Stretch, Roll and Laugh Together in Tatty Bumpkin's Crocodile Pose!

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

Last week The British Heart Foundation published 'The Best Start in Life' Manifesto based on evidence which points to how exercise not only reduces obesity but also increases brain development and social and emotional well-being.  http://www.bhfactive.org.uk/beststart/index.html. 

Sam Petter, founder of Tatty Bumpkin, explained on Sky news how inspiring children to be more active can be achieved through playful activities which ignite their imagination and nurture the innate love of movement they are born with - setting the foundations for a lifelong awareness of 'how to keep your body healthy'  https://www.facebook.com/tattybumpkin/videos/873853476047035/?theater. 

Surely activity needs to be more a way of life which is enjoyed and revelled in - rather than a chore to do? So this week laugh and have fun with your child rolling and stretching in crocodile pose - maybe doing your own moves to the Tatty Bumpkin crocodile song! https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/this-is-the-life/id376347823. 

Tatty Bumpkin's Crocodile Pose

Ideally, try to do Crocodile pose with your child, or encourage brothers and sisters to join in, as: 

• Children, and definitely those under 3 years, learn new movements best by copying the actions.
• Research is showing that toddlers and young children bond with their parents and ‘key people’ not only through touch but also by moving with them.
• Crocodile pose will give you a chance to stretch out your back and upper chest muscles.  Remember though, if you have issues with your muscles or joints, do check with a health professional to make sure that this pose is appropriate for you. If you know your back is vulnerable be very careful and only do the ‘snapping’ actions on your side! 

How to Tatty Bumpkin's Crocodile Yoga Activity

Snap as a crocodile!

• Find a space on a carpet or mat where you and your child can safely stretch out and roll as crocodiles. 
• Take off your shoes and socks. So you can feel your feet … 
• Lie on your tummies – facing each other and do a gentle smile to show off your crocodile teeth! 
• Stretch your arms out in front of you, keeping your palms together and roll over onto one side.
• Take your hands and arms apart a little way – then bring your palms together to ‘Snap’!  
• After you have a done several snaps on one side, roll over and do a few more snaps o your other side!! 
• If your child is younger – start the activity by lying on your side facing your child and encourage them to lie on their side as well - so they are facing you. See picture below. In this position you can gently guide your young child’s arms into a snapping action. Once they have the idea – they can then do the snaps by themselves – copying you. 

Snap, snap, snap!!

To Progress Crocodile Yoga Activity 

Imagine you are a crocodile in the river, catching a fish!  

• Cut out a ‘fish’ shape out of card or spongy paper and thread a piece of string through one end . Make sure your fish is big enough so it is not a choking hazard for your child and never leave your child unattended with the fish prop. 

• As your child does crocodile pose on their tummy, dangle the fish in front of their out-stretched hands and encourage them to reach up and snap at it! See your child can catch the fish between their hands. This great activity helps your child improve their eye-hand co-ordination and it is fun as well! 

Why Crocodile Pose is Good for Your Child

As you do crocodile yoga activity with your child they will have a chance to: 

1. Develop their body balance and co-ordination for sporting and classroom skills  
As your child rolls on their side in crocodile pose they will: 

• Become more aware of the right and left hand sides of their body. This will help them to progress their general coordination skills. Your child will use these basic skills when they do sports such as football or dance or when sit down to draw or write. 

• Increase the activity in their shoulder, back, tummy and hip muscles - their ‘core muscles’. Strengthening and increasing awareness of these muscle groups will improve your child’s sitting posture and help their hand skills. 

2. Develop their awareness of the 'midline' of their body - for dressing quickly! 
As your child brings their palms together to ‘snap’ as a crocodile, they will be increasing their awareness of their ‘middle’. As zips and buttons tend to be placed in the middle of clothing – crocodile Yoga activity can help your child with their dressing skills. 

3. Develop their eye –hand coordination - for sporting skills and reading and writing
As you child snaps for the fish prop they will be refining their both their eye-hand co-ordination and their visual tracking skills. Not only are these skills useful for sports they are also key for reading and writing. 

