2014 Term 4 Week 6. Tatty and Baby Bumpkin's Pose for the Week is Seahorse!

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

Find your local Tatty or Baby Bumpkin class at http://www.tattybumpkin.com/classes/find-class.html and have a go at the wavy Seahorse pose with your baby, toddler or child at home – see below for ideas and games.

The Adventure This Week ..

This week Tatty/Baby Bumpkin dive through the Giggle Tree, and find them-selves by the sea.

The sand is warm and soft and soon everyone is making sandcastles of all shapes and sizes! Then they discover a Mermaid sitting inside one of the sandcastles - holding a beautiful jewel.

Oh no! A big wave comes crashing in! Everyone goes flying and the jewel is whisked out of the Mermaid’s hands and goes tumbling down into the sea.

What to do? Who can find the jewel for Mermaid? Tatty or Baby Bumpkin have a think …

Why not come and see if you can help Tatty or Baby Bumpkin find the Mermaid’s jewel … 

In the ‘Mermaid’s Jewel Story’ your Child will have the Opportunity To

1. Improve their awareness of the right and left sides of their body and how they smoothly ‘work together’ - as they do seahorse pose and roll like giant waves on the seashore. 

2. Develop their fine motor skills (hand movements) - as they explore the Mermaid’s jewel and the different textures and shapes of the sea shells.
 
3. Use gestures or words to express their thoughts i.e. Feeling 

• 'Full of wonder’ with Mermaid and Tatty Bumpkin as they look at the precious jewel.
• ‘A little worried’ along with Tatty Bumpkin as she sees the giant waves.
• ‘Sad’ with Mermaid when she loses her jewel.
• ‘Excited’ with Tatty Bumpkin as she dives with the dolphins and plays with her friends the seahorses.
• ‘Guilty’ with the cheeky oysters.

4. Talk about their ideas on -  sandcastle shapes and show everyone the shape of their own sandcastle. 

5. Develop their sense of rhythm, and co-ordination skills, -  as they tiptoe on the hot sand and dive and twist as dolphins to the Tatty Bumpkin Dolphin song. 

6. Have fun with their friends altogether whilst: being sandcastles of all shapes and sizes, looking and exploring the precious jewel and seashells, diving with the dolphins and waving their seahorse tails in amongst the underwater sea grass.  

Seahorse Pose for Children and Toddlers 

 

Seahorses in the sea grass!

How to do Seahorse Pose with your Child or Toddler

If your child is about 3 or 4 years old or younger they will be relying on their vision a great deal to learn new movements, so ideally try to do Seahorse pose with them. Research is increasingly showing that children bond with their parents through movement as well as touch. 
If you have back problems do take care when moving your knees from side to side.

• Find a space to lie on your back on the floor with your child or toddler. It will be more comfortable to do Seahorse pose on a mat or carpet.

• Do the Seahorse pose yourself first so your toddler or child can see what to do. Make sure you do the movements slowly and if you feel any pain in your back do stop.

• Lie down on your back and stretch your arms out a little way to either side.

• Bend your knees so they are pointing straight up to the ceiling but keep your feet on the floor.

• Gently rock both your knees together from one side to the other, only taking them as far as is comfortable.

• Keep your feet on the floor but let them roll from side to side as your move your knees. As you move your knees to each side, tighten your tummy muscles and breathe out. Take a breath in, with your knees over to the side, then breathe out and tighten your tummy muscles again as you move your knees back up to the middle.

• Now it is your child’s or toddler’s go! Encourage them to lie down on their backs and take their arms out to each side.

• Then they bend their knees, so they are pointing directly up to the ceiling, and gently rock them side to side whilst keeping their back as still as possible on the floor – just as you did.

• Your child or toddler should also keep their feet on the floor but roll the soles of their feet from side to side as they rock their knees.

To Make Seahorse Pose Extra Fun

• Firstly place a soft ball, bean bag or ‘rice sock’ (Sturdy sock partly filled with uncooked rice grains and securely closed at the top. Sewing the sock closed is best but if your sock is long enough you could knot it) between your child or toddler’s knees. Picture courtesy of evitchka.com.

• Then guide them to grip the ball, bean bag or rice sock between their knees and see if they can hold it there whilst they rock their knees from side to side.

• To start with, gently take your child or toddler’s knees from side to side to give them the idea of the movement. Once they ‘get the idea’, do not use your hands so much and see if they can do the knee rolling movements themselves. 

• As you do Seahorse pose with your child make ‘swishing’ sounds with them as you both wave your sea horse tails! Remember to wait and listen for your toddler’s response.

A 'Rice Sock'

Other Games to Play in Seahorse Pose

Seahorses in the Sea Grasses.  
Did you know Seahorses are shy and live amongst the ‘sea grasses’ in the sea?
Find 4 green strips of fabric or ribbon, 2 for you and 2 for your toddler. Make sure the lengths of ribbon/fabric are not too long and never leave your baby/toddler unsupervised with them as they are likely to explore them by putting them round their necks.
Wave your ‘sea grass streamers’ up and down and round and round as you pretend to be Seahorses swimming in their sea grass homes. As your toddler waves their streamers up or down reinforce their actions by saying something like “Great moves! You’re waving your streamers up and down!”

Coral Peek-a-Boo!
Stretch your fingers out wide to make spikey coral shapes - encourage your toddler to copy you. Then play a peek-a-boo game – hiding behind your hands.
Or find a leafy twig and hide your face behind it to play a peek-a-boo game. Remember do not leave your toddler alone with the twig as they are likely to mouth it and hence need to be supervised!
 
