tatty bumpkin-

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

2013 – 2014 Term 2 Week 5: Tatty Bumpkin's Pose for the Week is Mouse!

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

The posture for the week in Tatty Bumpkin classes is mouse.

This week Tatty Bumpkin sets off to visit her friend the giant. He lives in a huge house, with a huge door on the other side of the Giggle Tree.

The giant invites Tatty Bumpkin in for tea but, as she tiptoes across one of his giant rooms, Tatty Bumpkin spies a little mouse looking lost. Mouse tells Tatty Bumpkin that he would love a little, snug house of his own – where he can snuggle up, keep warm and hide from the pesky cat.

Tatty Bumpkin has a think and suggests they have a look in each of the giant’s rooms – surely there must be a little corner which would be perfect for a little mouse house?

Mouse Pose – Older Children

How small is your mouse?

Description of Mouse Pose For Older children

Note to parents – It is always best to do mouse pose with your child so they can copy you; this is especially true if your child is younger. Recent research demonstrates that doing activities and movements together helps the bonding process between parents/carers and their child.
Find a comfortable place on the floor. Then start the pose by kneeling back on your heels with your arms by your sides. Now curl forward and pretend to ‘kiss your knees’. It is often a good idea to say this to your child so they get the idea of curling forwards rather than just lying on their tummy. Take deep breaths and lie very still. Shut your eyes. Imagine you are a very tiny mouse.

Want to Make it Harder?

Lift up your head and make a few squeaking sounds then wriggle you fingers either side of your mouth to be mousy whiskers.
Stretch out each of your legs in turn behind you and wave it from side to side - as you’re a magic mouse with TWO tails.
Finally come up onto all fours and scamper round the room to run away from the pesky cat.

Games to play in Mouse Pose

Mouse in his house! Imagine you’re a little mouse curled up small in your own tiny house. See if you can keep still for at least 20 seconds. Then ‘wake up’ and peek outside your little house – lift up your head, ‘twitch your whiskers’, shake your two, magic tails. Uhoh - the cat is about! Jump up onto your hands and knees and scamper round the room. Look around for another place to hide, far away from that pesky cat and curl up once more. See if you can hear your own breathing as you rest in your new, snug mouse house!

Do mouse pose to the Tatty Bumpkin Mouse song – you can either download Tatty Bumpkin Mouse song from iTunes or ask your Tatty Bumpkin teacher about the Tatty Bumpkin CD. Mouse song encourages your child to relax and be still, whilst curling up as a tiny mouse and then to ‘let off steam’ as a mouse scampering away from the cat!

Why Mouse pose is ‘Good For Me’ - Older Children

As you child does boat pose they will have the opportunity to:

1. Calm themselves. When your child curls into mouse pose they will stimulate their sense of touch and their ‘proprioceptive sense’. Our proprioceptive sense provides us with information on how stretched our muscles are, how tense are tendons are, and the position of our joints at any one time. Stimulation of both these senses in mouse pose can often help children to calm down, particularly if they have become over-excited and are finding it hard to ‘move on’ from spinning or running round the room! It is important for your child to start to learn how to control their ‘levels of alertness’. For some activities we need to be more alert i.e. when playing in the playground or doing a sport. At other times we need to be ‘less alert’ i.e. when we need to sleep. To learn new things efficiently we need to be alert but too alert and excited.

2. Refine their fine (hand) motor skills. Encourage your child to wriggle their fingers and ‘twitch their mouse whiskers'. This will help to strengthen their fingers and wrists for skills such as writing and doing up buttons.

3. Develop their speech and confidence. Encourage your child to squeak as a little mouse, softly then loudly! As they scamper round the room your child may find it easier to make different noises.

Mouse Pose For Babies and Toddlers

Mouse Pose For Babies

Hickory, dickory, dock!

Description of Pose

N.B. Remember: never to force the movements whilst doing the poses with your baby and to keep looking at them as you do the actions - to make sure they are comfortable. If your feel any resistance or your baby becomes unsettled, do stop. Once they have 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 and ask advice from your Baby Bumpkin teacher.

Do mouse pose and actions with your baby to the rhyme of ‘Hickory Dickory Dock’.

‘Hickory, dickory, dock’ – On a clean mat or carpet settle your baby in front of you. Start in swan pose at your baby’s feet i.e. rock back on your heels, lean forward and stretch out your upper body close to the floor with your arms over your head so that you’re touching your baby’s feet or ankles with your hands – your touch will reassure your baby.

‘The mouse ran up the clock’ – Sit up, resting back on your heels, but still leaning over your baby, so that you can catch their eye. When you have eye contact smile at your baby and/or make squeaking sounds whilst you run your fingers up your baby’s legs and body.