The Tatty Bumpkin Adventure this Week

Remember, for you and your child to gain the full benefit of all the Tatty Bumpkin Yoga and multi-sensory activities, find out about your local Tatty Bumpkin class at http://www.tattybumpkin.com/classes/find-class.html. Or, ask your child’s nursery if they are doing Tatty Bumpkin Yoga activity sessions as part of their day. 

Our qualified Tatty Bumpkin Teachers are fully trained in aspects of child development and Yoga and are kept fully up-to-date by our professional team of paediatric physiotherapists, Yoga teachers and musicians. All the Tatty Bumpkin stores are aligned to the Early Years Foundation Stage and the Curriculum for Excellence this means the sessions not only enhance your child’s physical skills they also develop their communication, social and thinking skills.

If your child is going to a Tatty Bumpkin class this week they will go on an adventure with her to find the crocodile in the river. On this adventure your child and will have a chance to: 

• Physically, develop their balance and co-ordination as they roll as crocodiles, stomp as elephants and tiptoe as giraffes!! 

Waving your elephant trunks!

• Develop their imagination and thinking skills as they come up with own ideas on how to cross the river safely.

• Progress their communication skills as they listen, and follow the movements, to the Tatty Bumpkin Crocodile song and tell Tatty Bumpkin how they plan to cross the river. 

• But, best of all, your child will have fun with others as they snap and smile as crocodiles or make an elephant train altogether! 

Enjoying doing crocodile pose with your friends!

Love Tatty Bumpkin x

A New Start with Tatty Bumpkin in 2016? 

Or, maybe, you are thinking of a new career for 2016, which gives you:

• The opportunity to work with kids
• A great sense of job satisfaction and
• Flexible working to fit around your own family

Find out how you could be trained to deliver Baby and Tatty Bumpkin classes in your area at http://www.tattybumpkin.com/business/index.html. 

Enjoying life with Tatty Bumpkin! 

Tatty Bumpkin Yoga Breath Activity to Calm, Feed and Organise Young Minds!

 By Sue Heron Paediatric Physiotherapist and Tatty Bumpkin Programme Co-ordinator 

This week's blog is inspired by several recent events.. 
Firstly a friend has enrolled on a Mindfulness course – she has promised herself that she would just slow down and enjoy the moment for at least a short time during her day!

Secondly a Tatty Bumpkin Franchisee shared with me the joyfulness expressed by a class of three year old children who were doing Tatty Bumpkin in their nursery. She told me how they  just revelled in the sensory nature of one of her props - the spidery fabric canopy! They loved touching and stroking it, they loved the sensation if they wrapped themselves up in it and they just loved looking at it as they crawled underneath! 

Thirdly I have been researching new aspects of 'sensory processing' for our training and classes.

And fourthly blowing feathers is the Tatty Bumpkin activity for this week! 

So here we go.. 

Tatty Bumpkin 'Blowing Feathers' Yoga Breath Activity 

Firstly be safe - supervise young children at all times whilst they are playing with feathers. Feathers can go up noses, into eyes and, of course, end up being chewed or swallowed - always check for sharp ends! If your child is younger try making a 'feather sensory bottle'  - see http://teachingmama.org/how-to-make-a-sensory-bottle/ or felt feathers see http://bit.ly/1BLSzQ3.

Felt Feathers See 

Thank you to the staff and children at 'Nursery on the Green', Enfield, London for sharing their great Tatty Bumpkin class photos! 

Description of Activity 

Look at - and feel your feather

• Gather your feathers, felt or real. Use just a few, say 2 or 3, lots of feathers maybe great fun to start with - but your child is likely to loose focus and become over-exited fairly quickly! Sit down together on a mat or on a clear space of carpet and take off your socks and shoes.  

• Now encourage your child to slow down and truly explore the feathers with ALL their senses:

• Visual sense - Take time to look closely at the feather – what colour is it? It may have many colours. What shape is it? 