Seahorse Subway!
Find a sea side like prop – maybe a shell or a fishy toy. As your toddler bends their knees up in Seahorse pose pass the toy back and forth under their  knees or
As you bend your own knees up in Seahorse pose see if your toddler can crawl underneath them!

Why Seahorse Pose is Good for Both You and Your Child or Toddler

As you do Seahorse pose with your child or toddler you will have a chance to:

Stretch out your lower back muscles. As your child rocks their knees from side to side in Seahorse pose they will gently stretch out their lower back muscles. As you do Seahorse pose yourself you will also be giving your back muscles a gentle stretch. Hence Seahorse pose is an ideal pose for you to do after a long day of lifting and carrying!

Activate and strengthen your deeper tummy muscles. As you both take your knees over to either side and bring them back up to the middle you will be working your right and left ‘abdominal oblique’ muscles. These are deeper tummy muscles which run, like seat belts, diagonally across your tummy. 

• Your child will have used these muscles when they learnt to roll and lie on their sides. 
• If your child is about 10-12 mths old they will need to use their obliques to move themselves into sitting from lying on their sides. 
• Throughout their lives this group of muscles will provide your child with critical stability around their middle.  I.e. If your child has strong, active obliques they are likely to have a better sitting posture and be less prone to back pain. Hence it is important for these muscles to become active right from the start.

Increase their awareness of their left and right sides. As your toddler or child rolls their knees from one side to the other in Seahorse pose they will be crossing the ‘midline’ of their body. The midline is an imaginary line down our body which separates the left side of our body from the right, see picture. Your toddler will be becoming aware of their right and left sides and will have started to ‘map’ the middle area of their body in their mind. Being confident and aware of their midline will help your child to progress crucial skills i.e.

• Dressing and toileting by themselves.
• Early drawing, writing activities.

Baby Bumpkin Seahorse Pose for Babies

 

Baby Seahorse in the Sea Grass!

Description of Pose

N.B.Remember, when you are doing the poses with your baby, never force the movements and keep looking at your baby to make sure they are comfortable. If you feel any resistance, or your baby becomes unsettled, do stop. Once your baby has settled, gently try the pose again, perhaps making clicking sounds or using a toy to distract them. If your baby remains unsettled, do not persist with the pose, instead ask your Baby Bumpkin teacher for advice.

Younger Babies

This adaptation of Seahorse pose is ideal if your baby is about 5 mths or younger.
Settle your baby, on their back, on a mat in front of you and gain good eye contact with them.

• Gently hold your baby’s legs, just below their knees, and slowly bend their knees up towards their chest taking their feet off the floor. Try to keep your baby’s knees directly in line with their hips as you do this i.e. Don’t bring your baby’s knees too close together.

• Now, making sure your baby’s spine is on the floor, slowly rock both their knees from side to side – moving them a little way over to the left and then over to the right. Note your baby’s feet should remain off the floor.

• Be careful to only roll your baby’s knees as far as is comfortable for them. If your baby is under 5-6 mths, you will find they tend to move their whole body in the direction you rock their knees and hence your baby will roll onto their side.

• If your baby is happy, hold their knees over to each side for 1 – 2 secs before taking them over to the other side. This will give your baby’s lower back a gentle massage and lovely stretch.

• As you roll your baby’s knees from side to side, keep eye contact with them and make ‘swishing’ sounds for them as they wave their sea horse tails! Remember to wait and listen for your baby’s response.

• Do two or three rocks over to either side, then release your hold and let your baby have a rest and kick their feet.

• Once your baby has the idea of the rolling movement, try not to guide them so much with your hands and see if they can do the movement more by themselves – in this way your baby will be starting to learn to roll.

• You may find your baby rocks their knees further to one side compared with the other – this is quite normal.

• If your baby’s hips make a ‘clicking’ sound as you move them – stop and ask your health visitor or GP for advice.

• Now try doing Seahorse pose yourself. Make sure you do the movements slowly and if your feel any pain in your back do stop. Lie down on your back, with your baby, take your arms out to your sides, bend your knees up so they are pointing straight up and keep your feet on the floor. Gently rock both your knees from one side to the other only taking them as far as is comfortable. Keep your feet on the floor but let them roll from side to side as you move your knees. As your move your knees to each side, tighten your tummy muscles and breathe out. Take a breath in, with your knees over to the side, then breathe out and tighten your tummy muscles again as you move your knees back up to the middle.

 

Seahorse Pose for Older Babies

If your baby is over 5mths they will probably enjoy a more energetic rolling movement. If your baby is about this age they will be increasingly twisting their body from side to side as they play on the floor, rolling from their back or front onto their sides and then back again. Encourage these little rolling movements as they are the start of your baby learning to roll completely over by themselves. 

• Position your baby on their backs on the floor, gently bending their knees up to their chest with their feet off the floor, as explained overleaf.

• Roll your babies knees over to one side and then the other. Never force the movements but your baby may enjoy rolling further over to each side at a slightly faster pace than when they were younger. However, be careful not to overdo it as this may over-stimulate your baby and lead to them finding it hard to settle down again.

• As you roll your baby’s knees from side to side, keep eye contact with them and make ‘swishing’ sounds for them as they wave their sea horse tails! Remember to wait and listen for your baby’s response.

Other Games to Play in Seahorse Pose

Seahorses in the Sea Grass
Did you know Seahorses are shy and live amongst ‘sea grasses’ under the sea? Find a green strip of fabric, slightly sparkly is good as this will ‘catch your baby’s eye’. Gently wave it over your baby as they lie in front of you. Encourage your baby to follow the streamer with their eyes or to reach out and ‘bat’ it with their arms. If your baby is older, make sure the lengths of ribbon/fabric are not too long and never leave your baby unsupervised with them as they are likely to explore them by putting them round their necks.

