tatty bumpkin-: October 2013

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Play and the Child

By Susan Heron Tatty Bumpkin Training Coordinator and paediatric physiotherapist

I attended a course titled ‘Play – What is it? What use is it?’ in September 2013. The day was led by Professor Anita Bundy, an Occupational Therapist by training, who has produced many books and papers in the field of ‘Play’, ‘Sensory Integration’ and ‘Occupational Therapy’.

It was an interesting and inspiring day, consisting largely of group work, led by Anita. Her key messages were:

How do we define play and what are its characteristics?
How do we recognise when a child is playing as opposed to ‘following orders’ or ‘doing something for a reward’?
The power of play in learning
How can we make our activities playful and encourage the children to play?

The course, and subsequent reading, has inspired me to do an article on ‘Play’. Although we cannot say that Tatty Bumpkin classes are 'true play', as they are adult led – Tatty Bumpkin is definitely a ‘playful activity’!

Tatty Bumpkin on Play

Definitions of play

Nancy Stewart in her book ‘How Children Learn’ acknowledges that play is ‘an elusive concept, which has been defined on many different ways’ (N. Stewart 2012). Indeed play can be defined:

By the type of activity done i.e. rough and tumble play, imaginative play
As a particular behaviour
As a ‘state of mind’ which could change at any time i.e. a child might be asked to build a sandcastle by an adult and hence start the activity in a non-playful way but quickly become immersed in running the sand through their fingers and building their own fantasy castle – turning the activity into ‘play’
By its characteristics - ‘Play has been described as being voluntary or internally motivated, process orientated, fun, imaginative and creative’ (D. Parham 2008).

Other definitions of play include :

'Play is the result of an internal drive to connect with and engage with the surrounding world' (R. Cornelli Sanderson 2010).
In their report on the Early Years Foundation Stage 2012 Helen Moylett and Nancy Stewart define play as 'An open ended activity, freely chosen by and under the control of the player. Play is open to spontaneous ideas as they arise, so any initial plans about what to play, how to play and who to play with, can change from moment to moment. In play the player finds their own purpose - it might be enjoyment, challenge, social interaction, exploring things or ideas, practising and perfecting skills’. (Moylett and Stewart 2012).

Why is it Important for Children to Play

Current research is demonstrating that is play essential to a child's cognitive, socio-emotional, and physical development. When children are fully and freely engaged in play, their play is transformative - that is they will:

Learn new things
Develop emotional, physical and social competencies/abilities
Experience empowerment and grow in confidence
Learn to problem solve
Enhance their creativity.

Nancy Stewart highlights the freedom of play and indicates this is what makes it exciting for the child as it allows them to ‘explore down uncharted pathways, turning this way and that, deciding to continue or change the destination and alert to the possibilities all along the way’. This freedom means there is firstly there no right or wrong way with play and hence the child feels it is safe to try something new and secondly, they end up puzzling over an activity that they have chosen to do and hence are very motivated to explore (N. Stewart 2012).

Play and Learning

‘Within the early childhood context, play has long been recognised as the most valuable vehicle for children’s learning and development’ (C. Stevens 2013). In 1949 Norma Alessandrini, an Occupational Therapist, suggested that: ‘Play is the child’s way of learning and an outlet for his innate need for activity. It is his business or his career. In it he engages himself with the same attitude and energy that we engage ourselves in regular work. For each child it is a serious undertaking not to be confused with diversion or idle use of time. Play is not folly. It is a purposeful activity’ (N. Alessandrini 1949).

Research is increasingly showing how play is essential for learning, particularly when the young child uses play to explore the surrounding world and how it works. Piaget separated play activities from learning activities, but current research is directly linking play with:

Healthy brain development (Bjorklund & Pellegrini, 2000) and the building of new neural connections in the brain which allow flexible and intelligent ways of approaching the world (N. Stewart 2012)
Development of cognitive skills. Diamond et al (2007) suggest that play and learning may not be so easily distinguished from each other.

Gross motor play –Physical Play

This aspect of play is a major proportion of nursery or pre-school play and obviously is a major part of the Tatty Bumpkin class. As well as developing physical abilities, gross motor play is associated with the development of sensory-motor integration. Efficient integration of sensation with movement in the brain gives the child the ability to hold attention, plan and organise their movements. Interestingly, pretend play and physical play (specifically, rough and tumble play) have also been linked to emotional competence. In fact, in a study of physical activity in pre-schoolers, parents described the immediate benefits of gross motor play for their pre-schoolers as “improvements in their children’s mood and mental health” (Harvey-Berino, Geller, Dorwaldt, Flynn & Walfield, 2001).