• Sense of touch - Show your child how they can stroke the feather over different parts of their body: down their arms, over their nose, forehead and cheeks - ask them how it feels? The feather will feel slightly different on your nose or cheeks compared to your arms. How does it feel between your toes?!

• Body movement senses (proprioception and the vestibular sense) - Now bring in movement to your feather exploration to activate your body senses. 
• Reach out or kneel up and throw the feather in the air, see if you can catch it! Can you dance like a feather?

• Thread the feather between your toes and see if you can wave it in the air using just your feet! Before you do this activity with your child check they have a clear space behind them then, if they do fall backwards, they won't bump their head. Show your child how they can support themselves safely through their hands as they do this game i.e. guide them to place their hands on the floor, behind or beside them, before they lift their feet up – hopefully your child will automatically start to take weight through their hands!  

• Oral sense - Bring out a small container and place it between you both - maybe put a toy bird inside – this is the nest! Encourage your child to blow their feather into the nest. Blowing the feather will help your child to stimulate their ‘oral sense’ without putting the feather in their mouth, giving them a goal e.g. to blow the feather in the nest, will help their attention skills. Your child is more likely to immerse themselves in the game if they see there is a meaning to it and a challenge! Show your child how they can balance the feather on the back of their hand to blow it - this is often easier. If your child is younger balance the feather on the back of your hand and encourage them to blow it off. 

Blowing the feather stimulates both the oral and visual senses
whilst developing 'concentration skills'

• Hearing sense - Does the feather make a sound as it moves? Does your breath make a sound? You can also do all of these activities to Tatty Bumpkin’s Feather song. This song has been specially written and composed to go with the activity - meaning the rhythm, words and melody encourage your child to engage with the game rather than be distracted by the music  https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/this-is-the-life/id376347823. 

The Benefits – calming, feeding and organising your child’s mind!

1. Calming and mindfulness 
Children are naturally mindful, at a young age they are completely absorbed by the world - exploring it using all their senses. This means a child is completely caught in the moment and not distracted by the ‘what ifs’ or ‘if onlys’. Look how your child becomes absorbed in the feather – maybe fully immersed in trying to get it between their toes or to blow it! Your child needs the space and time to cultivate this precious natural born mindfulness other-wise it may be quickly lost in the ‘hub bub’ of life. 
As you and your child take deeper breaths to blow the feather, your heart rates will automatically slow and your blood pressures will lower slightly – helping you both to calm down and relax.  

2. Sensory Processing skills
Sensory processing is the way we take in, analyse and respond to sensory signals from our bodies the environment. Although these processing skills develop naturally as we mature and explore our world, evidence strongly suggests that early life experiences can also have a big effect on their development. Indeed sensory experiences can re-wire the brain! In a newly published e-book 'Sensory Processing 101' http://theinspiredtreehouse.com/our-book-sensory-processing-101/ the authors (Teachers, OT and PT therapists based in the US) suggest “Thoughtful guided exposure to playful sensory experiences is the best way to promote healthy development of the sensory systems’. At Tatty Bumpkin we agree wholeheartedly! 
Blowing feathers is a great way to specifically develop your child’s oral sensory processing i.e. the way they receive, analyse and respond to information from their mouth and jaw. Children with good oral processing skills are able to:

• Eat a variety of foods – not being overwhelmed (too much) by different textures or tastes. Not only does this mean your child has a healthy, varied diet it can also ensure that they have plenty of chewing and biting experiences just through eating and so do not seek these out in other ways – too much! 
• Cope with experiences such as tooth brushing or visits to the dentist  

So give yourself and your child a break - enjoy a few moments of exploration together with the sensory feather activity – it may well be the best thing you did all day!

Love Tatty Bumpkin

Find out about your local Tatty Bumpkin class at http://www.tattybumpkin.com/classes/find-class.html. Or, ask your child’s nursery if they are doing Tatty Bumpkin Yoga activity sessions as part of their day. 

A New Start with Tatty Bumpkin for 2016?  