Coral Peek-a-boo!
Stretch out your fingers to make spikey coral shapes and play a peek-a-boo game with your baby – hiding behind your hands. Your can also play ‘coral peek-a-boo’ by hiding behind your baby’s feet. Then encourage your baby to place their hands on your face to hide you! Pictures courtesy of womenworld.org, tinylove.com and whattoexpect.com.

Play 'Coral Peek-a-boo!'

Find a leafy twig and hide your face behind it to play a peek-a-boo game with your baby. Remember do not leave your baby alone with the twig as they are likely to mouth it and hence need to be supervised!

You can play all these peek-a-boo games with your baby in sitting if they prefer.

Why Seahorse Pose is Good for Both You and Your Baby

As you do Seahorse pose with your baby you will give them a chance to:

Stretch out their lower back muscles. As your baby rocks their knees from side to side in Seahorse pose they will gently stretch out their lower back muscles in preparation for rolling. From about 4 mths you may notice your baby twisting their body and rolling onto their side as they play on the floor by themselves – this is the start of being able to rotate their spine. If you are doing Seahorse pose yourself you will also be giving your back muscles a gentle stretch. Hence Seahorse pose is an ideal pose for you to do after a long day of lifting and carrying your baby.

Activate and strengthen their deeper tummy muscles. As your baby takes their knees over to either side and then brings them back up to the middle, they will be working their right and left abdominal oblique muscles (these are deeper tummy muscles which run like seat belts diagonally across your baby’s tummy). Your baby will use these muscles as they learn to: roll, lie on their sides, push themselves up from side lying to crawl (at about 8 mths) and to move from side lying up to sitting (at about 10-12 mths). These muscles will provide your baby with critical stability throughout their life.

Learn about rolling. At about 6 mths your baby may be able to roll over by themselves from their back to their front. Seahorse pose is a gentle way to introduce the idea of rolling to your baby.

Make it Multi-Sensory, Educational & Fun

In Tatty and Baby 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 and Baby 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.

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

2014 Term 4 Week 5. Tatty Bumpkin's Pose for the Week is Bear!

By Sue Heron – Training Co-ordinator Tatty Bumpkin and Paediatric Physiotherapist
 
Find your local Tatty or Baby Bumpkin class at http://www.tattybumpkin.com/classes/find-class.html and have a go at Bear pose with your baby, toddler or child at home – see details on the pose below.

 

The Adventure This Week ..

Wriggling through the Giggle Tree blossom

This week Tatty/Baby Bumpkin wriggle out from under a Giggle Tree, covered with spring blossom, to find them-selves in the mountains right in front of a big, dark cave. Who might live there?
 
The bear family of course!

The baby bear cubs tumble out of the cave and roll over and over on the grass in the spring sunshine.  However their minds soon turn to food, after the long winter sleep, so off they head, down the mountain trail, to look for some lovely, ripe berries. All the while keeping an eye out for mountain lions …

What other mountain creatures might Tatty/Baby Bumpkin and the bear family meet? Why not find out at your local Tatty or Baby Bumpkin class …

 

In the ‘Mountain Bear Story’ your child will have the opportunity to -

1. Progress their balance skills and activate their ‘core’ muscles - as they stomp in bear pose, wriggle in snake pose, crawl down the mountain tunnel and jump in rabbit pose.
2. Develop their fine motor skills (hand movements) - as they explore the spring flowers in the bear's cave.
3. Use gestures or words to express their thoughts i.e. Feeling 

• ‘A bit worried’ along with Tatty Bumpkin as she peers inside the cave
• 'Hungry’ and ‘itchy’ with the baby bears
• ‘Cheeky’, ‘playful’ and ‘bouncy’ with the mountain rabbit
• ‘Strong’ with the mountain lion

4. Develop their sense of rhythm and co-ordination skills - as they stamp as bears to the ‘Mountain Bear’ poem and wriggle as snakes to the Tatty Bumpkin Snake song.
5. Have fun with their friends whilst being: tall mountains, hungry bear cubs, sliding snakes and bouncy rabbits. Crawling together through the mountain tunnel and snuggling up in the bear cave.

Bear Pose for Children and Toddlers

Bear pose for older children

Bear pose for toddlers

 

Description of Bear Pose (For Parents)

If your child is about 3 or 4 years old they will be relying on vision a great deal to learn new movements so ideally do bear pose yourself  so they can copy you. Also research is increasingly showing that children bond with their parents through movement as well as touch. However if you have do back problems do not bend over as far as is suggested below – rather stomp as a bear whilst standing more upright.

• Guide your child to stand on the floor or mat opposite you.

• Stand with your legs about hip width apart and bend forward from the waist to grasp the back of your legs, just below your knees, with your hands.

• If your child is younger, or a toddler, bend forward from your waist and just put your hands on your thighs above your knees. Encourage your child to copy you – see picture.

• Now 'stomp' forwards as a bear, keeping hold of your lower legs with your hands or keeping your hands on your thighs. Once more encourage your child to copy you.

• Guide your child or toddler to take big steps and to ‘stamp’ with their feet in bear pose – to help them progress their balance skills.

• Growl as bears as you move around the room.

• After a taking a few bear steps – straighten up to stretch out your back.

Want to Make it Harder?  Progressions in Bear Pose

Encourage your child to see if they can walk backwards or sideways in bear pose.

 

Other Games to Play in Bear Pose

‘The Teddy Bear’s Picnic’. Imagine you and your child or toddler are going on a teddy bears’ picnic:

• You start in the forest, with the leaves hanging down low. Play a peek-a-boo game with your child using pieces of green fabric or green streamers or even a leafy twig.

Hide behind a leafy twig ...