Play and Academic Success

Play both with parents and with peers has been shown to lead to longer term academic success. Peer play interaction has been positively correlated with higher receptive vocabulary skills, early literacy and numeracy outcomes and greater engagement in learning activities (Fantuzzo, Sekino, & Cohen, 2004). The nurturing and responsive relationships that are strengthened through parent-child play foster optimal cognitive development, particularly in oral language and literacy. (Tamis-LeMonda, Shannon, Cabrera, & Lamb, 2004).

True Play vs Adult Guided Play

When adults lead activities, this is not really play, and the children probably do not consider it to be play. Adult led activities can however be fun and playful and provide good learning opportunities. Hence Tatty Bumpkin sessions would be regarded as a playful, adult led activity.

The Characteristics of Play

Anita Bundy (2008 and 2013) listed three characteristics of play, these act as a useful guide if we want an activity to be playful:

1. The children are largely intrinsically motivated.
When children are motivated to do an activity purely for its own sake rather than for a reward i.e. a sticker or a ‘well done!’ they are said to be intrinsically motivated. Intrinsic motivation leads to active engagement, persistence and enjoyment.

(Image courtesy of quietspacing.com)

2. The children have a perception of being in control.
When children feel they are 'in charge of' their own actions or at least some aspect of the result of the activity - the activity is more playful. For a child to feel ‘in control’ they need to feel:

Safe enough to play
That they are making the decisions and have choices
That they can modify the activity at any time
That they are able to interact with the objects easily.

(image courtesy of dailytelegraph.co.uk)

3. The children are able to suspend reality.
If children are able to free themselves from the constraints of reality this is a great sign that they are playing. For children to suspend reality they need to feel they can:

'Break the rules' a little
Playfully tease
Pretend to be something or someone else
Be the clown a little - tell a joke or do a silly gesture use objects in an unconventional way i.e. a pebble can be a spider!


(Images courtesy of theimaginationtree.com & letchildrenplay.net)

Anita Bundy’s ‘Test of playfulness’ shows how an activity might move either towards play or non-play, depending on the nature of these three characteristics. Fig 1 shows the three characteristics of play and how they can ‘tip the balance’ between play and non-play. Fig 2 represents a playful activity where the child: is intrinsically motivated, feels in control and has been able to ‘suspend reality’.

Figure 1 Test for Playfulness (G. Skard & A. Bundy 2008)

Figure 2 A Playful Activity in the Test for Playfulness (G. Skard & A. Bundy 2008)

I will now discuss the first characteristic of play as defined by Professor Bundy i.e. intrinsic motivation. In following articles on this blog I will discuss the two other characteristics of play that Anita Bundy defined i.e. perception on control and the ability to suspend reality.

A Characteristic of Play - The Source of Motivation - Intrinsic vs Extrinsic

If a child does an activity for ‘its own sake’ they are said to be intrinsically motivated, as opposed to if they do the activity for a ‘reward’ in which case they are extrinsically motivated. The more intrinsically motivated a child is whilst doing an activity the more likely the activity is to be playful.

How do you recognise whether your child is intrinsically motivated i.e. Are they are doing the activity for its own sake?

1. Look your child’s engagement in the activity - are they fully immersed?
If your child is actively engaged in play - seeming to be ‘in the moment’ they are likely to be intrinsically motivated. Intrinsic motivation and engagement are related to a concept called 'flow'. The 'flow' concept was put forward by Csikczentmihalyi in the nineties. He defined ‘flow’ as 'a deep, effortless involvement in an activity in which the person loses sense of self and time' and suggested that the best 'flow' experiences occur when the child (or adult) engages in an activity which provides 'a level of challenge that matches their ability' (Csikczentmihalyi 1990). I.e. In a playful activity, your child does not feel overwhelmed by the activity but, on the other hand, the activity presents enough of a challenge to their skills, so they are not bored by it.

(Image courtesy of motherswhowork.co.uk)

2. Look your child’s focus doing the activity.
If your child is intrinsically motivated they will be enjoying and focusing on the actual doing of the activity rather than the result. For example they might be interested in the shapes they can make in the sand or with streamers in the air rather than the actual building of a sand castle or the learning of a formal dance using streamers. When children play under a sprinkler they are focused less on making sure to get wet and more on the various fun and creative ways they can interact with the water.

