehog Pose Looks Like

 

 

Curl up small like a hedgehog

Uh oh - too shy! Shoot out your spines

Description – What to Say to Your Child

Lie on your back and curl up, hugging your knees to your chest, like a shy hedgehog! Count out ‘1, 2, 3 spiky!’ On the word ‘spiky’ quickly uncurl your legs and arms and ‘shoot’ them out sideways like hedgehog spines. Then curl up again to take a rest. 


Note to Parents: if your child is younger do the hedgehog pose with your child so they can copy you. For adults, hedgehog pose is a great stomach muscle exercise - just make sure you tuck your chin in if you lift your head off the floor (see below).

Want to make it harder?

Older children (31/2 – 4 years old): when you curl up like a shy hedgehog, ‘have a go’ at lifting your head off the floor to ‘kiss your knees!’ Keep your chin down towards your chest as you ‘shoot’ out your arms and legs to be a spiky hedgehog. N.B. Note to parents - if your child is trying this progression guide them to ‘tuck their chins in’ rather than ‘poke them out’ so they do not strain their neck muscles.

Why it is ‘Good For Me’

Hedgehog pose will give your child the opportunity to:

• Strengthen their ‘core muscles’. As your child curls up in hedgehog pose they will be working their tummy (abdominal) muscles. When they push their legs and arms out to the side to be a spiky hedgehog your child will be working their tummy muscles more along with their shoulder and hip muscles. If your child is older and lifting their head off the floor, they will be working these muscles even harder!

• Improve their awareness of their body or ‘body schema’. It is believed an important part of movement is the creation of a picture of our body in our minds – a ‘body schema’. When we take in information about ‘where we are’ through our senses (seeing, touching, hearing, balancing) our brains pass this information via our mind’s ‘body schema’ or ‘body picture’ before moving. As we grow and change shape, our body schema obviously has to change. When your child moves their legs and arms towards and away from their body in hedgehog pose they will have the chance to update their ‘body schema’. They will ‘feel’ how: 

1. Their legs and arms are changing i.e. getting heavier and longer 
2. The different parts of their body move in relation to one another – again this will be changing as they grow.

Updating their ‘body schema’ will help your child be confident in their body and feel generally more 'secure in themselves'.

Tatty Bumpkin Makes 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. Supporting children to learn how to learn not just focusing on what on they learn. 

So … The Adventure This Week  ..

This week Tatty Bumpkin sets out to explore the forest and, as she walks down the woodland paths, she is filled with wonder at the mushrooms, all different colours, shapes and sizes.  

What colour mushroom would you be?

Tatty Bumpkin looks at the mushrooms carefully, as she know some mushrooms can be dangerous, and is surprised by a little prickly face with beady eyes and a long nose – who can that be?  

Who is there I wonder?

It’s Hedgehog! 

But, oh no!  
  
He is very shy and he shoots out his prickles when the other forest creatures invite him to play. Will he play with wriggly grass snake? No, too shy! Will he play with the tickly spiders? No, too shy!  

"Hedgehog, come and wriggle with us!"

Then Tatty Bumpkin comes up with a great idea – the woodland wizards and fairies might be able to help. 

So Hedgehog hops intoTatty Bumpkin’s ruck sack and together they creep through the forest. Where would the wizards and fairies be? Inside the fairy mushroom ring or under the magic tree?

 

Might fairies live in a mushroom fairy ring?

Could wizards live in magic trees?

This story gives your child an opportunity to:

• Activate and strengthen their core muscles i.e. their hip, back, shoulder and abdominal muscles through hedgehog, spider, tree and snake poses

• Creep and crawl with others, under the forest canopy,  to the Tatty Bumpkin Spider song

• Think and talk about feeling shy and confident when doing different things or being in different places

• Use their imagination and creativity to: think of a spectacular mushroom colour, use their body to make an amazing tree and come up with a magical spell for a helpful wizard or fairy!

A helpful wizard needs a magical spell!

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

2013 Week 28: Tatty Bumpkin's pose for the Week is RAIN

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

The pose for this week in Tatty Bumpkin classes is RAIN. Tatty Bumpkin loves the sunshine, but she also loves the rain as she knows it makes the grass and flowers grow.

So this week Tatty Bumpkin goes for a refreshing walk in the rain with Dog. She feels the raindrops land on her nose, ears, hair in fact all over her body, and has a great time splashing in puddles and leaping round the pond with her friend Frog!

But then a thunderstorm breaks and, as the rain comes down in torrents, Tatty Bumpkin and Dog have to find somewhere to shelter … Where can they go? Can they build something to shelter in? Tatty Bumpkin needs ideas …

 What Rain Pose Looks Like!

 

The rain comes down harder....