• Then you walk with the bears through the wood to find the perfect picnic spot. Do Bear pose with your child round the room or garden.

• Eventually you find a lovely shady spot for your picnic. Place a sheet or piece of fabric over two chairs to make your very own bear cave and wriggle underneath it together. 

 

Inside your bear cave ..

• At last you settle down to have your forest picnic. Maybe find a toy tea set or similar, roll onto your tummies and imagine you are having a picnic! Remember it is still good for your toddler or child to lie on their tummy every so often as they will be strengthening their shoulder and back muscles.

Picnicing your the cave!

The Bears Go over the Mountain!
Make a little obstacle course for your child or toddler round a room or the garden. Carefully clear away any items which your child could hurt themselves on if they fall.  Ideally encourage your child to do the course in bare feet – so they get clear sensory information from the soles of their feet. Also try to do the course with your child as much as possible.
If your toddler is younger, keep your obstacle course simple so they do not get discouraged, as they gain confidence you can add more challenges.
Things you could use for the course include:

• Cushions. Scatter these round the room, making sure they are on a non-slip surface. Your toddler will love the challenge of stepping on and off them.

• Bath mats. Ideal, as they are usually non-slip and often are interesting textures. You may wish to put them over the cushions. If your toddler has bare feet they will have the extra sensory experience of feeling the texture of the mat through their feet.

• Strips of interesting material. Fold these into a narrow path for your toddler to walk down (make sure you put them on a non-slip surface). You can get some amazing fabric offcuts from some fabric shops.

• Pieces of lighter fabric or sheets. Drape these over several chairs to make a little tunnel for your toddler to crawl through. 

As you stomp round in Bear pose you can sing the song:
“The bear goes over the mountain, the bear goes over the mountain, the bear goes over the mountain …
To see what he can see!
And all that he can see, and all that he can see, is ..
The other side of the mountain, the other side of the mountain, the other side of the mountain is … All that he can see!”

 

Why the Bear Pose is ‘Good for your Child or Toddler’

As you do Bear pose with your child or toddler you will give them a chance to:

1. Progress their walking balance skills.
Toddlers - You may notice that when your toddler starts to walk on their own, they tend to hold their arms out in front and lift their shoulders up towards their ears. This is how they initially keep their balance.
Your toddler may also try to take quick steps in an effort to keep their balance and will probably frequently fall into your arms - this will probably not discourage them and, with plenty of opportunity to walk, they will gradually become more stable. You can help your toddler keep their balance as they walk by giving them something to look at and aim for – maybe their favourite toy held up in front, at their eye level.
As your toddler becomes more confident in standing they will experiment with seeing how far they can ‘reach’ with their legs and feet. At first, your toddler will find it hard to reach forward with one leg to take a big step in Bear pose as not only will they have to balance on one leg for a moment but they will also have to control their stepping leg.
Older children – As your child takes big, slow steps in bear pose they will be balancing on one leg for a short time. Taking big steps is an ideal way for your child to start to learn about standing on one leg.

2. Develop their body awareness. As your child takes big steps in bear pose and moves under, over and onto the various obstacles in the bear hunt game, they will be learning more about their body; where it starts and finishes and what they can reach with their arms or legs. It is important for your child to have an up-to-date image of their body in their mind as they will be using this as a reference when they move or try new activities.

3. Progress their movement planning skills. New little movement challenges, which your child attempts by themselves, will progress their physical skills and add to their experiences.  As your child ‘has a go’ at moving in different ways to do the obstacle course in the bear hunt game, they will have to keep ‘problem solving’ and ‘planning what to do next’. Your child will build on these planning skills when they attempt to do tasks which involve a sequence of movements i.e. washing themselves or dressing.

Bear Pose In Sitting or ‘Bear Sitting on a Log’ - Older Babies

Bear rolling on a log!

Description of Pose

This adaptation of Bear pose is suitable if your baby is about 6 mths or over and are wanting to play in the sitting position. However do try doing the younger version of Bear pose with your baby in lying to encourage foot play. See below.
If you do Bear pose with your baby in front of a mirror they can then see how they are rocking from side to side.  Alternatively, ask a partner to sit in front of your baby holding up a toy bear or a piece of furry fabric.

• Find a comfortable place to sit on the floor with your baby. You may find it comfortable to sit up against a wall so your back is supported.

• Stretch your legs out in front of you and place your baby in sitting on your thighs. Support you baby by placing one hand on their chest and your other hand on their shoulders or upper back.  If your baby is younger, and needs more support: 

        1. Keep your legs together underneath them – so your baby has ‘more to sit on’.
        2. Place your hands higher up your baby’s body i.e. your ‘front’ hand might be on their
            upper chest and your ‘back’ hand might support their shoulders and neck.

• If your baby is older, you can challenge their sitting skills by:

       1. Moving your legs apart so your baby is just sitting on one of your thighs.
       2. Holding your baby lower down their body i.e. if your baby is 6 mths or older they may
           only need support round their hips.

• Now slowly roll your thigh(s) from side to side and then bend and straighten alternate knees to lift your thighs slightly off the floor one at a time. Your baby will now experience gentle rocking movements back and forth and side to side. As your baby rocks guide and reinforce their movements with your hands. Start by moving your legs slowly and just a little to give your baby confidence. 

• If your baby is enjoying the rocking movements – gradually increase your thigh movements so they can experience slightly larger rocks in all directions.

• Do two or three rocks and then let your baby rest for a few seconds. The rocking action can be stimulating for your baby so you do not want to do too many rocks in a row!

• As you do the pose you can recite the ‘Bear goes over the mountain’ poem to your baby (see below) or make growling sounds. Remember as you talk to your baby or make sounds at them – give them time for them to respond to you as this promotes early communication skills.