‘The clock struck one’ – Come onto your hands and knees over your baby. Then, if you feel confident, bend your elbows to do a little ‘press up’ and kiss your baby on their forehead. As you give your baby a kiss, smile and talk to them!

‘The mouse ran down’ – Run your fingers back down your baby’s body and legs finishing with a little tickle on their feet.

‘Hickory, dickory, dock’ – Rock back onto your heels once more and return to swan pose – gently keeping hold of your baby’s feet.

‘Tick-tock, tic-tock’ – Come back onto your hands and knees over your baby and, if you feel confident to do so, end the rhyme by doing two more mini press-ups to give your baby two more kisses!

Mouse Pose For Toddlers

Curl up as tiny mice!

Description of Pose

Find a comfortable place on the floor to play ‘mouse pose’ with your toddler. Start by sitting back on your heels, encouraging your toddler to copy you. Then say “1, 2, 3 mouse!” and curl up over your knees. You may find that your toddler automatically moves onto their tummy instead of curling up – this may be due to an immature reflex action which they have not yet fully grown out of. If your toddler does go onto their tummy guide them back to the starting position (sitting back on their heels) and this time suggest they ‘kiss their knees’ to curl up like a mouse.

See if your toddler can stay in mouse position for a few seconds, as this is a very calming position. Encourage them to do a few mouse squeaks with you and then guide them to jump up with you onto their hands and knees to scurry round the room like naughty mice! After crawling round the room in various directions and stopping to ‘hide’ under furniture come back to rest in mouse pose – this will help your toddler to calm down after the excitement of crawling! Or finish the game by curling over your toddler, snuggling up to them a like a mouse in a house!

Mouse - snug and warm inside their house!

Other Games to Play with your Toddler in Mouse Pose

Hiding mice – Your toddler may love repeating mouse pose over and over again, especially if you add to their anticipation by saying “1, 2, 3, hide!” or “1, 2, 3, mouse!” as you do the pose. Once you are curled up in mouse pose again add to the anticipation and excitement by saying “Ready, steady run!” or “1, 2, 3 run!” just before you both start crawling and scurrying around the room. Find some pieces of fabric and balance them on your and your toddler’s head whilst you are both curled up in mouse pose. Using the fabric will help your toddler to keep still. Then, when your both jump up to scurry round the room, see if you can either make the fabric fall off or stay on your heads!

Follow the actions to the Tatty Bumpkin Mouse song – This song tells the story about a little mouse being happy in their little house before scurrying off to hide from the pesky cat! You can either download mouse song from iTunes or buy the Tatty Bumpkin CD from your Tatty Bumpkin teacher.

‘Why Mouse Pose is Good for Your Baby or Toddler’

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

1. Develop their close bond with you. Mouse pose is a real opportunity to be both emotionally and physically close to your baby or toddler. At around six months of age you may notice your baby gaining a series of abilities which makes it easier for them to express their needs to you i.e. Your baby will be able to:

Do several different facial expressions to make their feelings known rather than relying on the more obvious ways like crying, fussing cooing or being quiet.
Make more consistent eye contact with you.
Reach up towards you in both lying and sitting.

These abilities are a consequence of your baby gaining more control of the middle of their body. As a result they are able to control parts of their body further away from their middle i.e. your baby will now be able to control the muscles in their eyes, hands and face and mouth. As you do mouse pose with your baby notice how they gradually start to respond to and play with you i.e.

Maybe they will start to reach out to you
Maybe they will make a quizzical expression or smile back at you
Maybe you will notice them following you with their eyes as you move towards and away from them.

Not only will your baby be starting to understand you better but also they will be starting to make sense of the world.

Doing mouse pose with your toddler will continue to develop the bond between you both. As mentioned above research is now showing that the process of bonding not only happens through touch abut also through movement. Hence as your toddler copies you, moving and curling up in mouse pose, they will be reinforcing that bond between you both.

2. Develop their reaching (arm and hand) skills and leg movements whilst lying on their backs – babies. Mouse pose is a fun way to play with your baby on the floor. Although tummy time is important – your baby also needs time to play on their back on the floor.

3. Increase their body awareness. As you do the ‘hickory, dickory, dock’ rhyme with your baby you will be drawing their attention to their hands and toes.
For toddlers - Mouse pose and game challenges them to move quickly and smoothly between two quite different positions i.e. Your toddler:

Starts with their whole body curled up in mouse pose
They then change position rapidly to come up onto their hands and knees to scurry as mice
And finally they go back to hide in mouse pose.