Or, maybe, you are thinking of a new career which gives you:

• The opportunity to work with kids
• A great sense of job satisfaction and
• Flexible working to fit around your own family

Find out how you could be trained to deliver Baby and Tatty Bumpkin classes in your area at: http://www.tattybumpkin.com/business/index.html. 

A Tatty Bumpkin teacher helps to expand  a child's world through their body and their mind

Don't be daunted by New Year activity goals. To increase your child's activity levels - 'Every Little Helps!

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

This Year - Don’t be Daunted by Activity Goals

Happy 2016 from Tatty Bumpkin!  

A new year and maybe, amongst those new year resolutions, we have decided that ourselves and our families will be more active. Trouble is we may be tempted to sometimes put off that long walk or find it hard to keep up with that punishing schedule we have set ourselves and our children. 

The good news is - it does not need to be like that! New evidence collected by the British Heart Foundation suggests that one of the best ways to increase your child’s physical activity is to naturally bring the activity into their day in short, regular breaks, 10-15 mins is enough. 

The idea is, these movement breaks, along with longer periods of active play, all add up to reach the daily 3 hours of physical activity recommended for 2-4 year olds. See ‘Physical Activity in the Early Years’. BHF National Centre October 2015 http://www.bhfactive.org.uk/early-years-resources-and-publications-item/40/278/index.html 

The ‘3 hours a day’ activity recommendation can sound daunting, but shorter activity breaks over a 11-12 hour day seem more achievable. The activity can be a mixture of intensity i.e. from light movement and stretching through to running and jumping games. 

The B.H.F report also emphasises that children are more active if their parents are active as well - So remember those 10 minute movement breaks off the sofa, or away from the screen, will all add up for both you and for your child!

Every week Tatty Bumpkin Yoga activity sessions in nurseries, parent and child private venues and children’s centres provide children with at least 30 minutes of adult guided active play based on fun Yoga poses. The Tatty Bumpkin Yoga activity for this week is Starfish.

Tatty Bumpkin’s 10 minute Starfish Yoga Activity for Home 

Try  to do starfish pose with your child - they will love to do it with you and your own body will probably love that 10 minute stretch as well! Remember to respect your body though, if you have any doubts whether you should do the pose speak to a health professional first.

Description

 

• Find a clear place on a mat or carpet where you and your child can do starfish pose without bumping into anything or slipping.  Remember to take off your socks and shoes as this will help you both to use your feet to balance. 

• Start in standing and move your feet so they are fairly wide apart, encourage your child to copy you. Give your child time to find their balance in this position. 

• Then guide your child to stretch their arms out wide - making their body into a star shape. 

Starfish on the beach!

• Some children may find it helpful to do starfish pose by stretching against something. If this is the case give your child a small towel e.g. a folded tea towel or small hand towel and guide them to hold the ends with each hand. Then show them how they can keep hold of the ends of the towel whilst they stretch their arms above their head. 

• To be a starfish in the waves guide your child to rock gently side to side whilst keeping their towel stretched over their head. It’s a bit like waving a scarf at a football match! 

Progressions for Starfish Pose 

'Starfish on the beach' - Guide your child to start in standing with their feet together and their arms by their sides. Then 1, 2, 3, they spy a starfish on the beach! Encourage your child to jump into the starfish pose and back again 

1, 2, 3 see a starfish on the beach!

Starfish saying ‘hello!' - In standing, or lying, guide your child to wave each of their five starfish arms in turn i.e. Encourage your child to wave one leg in the air, then the other, then to wave each arm and finally their head – 1, 2, 3, 4, 5! 

5 Reasons Why Starfish Pose is ‘Good for your Child’ 

1. Provides that 10 minute movement break!

2. Stretches tight muscles 
Starfish pose gives your child (and you) an excellent opportunity to stretch a number of muscles which can become tight - especially after sitting for a while. These muscles include:

• The 'pectoral' muscles which run over the front of the chest
• The 'biceps' and 'triceps' muscles in the arms 
• The back muscles 
• The muscles round the hips
• The leg muscles i.e. the 'quadriceps', which run down the front of the thigh, and 'gracilis' muscles, which run down the inside of the thigh. 