• As your baby ‘gets the idea’ of rocking forwards and backwards and side to side, give them time to see if they can start to get back to the upright position by themselves i.e. as your tip them gently backwards, wait and see if they can start to bring themselves forwards into the upright sitting position. This encourages your baby to develop mature balance skills.

• If you are doing Bear pose with your baby with the help of a partner – encourage them to wave the bear toy/fabric in front of your baby. Start by holding the toy/fabric just out of your baby’s reach so they look at it. This will help their sitting skills as your baby initially uses their vision to keep their balance in sitting. Then hold the toy/fabric closer to your baby and encourage them to reach for it. As your baby reaches out they will strengthen the muscles in their arms and middle.

Why Bear Pose is 'Good for You and Your Older Baby'

As you do older Bear pose with your baby sitting on your lap you will give them a chance to:

1. Progress their sitting skills. From about 5 mths your baby may be able to sit on the floor using their arms to prop them-selves up – this is a great skill to encourage. However if you continue to play games with your baby, like Bear pose, whilst you support them in sitting, this allows your baby to use their arms and hands in a more functional way as they reach out for toys. Unlike a car seat or high chair you can adjust your hands to provide your baby with the perfect amount of support they need at that time i.e. not too much or too little.

2. Develop their balance skills. As you gently rock your baby side to side and back and forth in Bear pose, give them time to react to the movement. See if they can start to get back to the upright position by themselves. In this way your baby can practise their mature balance skills for sitting.

• At about 6 mths your baby will probably still lose their balance if they shift their weight too much to one side in sitting – this is because they are not yet able to prop sideways on one arm to ‘save’ them-selves. However they may well be able to put their hands out in front to save themselves from falling forwards.
• At around 8 mths you may notice your baby is learning to put their hands down to their sides to stop themselves from falling sideways.

3. Gently stimulate their body senses. As your baby rocks from side to side and back and forth in Bear pose they will be stimulating their ‘body senses’.  This stimulation not only helps them develop their movement skills (as discussed above) but also helps them to control their levels of alertness. The rocking movements of Bear pose can either help your baby to rouse themselves if they are a little drowsy or, if done slowly and just in a forwards and backwards direction, to calm down. Do not rock your baby for too long as it will overexcite and eventually upset them.

Bear Pose In Lying - Younger Babies

Baby bear!

Description of Pose

N.B. Remember, when you are doing the poses with your baby, never force the movements and keep looking at your baby to make sure they are comfortable. If you feel any resistance, or your baby becomes unsettled, do stop. Once your baby has settled, gently try the pose again, perhaps making clicking sounds or using a toy to distract them. If your baby remains unsettled, do not persist with the pose, instead ask your Baby Bumpkin teacher for advice.

This adaptation of bear pose is ideal if your baby is about 6 mths or younger and is still happy to play games on the floor!

• Settle your baby in lying on a mat in front of you and gain good eye contact with them.

• Gently take hold of one of your baby’s forearms with one hand and their opposite lower leg (calf) with your other hand.

• Then guide their two opposite limbs towards each other over the middle of your baby’s body. So, for example, guide their left hand and right foot towards each other. Do not force the movement but if your baby is comfortable they can feel their right foot with their left hand – foot play. 

• Slowly take your baby’s hand and foot back to their sides.

• Now swap sides i.e. gently take hold of your baby’s right forearm and grasp hold of their left lower leg.

• Gently guide your baby’s right hand and left foot towards each other over the middle of their body as before. Once again, do not force the movement. If your baby is comfortable encourage them to explore their left foot with their right hand.

• Slowly bring your baby’s foot and hand back to their sides and give your baby a hug!

• Repeat the movement several times on both sides.

• As you do bear pose with your baby you can make gentle growling sounds or recite the “The bear goes over the mountain” poem to your baby.

• As your baby ‘gets the idea’ of the movement – wait and see if they start to do part of the action by themselves. You may have to support your baby to start with but then they may ‘take over’ for a bit. Smile and encourage them – as this is the start of them doing things for themselves!

• Support your baby to reach up for their feet with their hands (foot play) by themselves by tucking a piece of furry fabric between your baby’s toes and then lifting up their foot so they see the fabric and are encouraged to reach for it!

Why Bear Pose is ‘Good for You and Your Younger Baby’

As you do younger Bear pose with your baby you will give them a chance to:

1. Activate their shoulder hip and tummy muscles. As your baby curls up their body and reaches for their feet with their hands in bear pose they will be strengthening many of their muscles but especially their tummy and shoulder muscles.

2. Stretch out their back and hamstring muscles. Bear pose gives your baby the chance to gently stretch their: 

• Lower back muscles – as they bring their shoulders and hips up off the floor.
• Hamstring muscles (the muscles at the back of their thigh) – as they stretch their feet up into the air.

3. Become more aware of the ‘midline’ of their body. As your baby reaches out to feel their feet with their hands they will be doing so in the middle part of their body. The midline is an imaginary line down our body which separates the left side of our body from the right, see picture. Your baby first becomes aware of their right and left sides and then starts to ‘map’ the middle area of their body. Being aware of their midline will help your baby to progress many skills i.e. learning to feed themselves, and later on, learning to dress themselves.  

The midline of the body

4. Explore and activate their feet. Your baby’s delicate foot muscles need the chance to move so they can gently stretch out and develop in preparation for walking. A very natural way for your baby to stretch and ‘activate’ these muscles is to play with them using their own hands. Foot play not only helps your baby to develop their foot muscles, it also makes them more aware of where their body starts and finishes – great for their body confidence. Often your baby will refine their rolling skills through foot play as it puts them in an ideal position to roll. 