These quick and big changes in body position will help your toddler to become more aware of how their body and limbs work together. Your toddler is growing quickly and will be building a mental image of their body in their brain – their body schema. It will take many years before they develop an accurate body image in their minds – but this mental body image is crucial for accurate, effortless movement and confidence. Therefore, it is never too early to help your toddler become more aware of their body and how their body, arms and legs can work together to make different shapes.
4. Learn how to calm themselves – toddlers. When your toddler curls their body up in mouse pose they will be gently stimulating their ‘proprioceptive sense’. Our proprioceptive sense is stimulated through receptors in our muscles, tendons and joints and it tells us how our body parts are moving in relation to one another and the general position of our body at any one time. Often gentle pressure to the muscles and joints and stimulation of proprioceptive sense will help a young child to feel more secure and hence to calm down. So when your toddler folds their body up in mouse pose, gently squeezing their body against their legs, and as a result stimulating their proprioceptive sense, they may find this pose very soothing. If your toddler has become upset or overexcited, you may find that prompting them to do mouse pose for a few seconds helps them to calm themselves 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 ..

In this week’s adventure Tatty Bumpkin visits her friend the giant in his huge house!
In a corner of one of the giant’s enormous rooms Tatty Bumpkin spies a little mouse. The mouse is looking for a place he can call his own – it needs to be small and snug.

So together mouse and Tatty Bumpkin set off to explore the giant’s house – peering into the cupboards, looking inside the bath and under the beds. Where would be the perfect place for a mouse?

Where could a mouse live?

This story will give your child an opportunity to:

1. Develop their body awareness as they stretch up high as a giant and curl up small as a mouse
2. Come up with their own ideas on where would be the best place for the mouse to have his house
3. Use gestures or words to express their thoughts i.e. Feeling

‘A bit worried’ as they creep into the giant’s house
‘Sad’ as a mouse without a home
‘Confident’ to go exploring round the giant’s house
‘Excited’ at finding the perfect home for mouse

4. their sense of rhythm as they curl up and scamper to Tatty Bumpkin Mouse song
5 Calm themselves and become more aware of their breathing as they curl up in mouse pose
6. Develop their fine motor skills as they twitch their mouse whiskers and then help mouse to build his own little house
7. Have fun with their friends. Curling up and scampering round the room like little mice, stomping up and down like huge giants and then working together to make the perfect little house for mouse.

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

Monday, November 25, 2013

2013 – 2014 Term 2 Week 4: Tatty Bumpkin's Pose for the Week is Boat!

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

The posture for the week in Tatty Bumpkin classes is boat.

This week Tatty Bumpkin finds herself on a beach along with her friend Rabbit.

Lying on the sand, at the water’s edge, she spies some pieces of wood, a square of cloth and an old sturdy box. Tatty B has a think, what can she build out of all these bits? Of course a boat!

Soon Tatty Bumpkin and Rabbit are sailing on the wavy ocean and it is not long before they discover a little Island. Ever ready to explore Tatty Bumpkin and Rabbit creep through the island’s forests and find a group of enormous statues, standing still and tall in the middle of the island!

BOAT Pose - Older Children

Row back and forth with your friend!

Description of Boat Pose - Older children

Note to parents – Boat pose is a pose for two people, as you do boat pose with your child you will not only be having fun but will be strengthening the bond between you both.

What to tell your child

Sit on the floor with your legs straight out in front with a friend or grown up. Hold each other’s wrists, and put your legs either inside and under or, outside and over your partner’s legs. Rock gently backwards and forwards with your friend. You might feel a tightness at the back of your legs as you stretch your hamstring muscles.

Want to Make it Harder?

With a friend or partner, rock further forwards and backwards and side to side. Be careful that you both rock in time to each other and definitely do not pull too hard! Talk about different boat shapes or the creatures you might see in the waves.

The waves are getting bigger!

Variation

To go canoeing on your own; sit with your legs stretched out in front and reach forward to grasp one of your feet with both hands. Wrap one hand round the top of your foot and the other round your heel so the sole of your foot faces inwards. In line with your stretched out leg, gently bring your foot towards your body, then move it away from your body, in a rowing action. Be careful not to take your foot across your outstretched leg as this can cause an unwanted strain.

Go exploring in your own canoe..

Why Boat pose is ‘Good For Me’ - Older Children

As you child does boat pose they will have the opportunity to:

Develop their social and communication skills - whilst they are moving and playing with their friends or you!

Refine their sitting posture. The rocking action of boat pose will promote your child’s sitting balance and provide them with a gentle hamstring stretch. In addition your child’s core muscles, their abdominal, spinal and shoulder muscles, will be activated. All these effects will assist your child’s sitting posture.