3. Improves body awareness 
As your child grows their body obviously changes shape, indeed your child may be quite surprised to see how far they can reach with their arms in starfish pose!  Activities and games which remind your child where their body begins and ends will not only increase their understanding of body but also their overall body confidence.

4. Strengthens core muscles
As your child rocks side to side in starfish pose, especially if they are pulling against a towel, they will be activating their core muscles i.e. their shoulder, spine, tummy and hip muscles. These muscles are not only important for sporting skills they are also needed for desk top skills and handwriting. 

5. Refines balance skills  
As your child waves their starfish arms – lifting up one leg and then the other they will be working on their balance skills. Remember you can bring some maths into the pose by encouraging your child to count 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, as they wave each limb!

Ideas to Bring Starfish Pose into your Child’s Day 

Below are some play ideas to help you bring starfish pose into your child’s day:

Wake up sleepy starfish! Encourage your child to stretch in starfish pose a few times to wake themselves up in the morning.

‘Good morning’ starfish. Encourage your child to wave their starfish arms in turn to say ‘hello to the day’ and their family. 

‘Leafy’ starfish. When out for a walk see your child can find a leaf that looks a bit like starfish. Then encourage them to do starfish pose holding their leaf or leaves! 

‘Goodnight’ starfish.  When it gets dark encourage your child to look up at the stars, or to find a star in a picture book, and then say ‘goodnight’ to it in their starfish pose!  

Say 'good night' to the stars! 

Love Tatty Bumpkin x

Find out about your local Tatty Bumpkin class at http://www.tattybumpkin.com/classes/find-class.html. Or, ask your child’s nursery if they are doing Tatty Bumpkin Yoga activity sessions as part of their day. 

A New Start in 2016 with Tatty Bumpkin?  

Maybe, you are thinking of a new career which gives you:

• The opportunity to work with kids
• A great sense of job satisfaction and
• Flexible working to fit around your own family

Find out how you could be trained to deliver Baby and Tatty Bumpkin classes in your area at: http://www.tattybumpkin.com/business/index.html. 

Tatty Bumpkin’s Rowing and Mouse Yoga Poses – Sensory food for the brain!

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

Currently, in Tatty Bumpkin Classes, children will be focusing on two Yoga activities:rowing and mouse. 

Both of these poses will stimulate your child’s proprioceptive sensory system, helping them to become more aware of their body position and to manage their emotional state, especially their ‘level of alertness’. 

What is Proprioception?

In 1826 Sir Charles Bell described proprioception as a sense - he called it the sixth sense! He defined it as the sensation which makes us aware of our body position both when we are still and when we are moving. 

More recent definitions of proprioception include 'our awareness of any changes in the length and tension of our muscles when we move our joints'. This means our proprioceptive sense is stimulated every time we move a muscle or push or pull on our joints - even against a very slight resistance.
The specialised cells that pick up proprioception- our proprioceptors – are found deep in our muscles, tendons and joints.  

To become more aware of your proprioceptive sense and how amazing it is – try this game:

Take one hand above your head, carefully bring your index finger of that hand down to touch your nose. No problem? Now try it with your eyes closed – be careful not to poke your eye! You may be amazed at how accurate you are even though you cannot track the path of your finger with your eyes – this is your proprioceptive sense at work! 

Touch your nose with your eyes closed!

• It is our proprioceptive sense which will help us to use just right amount of force to pick up a heavy bag of books or a lighter piece of paper. 
• Our proprioceptive sense works with our sense of touch to help us to grip a pencil or a glass with just the right amount of pressure. 
• Our proprioceptive sense works with our vestibular sense (movement sense) to help us move and explore in a safe and coordinated way. 

A Healthy Proprioceptive System and your Child 

A healthy proprioceptive system will allow your child:

• To write efficiently and smoothly with a pencil - without pushing so hard that they break the tip or go through the paper. 
• To drink from a paper cup without crushing it. 
• To hold a family pet gently!
• To actively play and explore in a coordinated and efficient way – not being too rough with their friends or bumping into too many things! 