 

Description of Pose – What to Say to Your Child

Either lie on your back or sit on the floor. Imagine it’s starting to rain & the raindrops are falling on your nose; try to touch your nose with the tip of your finger like the raindrops.

The rain is coming down harder, so now hold both your hands above your head and try touching your nose you’re your fingers of each hand in turn, then speed it up a little! Remember be careful of your eyes.

Now the rain is getting harder still & raindrops are falling on your hair, ears, even your body as well as your nose; see if you can touch all these parts of your body with your fingertips.

Note to Parents: if your child is younger do rain activity with your child so they can copy you e.g. Say to your child “It’s raining on your nose” and do the actions, encouraging them to copy. Then say “Oh no! It’s raining on your hair, ears etc.”, and do the actions again to encourage your child to copy you. This activity is a great way for children to learn the names of their face & body parts. If your child is older let them see if they can put ‘raindrops’ on the correct body part as you say it without being shown.

Want to make it harder?

Do all the actions described above – but with your eyes closed. This is much harder to do as you will be using only your clever body senses and sense of touch rather than your eyes. See if you can do rain activity whilst you are standing up – then you will be using your balance skills as well. 



 

Why it is ‘Good For Me’

Rain activity will give your child the opportunity to:

• Increase their brain’s awareness of their body & refine their ‘proprioceptive’ sense. As your child takes their fingertip to their nose, especially if they do this with their eyes closed, they will be using one of their ‘body senses’ called ‘proprioception’. Through our proprioceptive sense we know where our connecting body parts are in relation to each other & the effort we’re using to move them. This in turn tells us where our body is in relation to other people & objects. So proprioception helps us to, amongst other things: move around safely without having to constantly look at our hands and feet, judge whether we can get safely through a narrow space & adjust our grip to pick up heavy or fragile objects without dropping or breaking them. 

• Improve their co-ordination and concentration. When your child does rain activity, moving their right and left hands in quick succession, they will be building up their awareness of their right and left hand sides and practising moving them smoothly together. Rain activity gives your child the opportunity to be still and focus on a ‘smaller, quieter’ movement in an otherwise busy day – variety is the spice of life!

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  ..

This week Tatty Bumpkin goes for a walk in the rain with her friend Dog; she loves feeling the raindrops on her nose, hair & ears and splashing in the puddles. At the pond she stops to look at her reflection with the raindrops falling all the water all around her, plip, plop, plip, plop!

Tatty Bumpkin finds her nose, her ears, and her mouth as she looks at her reflection in Frog's pond!

Then lightning flashes across the sky and it starts to thunder and Tatty Bumpkin looks around for somewhere to shelter.

Lightning flashes!

The farmer has just finished harvesting his corn and straw bales are left lying in the fields.

Which part of the corn is used to make straw bales?

Tatty Bumpkin and Dog, after asking the farmer’s permission, set about building an amazing house of straw!

 

What an amazing house of straw!

 What shape house would you build? Would you like a: round one, a square one, possibly a star shaped one, or maybe, one with an arch?



This story gives your child an opportunity to:

• Develop their body awareness and vocabulary through rain pose.

• Refine their balance skills through dog, frog & bridge poses.

• Increase their understanding of the natural world by looking at, and talking about, harvest time and straw bales. Older children will have the opportunity to think about where straw bales come from.

• Use their imagination and play with others to create a straw house

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

The World of Tatty Bumpkin

“The value of …education is not the learning of many facts but training the mind to think” Albert Einstein

Speaking is a major way of nurturing ‘thinking’. Research increasingly highlights how children’s thinking is very powerfully developed through conversation. 

Throughout Tatty Bumpkin sessions children are encouraged to put forward their own ideas, Tatty Bumpkin teachers giving children open ended invitations to express their thoughts i.e.  “Mermaid is sad as she thinks her friends have forgotten her birthday, how do you think you would feel if you thought someone had forgotten your birthday?”

Sarah Gott, Tatty Bumpkin Franchisee in Mid Sussex, asked this question in a recent class she led. Below she reflects on a reply. Being a co-thinker with a child can leave you in awe ....

 

A Moment in the Mermaid Story ....

“I had a lovely chat with one boy today in our wonderful ‘Octopus makes a Card for Mermaid’ story.

On our adventure we had discovered Mermaid crying on the beach and, we had just found out, the reason she why was sad was because she thought everyone had forgotten her birthday.

I asked the children to have a think and tell Tatty Bumpkin how they would feel if they thought someone had forgotten their birthday?

Thinking with Tatty Bumpkin

Several, understandable, feelings of sadness were expressed.

Think about feeling 'sad' for a moment and then think of what you can do to make it better....

  

Then, after a think, one boy said "I would be okay as I would go home and play with my dinosaurs in my bedroom!" A lovely snap shot of a boy showing independence and resilience which Tatty Bumpkin commended him on.