(Image courtesy ofletchildrenplay.net)

3. Note if your child is persisting in the activity?
A good indicator that your child is intrinsically motivated is whether they persist despite coming up against obstacles.

4. Look at the effect of the activity on your child.
Basically is your child enjoying themselves? They might not be smiling – instead your child’s joyfulness may be expressed by their uninhibited abandon in the play activity. Often joyfulness is observed through the energetic synchronisation of body, face, and voice.

(Image courtesy of colurbox.com)

References

Alessandrini, N.(1949). Play - A child’s world. Am. J of Occupational Therapy, 4, 53-55.

Bjorklund, D. F., & Pellegrini, A. D. (2000). Child development and evolutionary psychology. Child Development, 71, 1687-170 in Cornelli Sanderson, R. (2010). "Towards a New Measure of Playfulness: The Capacity to Fully and Freely Engage in Play" Dissertations. Paper 232. http://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss/232

Bundy, A. (2013). Play in Occupational Therapy: What is it? What use is it? Lecture to Sensory Integration Network

Cornelli Sanderson, R. (2010). Towards a New Measure of Playfulness: The Capacity to Fully and Freely Engage in Play . Dissertations. Paper 232. http://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss/232

Csikczentmihalyi, M (1990). Flow – the psychology of optimal experience. New York. Harper Perennial.

Diamond, A., Barnett, S., Thomas, J., & Munro, S. (2007). Executive function can be improved in preschoolers by regular classroom teachers. Science, 318, 1387–1388.

Fantuzzo, J., Sekino, Y., & Cohen, H. L. (2004). An examination of the contributions of
interactive peer play to salient classroom competencies for urban Head Start children. Psychology in the Schools, 41, 323-336 in Cornelli Sanderson, R. (2010). Towards a New Measure of Playfulness: The Capacity to Fully and Freely Engage in Play . Dissertations. Paper 232

Harvey-Berino, J., Geller, B., Dorwaldt, A., Flynn, K., & Walfield, L. (2001). A qualitative data analysis of parental attitudes towards preschool physical activity. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 23, 24S.
Hirsh-Pasek, K. Golinkoff R, M. (2008) Why play=learning. In: Tremblay RE, Barr RG, Peters RDeV, Boivin M, eds. Encyclopedia on Early Childhood Development. Montreal, Quebec: Centre of Excellence for Early Childhood Development Available at: http://www.child-encyclopedia.com/documents/Hirsh-Pasek-GolinkoffANGxp.pdf.

Parham, D. (2008). Play and Occupational Therapy in L.D. Parham & L.S.Fazio (eds) Play in occupational therapy for children (2nd edition).St Louis: Mosby pp 3- 39

Skard, G., Bundy, A.C. (2008). Test for playfulness in L.D. Parham & L.S.Fazio (eds) Play in occupational therapy for children (2nd edition).St Louis: Mosby, pp. 71 – 94

Stevens, C. (2013). The Growing Child: Routledge, pp9

Stewart, N. Moylett, H. (2012. Understanding the Revised Early Years Foundation Stage. Early Education.

Tamis-LeMonda,C. S., Shannon, J. D., Cabrera, N J., & Lamb, M. E. (2004). Fathers and
mothers at play with their 2- and 3-year-olds: Contributions to language and
cognitive development. Child Development, 75, 1806-1820

Monday, October 14, 2013

2013 - 14 Week 7: Tatty Bumpkin's Activity for the Week is Knitting or Baby Bird Pose!

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

The activity for this week in Tatty Bumpkin classes is 'knitting' or 'Baby Bird' pose.

This week Tatty Bumpkin is kind and helpful to a dear old lady.

Tatty Bumpkin creeps down a little path and discovers a little crooked house with a tiny door, the door is open a little way and Tatty Bumpkin can hear someone crying upstairs. Inside Tatty Bumpkin finds an old lady knitting, as she comes closer she sees that there are tears streaming down the old lady's cheeks. Tatty Bumpkin asks the old lady what the matter is as she hates to see anyone upset. The old lady tells Tatty Bumpkin that her house is a mess and she needs some help to tidy it up.

Tatty Bumpkin has a think – ar hah the wizard of course – he will know exactly what to do! Tatty Bumpkin reaches for her mobile phone and so the adventure begins ….