 

Other Games to Play in Bear Pose with your Baby (Older and Younger)

The Teddy Bear’s Picnic. Imagine you and your baby are going on a teddy bears’ picnic:

• You are in the forest, with the leaves hanging down low – Play peek-a-boo with you baby using a (green) piece of cloth or wave (green) streamers over your baby. Encourage your baby to look at the streamers and to ‘bat’ the streamers or cloth with their hands.

In the forest - the trees hanging down low ..

•  Then you walk with the bears through the wood to find the perfect picnic spot – Do bear pose with your baby in either sitting or lying. 

• At last you settle down to have your forest picnic. Gently roll your baby onto their tummy and place some of their favourite toys in front of them. Encourage your baby to reach out and explore their toys. Remember, do not leave your baby on their tummy by themselves.

Having your picnic!

Bears Go over the Mountain!

• Carry your baby next to your body with their head over your shoulder so they can look out at the world around them. If your baby is younger you will probably have to support their neck and head with your hand.

• Walk with your baby round your house or garden in this position – your baby will love to look out the windows or at a waving tree branch!

As you walk, you can sing the following rhyme to your baby:
 “The bear goes over the mountain, the bear goes over the mountain, the bear goes over the mountain
To see what he can see!
And all that he can see, and all that he can see, is ..
The other side of the mountain, the other side of the mountain, the other side of the mountain is …
All that he can see!”

 

Make it Multi-Sensory, Educational & Fun

In Tatty and Baby 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 and Baby 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.

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

2014 Term 4 Week 4: Tatty Bumpkin's Pose for the Week is Cockerel!

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

Find your local Tatty or Baby Bumpkin class at http://www.tattybumpkin.com/classes/find-class.html and have a go at Cockerel pose with your baby, toddler or child at home – see details on the pose below.

The Adventure ..

This week Cockerel forgets to put his 'Farmyard Alarm Clock' forward an hour for the summer so Tatty Bumpkin wakes up late…she rushes downstairs but still has time for breakfast of course ….

Oh no! Tatty Bumpkin misses her plane to the ‘Bug’s Spring Equinox Party’ in the Enchanted Wood.
But she keeps calm and has a think .. Who can she phone to take her to the party instead?

Maybe her friend the eagle, or maybe her friends the spiders? She just needs to call ‘EasyWeb!’

Do you have an idea about who Tatty Bumpkin can call? Come and share it at your local Tatty Bumpkin class…

In ‘The Cockerel Story’ your child will have the opportunity to...

1. Stretch their shoulders and practise taking deep breaths as they ‘crow’ as cockerels!
 
2. Improve their balance, as they ‘have a go’ at landing as planes to pick up Tatty Bumpkin.
 
3. Use gestures or words to express their thoughts i.e. Feeling

• ‘Excited’ with Tatty Bumpkin about the ‘Bug Spring Party’
• ‘A bit worried’ along with Tatty Bumpkin as she is late
• ‘Determined’  with Tatty Bumpkin as she thinks about how to get to the party
• ‘Happy’ and ‘pleased with themselves’ as they manage to solve the problem and find a way to get to the party.

4. Come up with ideas on who they could call to take them to the bug’s party and then share their thoughts with the group.
 
5. Develop their sense of rhythm, and co-ordination skills, as they move and wriggle to the Tatty Bumpkin Cockerel song.
 
6. Have fun with their friends whilst: flying as aeroplanes or eagles, creeping on their tummies through the ‘Enchanted Forest’ or dancing with all  the different bugs at the Spring Bug Ball!

Cockerel Pose for Children 

Crow like a Cockerel!

Description of Cockerel Pose (For Parents)

• Guide your child to sit or kneel on the floor or mat opposite you.

• If your child is about 3 or 4 years old they will be relying on vision a great deal to learn new movements so copying you will be really helpful for them. 

• Put your hands on your hips so your elbows stick out to each side, then flap your elbows (your wings) and wriggle your bottom whilst singing out “Cockle-doodle-doo!”  Encourage your child to copy you!

• Talk your child through the pose as well as doing the actions i.e.You could say “1, 2, 3 Cockle-doodle-doo!” and as you say ‘Cockle-doodle-doo!’ do the actions.

• Encourage your child to think up some ‘chicken sounds!’

• Repeat the pose several times so your child has a chance to learn the movement and enjoy doing it with you – Then give them a hug!

Want to Make it Harder? 

Encourage your child to be a cockerel standing up. See if they can bend their knees and squat down low to wriggle their bottoms right down close to the ground – like a chicken laying an egg!

Other Games to Play in Cockerel Pose

Be Cockerels to the Tatty Bumpkin Cockerel Song. Download the Tatty Bumpkin Cockerel song from iTunes and follow the actions of the song with your child. See if you and your child can make up your own actions to parts of the song.

If your child is younger, kneel or sit on the floor and guide your child to stand up or sit in front of you then do simple actions to the song and encourage them to copy you. It might be easier to just ‘open’ and ‘close’ your arms in front of you, keeping your elbows straight, in a ‘snapping’ action. Encourage your child to make sounds along with you as you move to the song. Picture courtesy of developachild.net.

Why the Cockerel Pose is ‘Good for Me’

1. Shoulder Stretching! Cockerel pose gives your child a great shoulder stretch. Specifically, as they do the stretch, your child will be stretching out their pectoralis muscles at the front of their chests. Cockerel pose is the perfect antidote to ‘screen time’ when your child may be sitting in a more slumped position.

2. Strengthening and developing key co-ordination skills. As your child bends their knees and wriggles down to the floor they will be strengthening their leg muscles and working on their balance and co-ordination skills.