Stimulate their ‘movement senses’ and manage their ‘level of alertness’ for learning. When your child rocks forwards and backwards in boat pose they stimulate their movement senses, especially their vestibular sense (see toddler section for further info). Stimulation of the vestibular sense can directly affect our ‘levels of alertness’ i.e. slow, rocking actions can be soothing and quietening whilst more vigorous head movements which can be intensely alerting. There is some evidence to suggest that rocking head movements (forwards and backwards) are organising in nature whilst spinning head movements can be quite disorganising for the brain, as in a fairground ride. Boat pose, if done rhythmically, at a moderate speed and not for too long, can gradually raise your child’s ‘levels of alertness’, in an organising way. This makes boat pose an excellent activity for your child to do as a ‘movement break’ if they need to increase their levels of concentration for a difficult, abstract task i.e. writing or maths. But remember not for too long, 1 minute is probably enough!

Description of Boat pose – Younger Children and Toddlers

Option 1

Find a comfortable place to sit on the floor with your toddler. Stretch your legs out in front of you and either gently sit your toddler on your thighs facing you, or invite your toddler to sit in between your legs (see picture). Remember to keep smiling and talking to your toddler! Then, holding their forearms and wrists, gently rock forwards and backwards with your toddler – like a boat on the waves. After two or three rocks, if your toddler is happy, try rocking a little faster and do the pose to the ‘Row, row your boat’ song.

Option 2

This is a fun adaptation to do with another adult or part of a group so your toddler can look at someone else. Find a comfortable place to sit on the floor with space in front of you. Stretch your legs out in front and place your toddler on your thighs facing away from you, supporting them with your hands around their hips. Shuffle forwards on your bottom, gently rocking your toddler from side to side as you go. After you have moved forward a little way - shuffle backwards. Once again sing the ‘Row, row, row your boat’ song as you do the movements. If your toddler is enjoying the game, make the rocking movements bigger so that they are challenged to keep their balance on your lap. Your toddler will enjoy the movement of their body against gravity, but do keep checking to make sure that they are not starting to feel anxious.

When doing either of the above poses, with your toddler remember not to do the more vigorous rocking movements for too long as this can overstimulate them and cause them anxiety.

‘Why Boat Pose is Good for Your Toddler’

As you do boat/rowing pose with your toddler you will give them a chance to:

Gradually develop their ‘postural control’ becoming more stable in the sitting position. From about 3 months your baby will be relying less and less on their baby reflexes and will be learning how to move and control their body in space. If your toddler is about 8 months or older you may notice they are starting to consistently put their arms down to either side to ‘save’ themselves when they feel they are losing their balance. This saving action is a mature ‘postural reaction’ which we all use to protect ourselves throughout our lives. As you do rowing pose option 2 with your toddler try gently tipping them to either side to see if they are starting to put their arm out on that side to keep their balance. Remember always do this movement slowly and when your baby is old enough as you do not want to make them anxious! (Image courtesy of safehandsbabysitters.com)

For example: Babies will put their left hand down to 'save' themselves as they tip to the left

Activate their tummy and spinal muscles in a coordinated way. As your toddler gently rocks back and forth with you in boat/rowing pose they will be alternatively activating and working their tummy and then their back muscles. These muscle groups have to work together for activities such and sitting and rolling

Organise their sensations and movements. Our vestibular sense tells where our body is in relation to gravity and whether we are moving or still, the receptors for this sense are in our inner ears. This sense begins to function in the womb, at about 5 months after conception, and is well developed at birth. As your toddler starts to move into standing their vestibular sense starts to play a bigger role in the overall organisation of their senses and movements. This is because stimulation of vestibular sense helps the brain to sort out and combine the huge variety of other sensations it will be experiencing and it also underpins the control of posture, balance and movement. Although you cannot see this organisation happening you will probably know when your toddler wants to be rocked as in rowing/boat pose – sensations that make your toddler feel happy tend to be ‘organising'.

Start to control their ‘levels of alertness’ ready for learning. The vestibular sense plays an important role in balancing our ‘state of alertness or activity’ i.e. faster rocking movements, which quickly stimulate our vestibular system, tend to raise our alertness levels and increase our overall muscle tone and activity, whilst gentle rocking movements, slowly stimulate our vestibular system and lower our levels of arousal helping our muscles to relax and our body to calm down. Hence if you wish to calm your toddler, try doing gentle rocking in rowing/boat pose, alternatively if your toddler is wide awake, and wanting to play, they will probably enjoy more vigorous rowing actions as they experience the movement of their body against gravity. However, do not do these more vigorous rocking movements for too long as they may become too much for your toddler and then their overall effect will become disorganising. As your toddler’s vestibular system matures over the first few years of their life they will be increasingly able to keep themselves in a calm but alert state, which is the ideal state for investigating and learning about new things.