Children using their proprioception to play together in a Tatty Bumpkin class

The Regulating Role of Proprioception 

So far I have talked about how the proprioceptive system helps us to be more aware of our body and so co-ordinate our movement – whether we are looking or not – but proprioception also has a wondrous effect on our emotional state and hence our behaviour. 

Proprioception is the sense our bodies will accept and tolerate the best-along with deep pressure touch for this reason it is often called the ‘safe sense’ by paediatric occupational and physiotherapists. Proprioception has regulatory influence over all our sensory systems and helps us to manage our ‘level of arousal’, this is especially true for children.

Proprioception can have

• A calming effect on your child. For example if they have become:
• Very excited as a result of movement e.g. after jumping up and down or visiting fairground or soft play areas. 
• Very anxious or upset as a result of touch e.g. they have felt something they dislike – scratchy clothes!

• An organising effect on your child. For example if they are finding it hard to sit still - constantly fidgeting. 

• A gentle alerting effect on your child. For example if they are finding it hard to wake up in the morning! 

This means proprioceptive rich activities can be useful for your child at any-time during their waking day in almost any situation –it’s your 'go-to sense'! 
Providing your child with appropriate amounts of proprioceptive rich activities throughout their day, as often they need or desire them, could have a very positive effect on their behaviour. 

Movement and Proprioception – The 'Hard Work' sense 

For our proprioceptive sense to be fully stimulated we need to actively move or work our muscles hard! Therapists also call this sense the ‘hard work’ sense!

For example, if we wrap our arms around us we will put pressure on our skin, muscles and joints – but this would largely stimulate our touch receptors. To stimulate our proprioceptors we need to actively squeeze or muscles!
Similarly someone can give us a hug – again this would stimulate our deep touch receptors but if we actively pushed against the hug (in a calm way!) or squeezed our own body ourselves we would also stimulate our proprioceptors. 

Now let’s look at our two Tatty Bumpkin Yoga activities and see the how they can give your child a rich proprioceptive experience. 

Tatty Bumpkin's Rowing Yoga Activity  

Rowing pose is a great activity for your child to do with you – do respect your body though - if you know you have any health issues i.e. back, neck problems always consult a health professional first. 

• Find a clear place on a mat or carpet where you can both do the pose without bumping into anything.  

• Remember to take off socks and shoes – this will enable you and your child to use your feet effectively as you move in rowing pose. 

Row.row the boat!

• Start by sitting opposite your child – with your legs spread apart out in front of you.  Guide your child to position their legs inside yours. If you have tight hamstrings you may have to bend your knees a little so you don’t strain your back.

• Gently hold each other’s wrists - this is much more comfortable than holding hands. 

• Now rock backwards and forwards – working together - one person rocks back as the other comes forward. As you rock sing ‘Row, row the boat!’ This will help you keep a steady rhythm which is important – see below. 

• You, or your child, might feel some ‘tightness’ at the back of your legs as you stretch out your hamstring muscles. This should just be a gentle stretch, if you feel you are straining your back then do bend your knees some more. 

• Watch your child as you do the pose – if they are starting to get too rough or over-excited, stop! Repeat the pose this time offering your child some resistance, so they have to pull more to move your forwards, and keep a steady rhythm. See below on why this can help. 

• Do rowing pose for a verse or two of ‘Row, row the boat’ then take a rest. This will ensure your child does not get too excited. 

Tatty Bumpkin’s Rowing Yoga Activity and the Proprioceptive Sense

As your child your child contracts and stretches their muscles in rowing pose, working their shoulder and tummy muscles,  they will be stimulating their proprioceptive sense. You can gently activate your child’s proprioceptive sense further by:

• Providing them with some resistance as they pull you towards them 
• Encouraging your child to gently offer you some resistance as you pull them towards you! 