3. Developing breath awareness and learning to calm.  The ‘crowing’ activity will enhance your child’s:

• Breath control. Steady, deep breathing is important for both movement and speech.

• Ability to ‘self-regulate’ their emotional state. As your child takes deeper, slower breaths their heart rate and blood pressure will automatically decrease slightly and this will help them to calm themselves. A few ‘cockle –doodle-doo’s might well help your child to calm if they feel worried or anxious about something as well as making them smile!

Cockerel Pose For Toddlers and Older Babies

Baby Cockerel!

Description of Pose

This adaptation of Cockerel pose is suitable for toddlers or babies about 6 mths or over i.e. your baby is able to sit on your lap with support either around their lower body or with their hands held.
If you do cockerel pose with your baby/toddler in front of a mirror they can then see how they are moving their arms. Alternatively, ask a partner to sit in front of your baby and do the actions to cockerel pose (see overleaf) – so your baby can watch the movement as they do it themselves. 

• Find a comfortable place to sit on the floor with your baby/toddler. You may find it comfortable to sit up against a wall so your back is supported.

• Settle your baby/toddler so they are sitting on the floor in front of you, they can then lean back against you for support.

• Start by doing the baby cockerel pose yourself, this will give you a nice back stretch and will help you to loosen up your arms. If you are doing the pose in front of a mirror, your baby can watch. Stretch your arms out to the side then bring your arms across your chest to place your hands on the shoulder on the opposite side i.e. place your left hand on your right shoulder and your right hand on your left shoulder.

• Feel the stretch in your upper back. Then ‘open and close’ your elbows like a bird’s beak. Do a gentle ‘cockle-doodle-doo!’ for your baby. Repeat the pose but this time swap over your arms so a different arm is uppermost. 

• Now it is your baby’s or toddler’s go! Remember, if they are tending to slide their bottom away from you – gently bring it back towards you and encourage them to lean forwards from their hips.

• Place your index fingers in your baby’s palms and gently guide their arms out to each side – so they are stretching out wide! Only go as far as is comfortable for your baby. Remember if your baby is under 6 mths they will not yet have full movement at their shoulders and elbows. As your move your baby’s arms out say “1, 2, 3, …”

• Then guide your baby’s/toddler’s  hands and arms across their chest taking their hands towards the opposite shoulder whilst saying “Cockle-doodle-doo!”

• Guide your baby’s arms back out to either side and repeat the movement only this time swapping arms so a different one is uppermost. Then encourage your baby to let go of your fingers so they can give their arms a wiggle!

• Repeat the whole pose 2-3 times, remember to keep looking at your baby to make sure they are enjoying themselves.

• As your baby ‘gets the idea’ of the movement – wait and see if they start to do part of the action by themselves. You may have to support your baby to start with but then they may ‘take over’ for a bit. Smile and encourage them – as this is the start of them doing things for themselves!

Why Baby Cockerel Pose is Good for Both You and Your Baby or Toddler’

As you do Baby Cockerel pose with your baby or toddler, you will give them a chance to:

Activate, stretch and co-ordinate their upper body muscles. See notes for sun pose for the previous week.

Cross their midline for crawling and hand skills. As you guide your baby’s hands across their chest towards their opposite shoulder you will be giving them a chance to feel what it is like to move their arms across the middle of their body or their ‘midline’.

• From about 7 mths your baby may have been able to sit without using their hands for support. Given many opportunities to sit on the floor throughout their day, you will find your baby is able to sit in different positions and to reach out either side and across their body for toys. This variety of sitting positions and reaching actions will often lead to your baby moving up into crawling from sitting.
• It is important for older baby’s and toddlers to become comfortable with crossing the midline of their body as they will draw on this skill to develop their early dressing and  writing skills.

Calm themselves. As your wrap your baby’s/toddler’s arms across their chest you will be stimulating both their sense of deep touch and proprioception (body awareness). Stimulation of these two senses together is often very calming for your baby.

Develop their early communication skills. When you do a gentle ‘cockle-doodle-doo’ for your baby or toddler, wait and see if they respond to your sounds with sounds of their own.

• From about 5 – 7 mths you may notice your baby is starting to ‘babble’. These are sounds, generally without meaning or referring to anything specific which your baby will make when they are feeling emotionally calm.
• From 6 mths your baby will continue to build up their repertoire of sounds when they move. Continued movement will help your baby to build up the stability in their tongue musculature. This extra co-ordination of the tongue will help your baby to produce new ‘consonant’ sounds i.e. p, b, t, m, d, n, k, ɡ, s, h, w, j sounds.
• From 8–9 mths, your baby is likely to be making more advanced sounds linking vowel and consonants together i.e. “babadoobe”. This is called ‘variegated babbling’.
• At around 9–10 mths your baby’s babbling may start to sound like your own native language.
• The final stage is known as ‘conversational babbling’ or the ‘jargon’ (usually occurring from ten mths). During this stage your baby or toddler will use adult-like stress and intonation as they babble. When your baby starts to babble in this way they will be very close to saying their first words.
• Your toddler will continue to use the speech patterns and timing that match the language they will soon be speaking.
• At about one year your toddler may start to say ‘ma ma’ or ‘da da’ for mummy and daddy.
• But it is probably between 12- 18 mths that your toddler really starts to take an interest in words. As well as saying between six and 20 recognisable words, they will start to understand many more. Play is a great way of encouraging your toddler’s speech skills. E.g. When pretending to feed a teddy or doll, or talking on a toy telephone. Talk to your toddler about the things they can see, read to them and talk through simple Baby Bumpkin stories as you do the actions! You will probably find your toddler speaks more either during or after they have moved about. (Picture courtesy of everydaylife.globalpost.com)

Baby Cockerel Pose In Lying. Younger Babies

Littliest Cockerel!