As a group though we decided we would feel a bit sad if our friends forgot our birthday, so then we had to think of something we could do which might cheer Mermaid up. 

 

We have an idea and are feeling better!

We went on to make a beautiful birthday card with sea streamers, shells and starfish and everyone agreed it would indeed cheer Mermaid up no end!”

 

A card fit for a Mermaid!

Thank you to Sarah for sharing this moment.


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

2013 Week 27: Tatty Bumpkin's pose for the Week is MOUNTAIN

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

The pose for this week in Tatty Bumpkin classes is MOUNTAIN. Tatty Bumpkin excitedly jumps out of bed, for today she plans to climb a mountain!

However once through the Giggle Tree, finding herself at foot of the mountain Tatty Bumpkin is amazed how big it is, there is even snow on the top. Still Tatty Bumpkin does not give up easily and soon she is skipping up the mountain path …

Who will she meet on her way up and what will she find at the top? Tatty Bumpkin is looking for fellow explorers to come with her on her mountain adventure! 

What Mountain Pose Looks Like

 

Description – What to Say to Your Child

Find a clean flat floor, mat or piece of grass to stand on and take your shoes off. Stand with your feet together and your arms by your side. Take a big breath in and out and try to stand as tall as you can. Imagine an invisible silver thread gently pulling you up from your head! Try to keep your shoulders down and your chin tucked in a little. Think about how the floor feels under your feet & imagine you are as strong and as tall as a mountain! Make a mountain range with your friends and ask someone to put a white sheet over your heads for the snow!

Note to Parents: if your child is younger do mountain pose with your child so they can copy you. Give your child a white handkerchief to put on their head; this is the snow on their mountain top! Encourage your child to stand as still and straight as they can so the handkerchief stays on their head. Then play a game of ‘1, 2, 3, fall off!’ with the handkerchief.
  

Want to make it harder?

Stretch your arms above your head to be a very tall mountain. Ask someone to gently blow on your body to see if your mountain will move in the wind. Shut your eyes and see if you can keep still – this is much harder!

Why it is ‘Good For Me’

Mountain pose will give your child the opportunity to:

• Refine their balance skills. Standing still is surprisingly difficult to do and mountain pose will give your child the chance to be still as they can. As your child practises mountain pose with their eyes closed they will be developing more mature balance skills. That is they will be using mainly their body senses (proprioception and their vestibular sense) to keep still rather than relying on seeing where they are (the visual sense). When a toddler takes their first steps they rely mostly on their visual sense to keep their balance (they have to look where they are going!), but by the age of seven children will mostly be using their body senses to keep their balance as they move around.  

• Increase their brain’s awareness of their body. As your child stands in mountain pose encourage them to think about their: feet and their toes, their hands and their fingers and how straight and long their back and neck feels.

• Improve their concentration and to calm. Whilst they are doing mountain pose encourage your child to slow their breathing and take a few deeper breaths. This will help them to calm themselves as slowing the breathing automatically lowers the heart rate. Practising being still in mountain pose can help your child to improve their levels of concentration for other tasks

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  .. 

This week Tatty Bumpkin has set herself the challenge of climbing a mountain. She has carefully thought about what to take and packed everything in her rucksack: water bottle, sandwiches, map and her mobile phone.  
 

What will you put in your rucksack?

The mountain looks big and cold but Tatty Bumpkin is up for the adventure and off she skips, up the mountain path. At a steep bit she sings her 'Counting in 10’s'  song to keep her spirits up  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pr57TCm4w60!

As I do my climbing I'm climbing by tens! 10, 20 ,30 ....

A snake blocks her path and there are big boulders to jump over but Tatty Bumpkin solves these problems and makes it to the top. Hurray!

Hurray! We did it!

Then Tatty Bumpkin sees Cat, he is meowing and needing help as he has injured his paw. Tatty Bumpkin has a think, what can she do, any ideas anyone? Arh huh! She remembers her mobile phone and quickly dials the ‘Mountain Dog Helicopter Rescue Service’ (MDHRS).

"Mountain Dog Helicopter Rescue? We need help!"

Mountain Dog lands his helicopter on the mountain top and takes off as smoothly and carefully as he can with injured Cat and Tatty Bumpkin.

Back at base, Cat’s paw is bandaged and Tatty Bumpkin builds a campfire to cook some food for Dog to say ‘thank you’. Delicious!

What is your favourite campfire food….?

This story gives your child an opportunity to:

• Stand still for a moment in mountain pose, wriggle on their tummy in snake pose, balance in cat pose and practise moving from squat to stand and back down again, maybe without using their hands, in helicopter pose.

• Use their imagination to think and talk about the mountains; how big, cold and still they are and the creatures who might live on them.

• Problem solve with their friends, working out how to: get past the snake and help Cat.

• Think of ideas for delicious campfire food to cook and campfire songs to sing!

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