As they move their head back and forth in rowing pose your child will also be stimulating another body sense - their vestibular sense. I will talk about this sense in a later blog on Tatty Bumpkin Monkey pose – but essentially the vestibular sense is the ‘volume control button’ for our body. If we move our head vigorously up and down, or round and round, we will be stimulating our vestibular sense and will wake up our whole body! We will feel more alert but doing these activities for too long can make us over-excited or sick! In rowing pose the back and forth head movements are just gently stimulating and if you and your child rock to the steady beat of ‘Row, row the boat’ you will be stimulating your vestibular senses in a controlled way. 

Because of its impact on proprioceptive system, rowing pose is an great ‘movement break’ for your child. You can do the activity to help your child become more alert if they are feeling drowsy, after sitting too long, or to help them regain focus (for homework) if they are fidgeting and wanting to move. 



Additional Benefits of Rowing Pose

1. Improves sitting balance and posture
As your child rocks back and forth in rowing pose they will be working their tummy and back muscles. Strengthening these muscles will help your child maintain a good sitting posture. In addition, your child will be refining their sitting balance skills - these will help them be more aware of an upright sitting posture.  

2. Develops  social and communication skills
As your child does rowing pose with their friends, their nursery worker or you, they will be developing their social and communication skills. 

Tatty Bumpkin's  Mouse Yoga Activity  

Mouse pose is another great activity for your child to do with you. 

• Find a clear place on a non-slip surface e.g. mat or carpet where you can the pose without bumping into anything.  

• Remember to take off socks and shoes so your child is more aware  of their feet as they curl them up. 

A tiny, little mouse!

• Sit back on your heels on the mat or carpet opposite your child and encourage them to do the same.  Show your child how to they can curl forwards to bring their head down to the floor in front of their knees. Often the instruction ‘kiss your knees’ can be helpful. 

• If your child lies on their tummy instead, reassure them and show them the pose again – you might have to gently guide younger children into the curled mouse position. 

• Once curled up encourage older children to imagine they are squeezing their body into the smallest possible space – just like a tiny, tiny mouse! Remember to truly stimulate their proprioceptive sense your child needs to actively squeeze their body and work their muscles. 

• Encourage your child to hold the mouse pose for 5 – 10 seconds.  Then maybe move up into crawl to scamper forwards like a mouse on the mat!! 

• Repeat mouse pose a few times – encouraging your child to curl up and squeeze their body, 

Tiny, little mouse!

Tatty Bumpkin’s Mouse Yoga Activity and the Proprioceptive Sense

As your child curls up and squeezes their body to be a tiny little mouse they will be stimulating their proprioceptive sense. Because they are not moving their head in this pose your child will not have the added stimulation from their vestibular sense – this makes mouse pose a very calming, organising pose for your child. 

Encourage your child to be a mouse if they are finding it hard to settle down after playing with their friends or are needing to calm down for bath and bed after being out shopping in a busy street with you. 


Additional Benefits of Mouse Pose 

1. Improves muscle strength and co-ordination
In mouse pose your child will be curling up or ‘flexing’ their whole body. Full body flexion requires the brain and body to activate all of the flexor muscles of the body at once, which not only helps your child to strengthen these muscle groups but also helps your child to co-ordinate them as a group. 

2. Develops fine motor skills
Encourage your child to move their fingers to ‘twitch their mouse whiskers’ this will help them strengthen their fingers for fine motor skills such as writing and doing up buttons.

Proprioceptive Activities to Help your Child Regulate Themselves over Christmas! 

Christmas is exciting! So naturally your child may spend a great deal of their day in a hyper-alert state.  

In the next post I will suggest some proprioceptive activities which can help your child feel more grounded at this time of year! 

Love Tatty Bumpkin x

Find out about your local Tatty Bumpkin class at http://www.tattybumpkin.com/classes/find-class.html. Or, ask your child’s nursery if they are doing Tatty Bumpkin Yoga activity sessions as part of their day. 

A New Start with Tatty Bumpkin?  