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

So … The Adventure This Week ..

In this week’s adventure Tatty Bumpkin takes on the challenge of building a boat so that she and Rabbit can explore the open seas.

As the two friends bob up and down on the ocean they meet their friend the octopus. They give him a friendly wave before heading on their way.

Soon Tatty Bumpkin and Rabbit come across a desert island – all seems still and quiet as they set off to explore. Then right in the middle of the island they come across a group of huge statues standing still and tall.....

This story will give your child an opportunity to:

1. Develop their social skill as they do boat pose with their friends

2. Come up with their own ideas to help Tatty Bumpkin build her boat

3. Use gestures or words to express their feelings. Feeling:

‘Excited’ as they set sail on the open seas

‘Happy’ when they meet their friend the octopus

Perhaps a little ‘worried’ as they set off to explore the island

‘Surprised’ and ‘curious’ as they meet the statues.

4. Develop their sense of rhythm as they wave their arms and legs to the Tatty Bumpkin Octopus song

5. Calm themselves and become more aware of their breathing as they stand ‘still as statues’

6. Develop their fine motor skills as they explore the statues and help Tatty Bumpkin build her boat

7. Have fun with their friends: rowing across the ocean, dancing with the octopus and meeting and exploring the statues.

Strange statues ....

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

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

2013 – 2014 Term 2 Week 3: Tatty Bumpkin's Pose for the Week is Butterfly!

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

The posture for the week in Tatty Bumpkin classes is butterfly.

This week Tatty Bumpkin sets off on an adventure into the mountains. She finds one mountain full of very busy people and animals and another mountain full of very gloomy people and animals.

Tatty Bumpkin has a think – what to do? How can she help?

Then she remembers her friends the ‘Magical Mountain Butterflies’. Maybe they would be able to calm and cheer up these busy and gloomy mountain folk?

Come and find whether Tatty Bumpkin’s idea works out at your local Tatty Bumpkin class – do remember to pack your hat, climbing shoes and sun cream!

Butterfly Pose

What colour are your butterfly wings?

Description of Butterfly Pose - Older children

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

Two butterflies flutter by!

How to do it (What to tell your child)

Sit on the floor, or on a little cushion, and bring the soles of your feet together. Hold onto your feet with both hands and gently move your knees up and down as if your legs are butterfly wings. Imagine what colour your wings might be.
Note to parents: It is helpful for your child to become aware of a ‘good’ sitting posture whilst they are doing butterfly pose (See section on ‘Why Butterfly pose is Good for Me’). To realise this ‘good sitting position’ your child needs to sit up as straight as they can by pushing up through their ‘sit bones’. To help your child find out where their sit bones are guide them to sit on their hands whilst in butterfly pose and then to slowly rock forwards and backwards over their hands. They will feel a ‘boney’ bit in each of their buttocks – this is their ‘sit bone’ (the bone at the base of their pelvis). It maybe that your child finds it quite hard to sit up in this way they will have to gently arch their lower back and sit up tall!

Want to make it harder?

Sit on the floor with your knees out to the side and your feet together as above. This time hold onto your big toes with your index fingers, balance on your bottom, and lift your legs up one at a time. Try to straighten your knee as much as you can!

It can be hard work being a butterfly!

Then try to lift both your legs up together! Slowly try to straighten your knees to make really big butterfly wings! To rest, lean forward over your feet like a sleeping butterfly.

Being a King or Queen Butterfly!

Butterfly pose – Younger children and Toddlers

Being butterflies together

Description of pose

Find a comfortable place to sit with your young toddler. If it is comfortable to do so, sit with the soles of your feet together, letting your knees fall out to either side like fluttering butterfly wings. If this position is not comfortable either try siting on a small cushion or sit cross legged. Now sit your toddler in front of you, if you are sitting in butterfly pose yourself it is nice to let them sit inside the circle of your legs. Gently encourage your toddler to bring the soles of their feet together so that their knees also fall out to the side in butterfly pose.
N.B.Some mums may find sitting in the butterfly position very uncomfortable especially if they have had ‘pubis symphysis’ pain during and after pregnancy. If this is the case do not strain your pelvis and sit either in side sitting or back on your heels.

Other Games to Play in Butterfly Pose

Blow those butterflies up high!

Blowing Butterflies - Cut out some paper butterflies (origami paper is best as this is stronger). Then spread out a piece of blue fabric or maybe a flower drawn on a large piece of paper in front of you and your child. Encourage your child blow the paper butterflies up into the sky (the blue fabric) or onto the flower. Giving your child something to aim at when they blow their butterfly will help them to focus and to persist.
If your child is finding it hard to ‘get the hang of’ blowing, you can make this easier by placing the butterfly on the back of your hand and encouraging your child try and blow the butterfly from this position. Once they have the idea, your child can try to put the butterfly from the back of their own hand.