What ‘Knitting Activity’ or ‘Baby Bird’ Pose Looks Like

'Knit, knit, knit' or 'tweet, tweet, tweet!'

Description of ‘Knitting Activity’ or ‘Baby Bird’ Pose - Older children

Note to parents - It is always best to do knitting activity or baby bird pose with your child so they can copy you, this is especially true if your child is younger.

Parents - so start in sitting, either with your legs cross legged or sitting back on your heels. Gain eye contact with your child and suggest you play at knitting or being baby birds. Then demonstrate the pose to your child i.e. Stretch one arm out in front of you, towards your child, and wave your hand at them. Then slowly place your waving hand on your opposite shoulder and hold it there. Stretch out your other arm and wave that hand at your child, so they can clearly see your actions, then place that hand on the opposite shoulder. You should now have both your hands on your opposite shoulders and your arms crossed over your body. Encourage your child to copy you. Still keeping your hands on your shoulders, move your elbows apart and then together – like a baby bird opening their beak or perhaps like two knitting needles working together. As you do this pose with your child, moving your elbows apart and then together, make tweeting sounds or ‘knitting’ sounds depending on what you are imagining your being!

Other games – or ‘Baby Bird’ pose

Once your child has the idea of doing baby bird pose – Parents can pretend their fingers are little worms! In this game, parents, or friends, can wriggle their finger in front of the child doing baby bird pose – then the ‘Baby Bird’ has to try and close their beak really quickly to ‘catch the worm!’

Description of ‘Knitting Activity’ or ‘Baby Bird’ pose – Younger children

Find a comfortable place to sit with your toddler in front of you, either invite them to sit on the floor or on your lap. Gently encourage your toddler to open their arms wide and then cross them across their body - like a baby bird’s beak or imaging they are knitting! Encourage your toddler to cross their arms one way and then the other. Make it into a game by saying “1, 2, 3, knit, knit, knit” or “1, 2, 3, tweet, tweet tweet” as you do the actions.
If your toddler is older, kneel or sit down opposite them and do the actions yourself so they can copy you.

Other games

Find four sticks, which are safe to use i.e. they have no sharp splinters, or use wooden spoons. Pick up two of the sticks yourself and gently tap them together in front of you, as you were knitting – then encourage your toddler to have a go! Once again say “1, 2, 3 knit, knit, knit” as you do the actions.
You can progress the game by finding a saucepan, turning it upside, and then having a go at tapping on it with your spoons or sticks like a drum. You and your toddler can experiment with different rhythms tapping quickly then slowly. Remember take care as your toddler will no doubt love this game! To prevent your toddler getting too over-excited, do the drumming activity for a few minutes then do the knitting or baby bird pose with them, because this pose is like a big hug, it will help to calm them down.

Make a drum!

http://beafunmum.com

Why it is ‘Good For Me’

As you do knitting or baby bird pose with your child or toddler they will be:

1. Learning about their middle and crossing their ’midline’. ‘Crossing the midline’ means that one hand spontaneously moves over to the other side of the body to do an activity. When your toddler spontaneously crosses the midline they will be starting to discover how the left and right sides of their body work together.

From about six months old, your toddler may well have been crossing-the-midline of their body to pick up toys on the opposite side. If your toddler is sitting confidently in you can encourage them to ‘cross the midline of their body’ by placing toys to either side of them and encouraging them to reach across their body to pick them up or by giving them safe, larger, things to play with which mean they have to use both hands.

Cross the midline to hold something BIG!

From about 12 months your toddler might be using a ‘preferred’ hand to pick up objects –this will become their ‘dominant hand’. This is the beginning of ‘bimanual’ hand development where each hand does a different action to `complete a task e.g. your toddler may hold a container with one hand and remove the lid with their ‘preferred hand’. As they continue to use their dominant hand, it will slowly become more skilled at doing various fine motor (hand) tasks e.g. using a crayon to make marks on paper, using cutlery or starting to help with buttons or zips. However never ‘force’ your toddler to always use the same hand if they do not want to; at this stage it is important that they play, have fun and explore the objects around them.

Cross the midlline to 'do something'!

If your child is older, and they already have a ‘preferred hand’ i.e. they are either right or left handed, crossing the midline activities are still beneficial for them as these games will help them become more aware of their midline and how their right and left sides can work smoothly and quickly together. So knitting game can be thought of as an ideal game to improve writing, dressing, cutlery or sporting skills such as tennis.