Or, maybe, you are thinking of a new career which gives you:

• The opportunity to work with kids
• A great sense of job satisfaction and
• Flexible working to fit around your own family

Find out how you could be trained to deliver Baby and Tatty Bumpkin classes in your area at: http://www.tattybumpkin.com/business/index.html. 

Tatty Bumpkin’s Owl Yoga Activity – A wise activity for your child’s back health and handwriting skills.

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

Tatty Bumpkin's Owl Yoga activity is a fun way for your child to stretch and 'open out' their upper back and chest muscles – giving them a chance to counteract a hunched sitting position. 

Owl Pose – Tatty Bumpkin’s Yoga Activity for the Week 

• Try to do Owl pose with your child - they will find it much easier to do if they can copy you and doing the pose together will support the bonding process between you both. Do respect your body though - if you know you have any health issues i.e. back, neck problems always consult a health professional first. 

• Find a clear place on a non-slip surface e.g. mat or carpet where you can both do Owl pose without bumping into anything.  

• Remember to take off socks and shoes – this will enable you and your child to use your feet effectively as you move in Owl pose.

• Start the pose by either curling forwards with your arms tucked in (see picture above) or sit back on your heels on the mat with your arms resting by your sides - encourage your child to copy you.

• Then ‘Twit, twoo!' Kneel up together whilst spreading your arms out to your sides and then over your heads - see picture above. Hoot “Twit-twooo!”

• Repeat Owl pose several times encouraging your child to really stretch their arms out wide – they may be surprised how far their arms can reach. These arm movements are the perfect antidote to 'texting' and typing – allowing your child to gently stretch out their shoulder, back, chest and neck muscles in a way that feels comfortable to them.

Adaptations and Progressions

To make Owl Pose Easier

If you notice your child is finding it hard to take their arms out to their sides and above their head whilst balancing in kneeling – guide them to do the arm movements of Owl pose sitting cross-legged on the mat or carpet. It's far better that your child does wide, accurate arm movements so they can experience the stretch in their upper body. 

To make Owl Pose Harder 

Start in the squatting position on your mat, balancing on your toes, with your arms by your sides – encourage your child to copy you. 
Together come up into standing waving your arms over your head as before. Hoot “Twit Twooo!” Bring your arms back down to your sides as you squat down. 
Repeat a few times with your child to be truly wise owls!

Benefits of Tatty Bumpkin’s Owl Yoga Activity for Your Child 

Owl pose will give your child the opportunity to:

1. Strengthen their core muscles  
As your child does Owl pose they will be activating and strengthening their ‘core’ muscles - especially their back and shoulder muscles. Strength in these muscles is not only important for more complex sporting skills e.g. rugby, dance or tennis, but also is crucial for good posture, writing skills and daily living skills e.g. dressing.

2. Mobilise and gently stretch their chest muscles
As your child spreads their arms out to either side in Owl pose they will be stretching their ‘pectoral’ muscles which run across the front of their upper chest. These muscle groups can often become tight because - as children do activities such as writing, typing, using mobile phones they are holding these muscles in the shortened position. 

3. Develop their balance skills
As your child does Owl pose they will be refining their balance skills. Balance is a complex process - as children learn to sit, stand and move around they will be developing mature ‘balance reactions’ naturally. If you provide your child with plenty of (safe) opportunities to gently challenge their sense of balance this will help them to refine their balance reactions further.

4. Strengthen their hip and leg muscles
If you child is doing the harder version of Owl pose, moving from squat to stand, they will be specifically strengthening their hip and leg muscles.

Love Tatty Bumpkin x

Find out about your local Tatty Bumpkin class at http://www.tattybumpkin.com/classes/find-class.html. Or, ask your child’s nursery if they are doing Tatty Bumpkin Yoga activity sessions as part of their day. 

A New Start with Tatty Bumpkin?  

Or, maybe, you are thinking of a new career which gives you:

• The opportunity to work with kids
• A great sense of job satisfaction and
• Flexible working to fit around your own family

Find out how you could be trained to deliver Baby and Tatty Bumpkin classes in your area at: http://www.tattybumpkin.com/business/index.html.