Do butterfly pose and the blowing game to Tatty Bumpkin Butterfly song – you can either download Tatty Bumpkin Butterfly song from iTunes or ask your Tatty Bumpkin teacher about the Tatty Bumpkin CD – Butterfly song has a lovely, relaxing beat which you can follow as you do butterfly pose with your child.

Why Butterfly Pose is ‘Good For Me’

As your child does butterfly pose they will be:

Improving their sitting posture for better hand skills. Butterfly pose will help to improve your child’s sitting balance, sitting posture and arm movements. As your child does butterfly pose encourage them to ‘push up’ from the surface they are sitting on, through their ‘sit bones’ (these are called the ‘ischial tuberosities') which are at the base of their pelvis. It is interesting to note that generally babies develop this ability to push up through their ‘sit bones’ and lengthen their spines at around 6 months and this action is extremely important for allowing freer movement of the arms whilst in the sitting position (see below). Over time we fall into bad habits and start to slump whilst sitting down - putting extra strain on our lower backs.

Most classroom chairs do nothing to encourage a good sitting posture as they tend to be ‘bucket’ shaped which tend to cause children to sit in a ‘slumped’ position. In a slumped position your child may tend to scoot their bottom forwards on their chair, rocking their pelvis backwards and hence curling their lower back rather than arching it. This incorrect pelvic position leads to a poor sitting posture which consequently might affect their fine motor skills (i.e. writing skills) or cause back stiffness. By doing Butterfly pose your child will become more aware of their sitting posture, which will help them throughout their lives.

Improving their eye/hand coordination. As your child plays with the paper butterflies they will be continuing to develop their ability to follow an object with their eyes as it moves through the air – ‘tracking skills’ - and time their hand movements to reach out for it. Paper butterflies are ideal as they float through the air slower, giving your child time to react.

Gently stretching their hip and thigh muscles. Butterfly pose will give your child the chance to stretch the muscles on the front and inside of their thigh – an ideal pose to do, along with other games, after sitting for a while!

Practicing their breathing skills. Blowing the paper butterflies is a great way to encourage your child to become more aware of their breath. Taking deeper breaths will help your child to calm themselves.

‘Why Butterfly Pose is Good for Your Toddler'

As your toddler sits with you in Butterfly pose they will be:

Developing the control of their upper body and arms movements in the sitting position.Being able to sit in a variety of positions is vital for efficient development of arm and hand movements i.e.

Crucially from about 7 months your toddler will be starting to push down through their ‘sit bones’ against the floor or seat (The sit bones are the boney projections at the base of your pelvis - to feel your own ‘sit bones’ sit on your hands and slowly rock forwards, you will gradually feel the two boney areas). When your toddler starts to actively push down through their sit bones their arms will be able to do freer movements
From about eight months you may notice your baby or toddler is tending to sit by themselves in a kind of 'butterfly pose' - bringing one of their legs closer to their body. This sitting position requires more control and balance but allows your toddler to both reach for toys and move between sitting and crawling with greater ease (see picture courtesy of yaymicro.com). As your toddler reaches forward in butterfly pose, maybe to catch a paper butterfly, they will be learning how to move their chest and body over their hips and legs. Encourage your toddler’s ‘reaching skills’ by placing the paper butterfly to either side of them so they have to reach diagonally and/or twist round to pick it up.

Sitting with one leg held closer to their body

Gently stretching their hip and thigh muscles. Butterfly pose will give your toddler the chance to stretch the muscles on the front and inside of their thigh – an ideal pose to do, along with other games, after sitting in the buggy for a while!

Becoming more aware of their feet. As you guide your toddler to bring their feet together in butterfly pose you will be bringing their attention to their feet. Even in the sitting position, your toddler will be using their feet to keep themselves steady - next time you are playing with your toddler in sitting look closely at how they change the position of their feet to balance themselves. It is a great idea to give your toddler time to sit with just bare feet so they have a chance to actively move and strengthen their foot and ankle muscles. In butterfly pose you may see your toddler curling their foot inwards and up strengthening these muscles around their ankle (see picture courtesy of colourbox.com).

Using foot muscles to keep balance whilst sitting

Improving their eye/hand coordination. As your toddler plays with the paper butterflies they will be improving their ability to follow an object with their eyes as it moves through the air (tracking skills) and time their hand movements to reach out for it. Paper butterflies are ideal as they float through the air slower, giving your toddler time to react. N.B do not make your ‘butterflies’ out of tissue paper as the dye can come off if your toddler puts them in their mouth!