Leonardo da Vinci knew how to cross his midline to paint the Mona Lisa

Andy Murray knows how to cross the midline to win at tennis

2. Stimulating their proprioceptive sense. Proprioception is one of our body’s senses, it tells us the position of our body and how parts of our body relate to one another and move with each other. It is stimulated by the stretching and contraction of our muscles and the bending, straightening, pulling and pushing of our joints as they move together. Amazingly this sense starts to develop after only 12 weeks from conception - whilst the baby is in the womb! Activities which stimulate this sense can either alert or calm i.e. pushing and pulling games can be alerting but hugs are calming. Knitting or baby bird pose if done slowly and held for a few moments will stimulate your child’s proprioceptive sense, just like a hug, and can help them to calm.

3. Stretching out their arm and shoulder muscles. If your child has been sitting or lying in one position for a while, this activity combined with other gentle stretches is a great way for them stretch their shoulder and back muscles. Remember muscles need movement to grow and lengthen!

4. Building their relationship with you. As you do this activity with your child or toddler,n=maybe making funny noises or pretending to ‘catch a worm’ you will be strengthening that very special bond between you both.

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’s adventure is all about Tatty Bumpkin being kind and helping others. Today it is the little old lady in her crooked house who is in trouble. The old lady is still able to knit but she needs help to keep her house and garden tidy so her grandchildren can have somewhere to play.

Tatty Bumpkin has a think and comes up with the idea of phoning the wizard – maybe he has a magic spell that can help the old lady? When the wizard arrives he stretches up tall and says a magic word. The little old lady starts to knit like crazy and Tatty Bumpkin looks on in amazement - what is the old lady knitting?

It is something very big and the little old lady needs lots of grey wool, it has four, big legs and a trunk … what creature can it be and how can it help the little old lady?

Come and find out at your local Tatty Bumpkin class ..

The wizard says a magic word!

This story will give your child an opportunity to:

Become more aware of the midline of their body and how to cross each arm or leg smoothly over their midline as they do the knitting game and elephant pose

Strengthen their shoulder and arm muscles as they do cat, spider and horse poses

Use gestures or words to express their feelings – imagining they are feeling ‘sad’ like the little old lady at the beginning of the story and then ‘happy’ like the little old lady after Tatty Bumpkin has helped her out

Develop their sense of rhythm as they creep and crawl to Tatty Bumpkin Spider song

Calm themselves and experiment with being really still as they do bee pose

Think about being kind to others and how their actions and words can make others feel happy or sad

Have fun with their friends; washing the house as elephants, scrubbing the floors and windows as spiders and of course trampling the weeds in the garden as horses

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

Monday, October 7, 2013

2013 - 14 Week 6: Tatty Bumpkin's Pose for the Week is Lion!

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

The pose for this week in Tatty Bumpkin classes is LION as Tatty Bumpkin ventures into the jungle, with all it's diffferent sights and sounds....

What Lion Pose Looks Like!

Be a lion and roar!

Be a lion with a friend or mum or dad!

Go on a lion hunt!

Description of Lion Pose

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

Start in sitting, either with your legs cross legged or sitting back on your heels. Gain eye contact with your child and suggest you play at being lions. Then demonstrate one way of being a lion to your child i.e. Stretch your arms out in front, straightening your elbows and turning your palm upwards whilst stiffening your fingers to be lion claws. Add in a ‘roar’ whilst your do the action – so “1, 2, 3, roar!” Encourage you child to come up with their own ideas for lion shapes.

Other games – 'Going on a Lion Hunt'

Spread some cushions round the room (on a non-slip surface) to make a bumpy jungle floor! Then encourage your child to come on a lion hunt with you, exploring the different surfaces and stepping on and off the cushions. Try moving in different ways as you look for the lion: you might creep on all fours or tiptoe, maybe you will hide in the undergrowth or behind a chair! Finally you find the lion and ‘1, 2, 3 you open up your mouth to make a great big roar!’

Want to make it Harder?

Progress your child’s balance by suggesting they do lion pose kneeling up, or with one foot in front or even crossing their arms. But remember, lion pose is all about feeling strong and confident so if your child is feeling unsure to ‘roar’ in kneeling suggest you have another go sitting back on your heels as this is the easier position.

Kneel up and roar like a lion