Description of Pose

N.B. Remember, when you are doing the poses with your baby, never force the movements and keep looking at your baby to make sure they are comfortable. If you feel any resistance, or your baby becomes unsettled, do stop. Once your baby has settled, gently try the pose again, perhaps making clicking sounds or using a toy to distract them. If your baby remains unsettled, do not persist with the pose, instead ask your Baby Bumpkin teacher for advice.

This adaptation of cockerel pose is ideal if your baby is about 6 months or younger and has yet to gain good control of their head and body in sitting.

• Settle your baby on a mat in front of you and sit back on your heels.

• Gain good eye contact with your baby - to make it more fun and to encourage your baby to look at you – why not wear a silly hat! A bath cap or woolly hat is ideal.

• Start by giving yourself a stretch in baby cockerel pose! Stretch your arms out to the side then bring your arms across your chest to place your hands on the shoulder on the opposite side i.e. place your left hand on your right shoulder and your right hand on your left shoulder. Feel the stretch in your upper back. Then ‘open and close’ your elbows like a birds beak. Do a gentle ‘cockle-doodle-doo!’ for you baby. Repeat the pose but this time swap over your arms so a different arm is uppermost.  Your baby will love to see you move and to listen to your voice.

Give your shoulders a lovely stretch!

• Now it is your baby’s go! Once again establish good eye contact with your baby – this is important as they will be able to move their arms in cockerel pose better if they are holding their head in the middle.

• Place your index fingers in your baby’s palms, hopefully this will encourage them to grasp hold of your fingers and helps your baby feel ‘in control’.

• Whilst your baby is gripping your fingers, guide their arms out to either side. Remember if your baby is under 5 mths they will not be able to fully straighten their elbows – so do not force this movement.

• Then gently guide your baby’s arms, across their chest, one above the other and take hands towards the opposite shoulder. Just like you are guiding your baby to give themselves a hug. Only go as far as is comfortable for your baby – remember they may not yet have full movement at their shoulders.

• Guide your baby’s arms back out to either side and repeat the movement – this time swapping arms so a different one is uppermost.

• Encourage your baby to let go of your fingers so they can give their arms a wiggle!

• Repeat the pose 2-3 times, looking at your baby to make sure they are enjoying themselves.

• As your baby ‘gets the idea’ of the movement – wait and see if they start to do part of the action by themselves. You may have to support your baby to start with but then they may ‘take over’ for a bit. Smile and encourage them – as this is the start of them doing things for themselves!

Other Games to Play in Cockerel Pose with your Baby or Toddler

Be Cockerels to the Tatty Bumpkin Cockerel Song.  Download the Tatty Bumpkin cockerel song from iTunes and follow the actions of the song with your baby. You will probably have to make up your own actions to parts of the song.
 

Do Baby Cockerel Rhyme with your baby in sitting (older babies or toddlers) or lying (younger babies).  
Open, shut them. Start with your baby’s arms out to each side and bring them across their body as in baby cockerel pose.
Open, shut them. Repeat actions above.
Don’t get in a muddle! Let your baby’s hands go and shake your head at your baby if they are lying down. If your baby is sitting – encourage them to move their hands up and down in front or perhaps rock your baby gently from side to side.
Open, shut them. Open, shut them. Repeat as above
Give Baby Bird a cuddle! Give your baby a cuddle!

Why Baby Cockerel  Pose is ‘Good for You and Your Baby’

As you do Baby Cockerel pose with your baby, you will give them a chance to:

Activate, stretch and co-ordinate their upper body muscles. See notes for sun pose for the previous week.

Cross their midline for rolling or crawling. As you guide your baby’s hands across their chest towards their opposite shoulder you will be giving them a chance to feel what it is like to move their arms across the middle of their body or their midline.

• From about 6 mths you may notice your baby increasingly twisting their body, whilst they are lying on their backs, and reaching over to the opposite side of their body – this is the start of learning to roll.
• From about 7 mths you may find your baby is able to sit without using their hands for support. With many opportunities to sit on the floor throughout their day, you will find your baby sitting in different positions and reaching out either side and across their body for toys. This variety of sitting positions and reaching actions will often lead to your baby moving up into crawling from sitting. 

Calm themselves. As your wrap your baby’s arms across their chest you will be stimulating both their sense of deep touch and proprioception (body awareness). Stimulation of these two senses together is often very calming for your baby.

Develop their early communication skills. When you do gentle ‘cockle-doodle-doos’ for your baby, wait and see if they respond to your sounds with sounds of their own.

• From about 2 mths you may find your baby is increasingly starting to respond to you with sounds of their own – often they sound quite nasally. You will notice that your baby makes more sounds when they are moving.

• From about 3-5 mths your baby will continue to make more sounds, especially as they move their body. You will find your baby makes different sounds in different body positions, in this way they gradually build up their range of sounds. I.e. the sounds they make will be different in pitch and tone when they are lying on their backs compared to when they are lying on their tummy. This is another good reason to encourage your baby into different positions whilst they are on the floor.

• From about 5–7 mths you may notice your baby starting to ‘babble’. These are sounds, generally without meaning or referring to anything specific which your baby will make when they are feeling emotionally calm.

• From 6 mths your baby will continue to build up their repertoire of sounds when they move. Continued movement will help your baby to build up the stability in their tongue musculature. This extra co-ordination of the tongue will help your baby to produce new ‘consonant’ sounds i.e. p, b, t, m, d, n, k, ɡ, s, h, w, j sounds. Picture courtesy of www.komonews.com.

Talking to your baby..

Make it Multi-Sensory, Educational & Fun

In Tatty and Baby 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 and Baby 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.

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