Improving their hand (fine motor) skills. Picking up paper butterflies in and out of butterfly pose will give your toddler the chance to perfect their finger movements. Progress the game by putting a pot or bowl in the middle of the room then encourage your toddler to pick up a butterfly, walk over to the bowl, and then drop it into the pot!

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.

So … The Adventure This Week ..

In this week’s adventure Tatty Bumpkin sets off into the mountains. She is amazed by the stillness and quietness of the huge mountains and is filled with wonder at their beautiful snowy tops.

But all is not well. On one mountain she discovers all the people and animals are rushing around like crazy, never taking the time to stop! They are flying aeroplanes, driving trains – just busy, busy, busy! Whilst on another mountain all the people and animals are very sad. They are crying and making mournful faces…

What can Tatty Bumpkin do to calm the ‘busy mountain’ folk and cheer up the ‘gloomy mountain’ folk?

Then Tatty Bumpkin remembers her fiends the ‘Magical Mountain Butterflies’ – surely they can help? So off she goes - striding down the mountain paths and scrambling over the rocks and boulders.

Will Tatty Bumpkin find the magical butterflies and will they be able to help? Come and find out at your local Tatty Bumpkin class!

Climbing over the mountians

This story will give your child an opportunity to:

Become more aware of a good sitting posture as they do butterfly pose
Use gestures or words to express their feelings – imagining they are feeling:
‘Rushed’ and ‘tired’ with the busy mountain people and animals
‘Sad‘ with the unhappy mountain folk
‘Happy’ and ‘Calm’ with the magical Mountain Butterflies
Develop their sense of rhythm as they stretch and flutter to Tatty Bumpkin Butterfly song
Express their own ideas as they think of:

1. Things to pack in their rucksacks on this mountain adventure
2. The different shaped mountains or different coloured butterflies they would like to be

Calm themselves and become more aware of their breathing as they blow the paper butterflies
Have fun with their friends: standing as still as mountains, flying as aeroplanes, climbing over the rocks and boulders and then playing with the magical butterflies.

Flying as aeroplanes on the busy mountain!

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

Monday, November 11, 2013

2013 – 2014 Term 2 Week 2: Tatty Bumpkin's Pose for the Week is Cat!

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

The activity for this week in Tatty Bumpkin classes is cat pose.

This week Tatty Bumpkin meets the stretchy, stripy cat and together they set out to discover what people do all day.

They meet:

The bus driver taking the children to school and the people to the shops
The farmer working in his field
The builders carefully building houses of all different shapes and sizes.

Lookout! A house is on fire! Tatty Bumpkin thinks fast and calls the fire brigade – in no time the fire fighters are tackling the blaze.

Which job would you like to do when you are older? Would you like to be a bus driver, a farmer, a builder or a fire fighter or maybe something completely different?

What Cat Pose Looks Like

Description of Cat Pose - Older children

Note to parents - It is always best to do cat pose with your child so they can copy you, this is especially true if your child is younger. If you know you have back problems then be careful as you arch your back up in cat pose and do stop if the movement hurts or irritates your back further.

How to do it (What to tell your child)

Kneel on all fours with your hands under your shoulders and your knees under your hips imagining you are a very clever cat. Sowly arch your back upwards towards the ceiling then downwards towards the ground. Be careful not to arch your back downwards too deeply. Then meow just like a cat! Stretch out one arm or leg to shake either your paw or tail. Put them back on the floor and shake your other paw or tail as you are a magic cat with two tails!!

Want to make it harder?

Wave your magic tail!

Start kneeling on all fours, stretch out one arm or paw and then your opposite leg or tail, lifting them both off the floor at the same time! Put them back on the floor and repeat, this time stretching out your other arm and leg.

Description of Cat pose – Younger children and Toddlers

Crawl as cats - looking for mice!

Note to parents
As with all poses it is best to do the pose yourself so your toddler can copy you. Find a mat or area of carpet and move onto your hands and knees into cat pose, encouraging you toddler to join you.If you do not have any back problems, you can tuck your chin in towards your chest and gently arch your back towards the ceiling – like a cat having a stretch. Try to breathe out and tighten your tummy muscles as you do the movement. Hold this arched position for a few seconds, breathing normally but keeping your tummy muscles tight, then gently bring your back down to the starting position - once again encourage your toddler to copy you.

Other games with Cat Pose

Once in cat pose you can:

Make meowing ‘cat’ sounds with your toddler or young child along with funny faces – this is great for early communication skills.

Go looking for mice! Hide a toy under a rug or chair and then pretend to be cats – setting off to find it! If your child is younger, you may have to repeat this game several times so they get the idea, remember to make questioning/ thinking gestures with your toddler as you ‘wonder’ where the toy is.

Find a blanket or sheet and place over two chairs to make a little cat house – then do cat pose with your child crawling in and out of your new home!

Cut out a small piece of white fabric and place it on the floor in front of your child, this is their ‘milk’! Often giving your child a ‘goal’ makes the activity more meaningful for them and helps their motivation to ‘keep on trying’. Encourage your child to come forward onto their hands more and to bend their elbows so they touch the 'milk' with their noses – just like a cat sniffing the milk to see if it will taste good!(see picture above)

Download Tatty Bumpkin Cat song from iTunes or ask your Tatty Bumpkin teacher for the Tatty Bumpkin CD. Then move and stretch as cats along to the words of the song.

Why it is ‘Good For Me’

It is good for children of all ages to have the chance to play on their hands and knees in the crawl position as this activity has so many benefits. In cat pose your toddler or child will be:

Strengthening their whole body. As your child moves into cat pose they will be have to use a range of muscles to keep their body up off the floor. In cat pose they will be strengthening their back, tummy, shoulder, arm, leg, and hand muscle.
Stretching out their back muscles. Perfect after sitting for a while.
Developing their fine motor skills. If your child is younger, cat pose encourages them to take weight through their hands and stretch their wrist joints as they do this they will be developing the arches in their hands and their fine hand muscles. If your child is older, cat pose will increase the overall activity in their shoulder muscles and this will indirectly help their hand and writing skills. The activity of stretching out one arm whilst using the other for support mimics the writing action; hence it is a great pre-writing skill
Strengthening their shoulder and tummy muscles for development of their rib cage (toddlers). In cat pose your toddler will particularly strengthen their shoulder and their deeper tummy muscles. These two muscle groups work together to stabilise their rib cage into a more mature, downward position. Rib cage strength is important as more complex movements often rely on rib cage stability
Forming their spinal curves (toddlers). The action of crawling will help your toddler to further develop the natural curves in their back. This is important for good posture as they get older
Advancing their visual skills (toddlers). As your toddler crawls round the room, negotiating furniture, they will be using their “distance vision” to look ahead. Occasionally they will be stopping to play with a toy or look at their hands and this will require them to use their ‘near vision’. This refocusing and adjustment is excellent training for their eye muscles and will help your toddler to start to use their eyes together – binocular vision. Good binocular vision is essential for reading and writing.
Progressing their social, cognitive (thinking) and emotional development (toddlers). Crawling will open up a whole new world for your toddler giving them the chance to experience a wider range of emotions and tackle new challenges i.e. As your toddler crawls:

They will feel increasingly independent – they are now able to move to where they want to be by themselves!
They will be motivated to explore and will start to set themselves a variety of goals. For example, your toddler may decide to crawl across the room to pick up a toy they want. If they manage to get their toy - they will obviously experience those warm feelings of success and this will boost their self-confidence. If, on the other hand, the toy remains frustratingly out of reach, maybe having rolled under a chair, your toddler will then have to problem solve and this will boost their thinking skills. In this example they may try to reach forward with one hand or go down on their tummy to retrieve their toy.

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

So … The Adventure This Week ..

In this weeks adventure Tatty Bumpkin and Cat find out about all the different jobs people can do. Each job has its good bits and bad bits – a bus driver might enjoy driving their bus but they do have to sit down all day. The farmer can move about – but then they might get cold if it rains. The fire-fighters seem to have an exciting job – but then it can be very hard work fighting fires!

What kind of job do you think is best for you? Do you like: moving about and being outside, making or growing things or maybe you enjoy doing something with machines or perhaps helping other people?

Come and think about different jobs whilst, of course, having fun at your local Tatty Bumpkin class.

Drive over the hills - whizz round corners in your bus!

Be careful as you plant those seeds!

This story will give your child an opportunity to:

1. Strengthen and stretch a range of muscles as they do cat and cycling poses

2. Use gestures or words to express their feelings – imagining they are feeling:

‘Curious’ like cat at the beginning of the story - wondering what people do all day?
‘Cold’ like the framer in the field as it starts to rain
‘Tired’ and ‘hot’ like the builders and the fire-fighters
‘Happy’ and ‘pleased with themselves’ - like anyone who feels they have done their job well

3. Develop their sense of rhythm as they crawl and stretch to Tatty Bumpkin Cat song

4. Express their own ideas as they think off different shaped houses they would like to build or different jobs they would like to do

5. Calm themselves and try to stand really still as they ‘wait for a bus’!

6.Have fun with their friends: driving over the hills and whizzing round the corners as bus drivers, carefully planting seeds in the ground as farmers, building different shaped houses as builders and working together to put out the fire as fire fighters!

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