By Sue Heron – Training Co-ordinator Tatty Bumpkin and Paediatric Physiotherapist
The pose for this week in Tatty Bumpkin classes is CANDLE.
The holidays might be drawing to a close, but there is still one exciting event to look forward to on Wobble Farm – Dog’s birthday! And Tatty Bumpkin is on a mission to make an extra special birthday cake.
First of all she has a think, and decides feathers and shells would make spectacular decorations. So off she goes, swinging her basket, to visit her friends Owl and Dolphin.
After hooting and blowing feathers with Owl, squeaking and diving in the waves with Dolphin, Tatty Bumpkin returns to Wobble Farm on the train. Her basket is full of exciting things to put on a cake but then she remembers the candles! Uh Oh! Which of her Wobble Farm creature friends might make wax for candles? Any ideas?
In the Tatty Bumpkin classes this week, come and help Tatty Bumpkin make and decorate the ‘Best Bumpkin Birthday Cake’ ever!
What Candle Pose Looks Like!
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| Point your toes to light your candle! |
Description – What to Say to Your Child
Lie on your back and lift your legs, one at a time, bending your knees, into the air above you. Then point your toes; your feet are now the flame on your candle! Ask a friend to blow on your toes as if they are blowing out your candle. As they blow, bring your toes down towards you, flattening your foot (‘unpoint’ your toes) as your candle has gone out! Remember to bend your knees to bring your feet back down to the floor.
Want to make it harder?
Whilst you are holding your feet up above you, ‘have a go’ at:
- Reaching up to touch your toes with your hands
- Balancing a pillow or cushion on the soles of your feet.
Why it is ‘Good For Me’
Candle pose will give your child the opportunity to:
- Strengthen their abdominal muscles. As your child lifts up their legs and holds their feet above their body they will be activating and working their abdominal (tummy) muscles. Good strength and activity in these muscles is important, as they provide a ‘platform’ for good posture and balanced movement. Hence active abdominal muscles will help your child to both sit well and run smoothly.
- Stretch out their hamstring and gastrocnemius (calf) muscles. The hamstring muscles run behind the leg from the pelvic bone to the shin bone (tibia), hence they pass over both the hip and the knee joints. Hamstrings can become tight after sitting for long periods and, when tight, can cause decreased flexibility at both the hip and knee joints - so it’s important not to let hamstrings get too tight! The gastrocnemius muscle runs from the back of the shin bone to the heel bone, passing over the ankle joint. This muscle can get a little tight if your child tends to walk on their tip toes - candle pose is a great way to stretch this muscle whilst having fun!
- Have fun with their friends! Candle pose is great for birthday parties and is a fun way for your child to learn the importance of responding to, and working with, others i.e. your child waits for their friend to blow out their candle flame before they bring their toes down.
Make it Multi-Sensory, Educational & Fun
In Tatty Bumpkin classes we use unique storylines to make the activities meaningful and to fire the imagination.
All our classes are multi-sensory comprising of:
- Adapted yoga poses and activities which both stimulate and calm the body senses
- Dedicated songs and rhythms which are relevant to the stories
- Bespoke hand-woven props to look at and feel. Tatty Bumpkin has its own range of fairly traded animal props to back up the yoga poses and bring the stories to life. Our teachers are supported to use natural props in the classes which are great to feel as opposed to smooth plastic
We have carefully linked each Tatty Bumpkin to the new 2012 Early Years Foundation Stage framework. Importantly supporting children to learn ‘how to learn’ not just focusing on what on they learn.
So … The Adventure This Week ..
Dog’s birthday! Tatty Bumpkin is so excited she dances all the way to the Giggle Tree, her head full of ideas for an extra special cake!
First she finds Owl, hooting on a branch above her head, he kindly gives her some of his feathers he no longer needs. Tatty Bumpkin blows the feathers high above her head and 'has a go' at catching them in her basket.
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| Have a go at blowing your feather in the basket! |
She even experiments with putting the feathers between her toes!
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| Can you catch a feather between your toes? |
Then it is off to the beach to find Dolphin and his family. Dolphin dives through the waves, kindly collecting strange and beautiful shells for Tatty Bumpkin.
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| Dive and dance like a dolphin in the waves! |
Her basket full, Tatty Bumpkin opts to take the train back Wobble Farm. She has to hold on tight to her basket as the train whizzes round the corners, and she nearly knocks it flying, when a loud ‘TOOT’ takes her by surprise!
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| Careful round those corners everyone! |
Back at Wobble Farm she begins to make the cake itself. I wonder what kind of cake she will make? Any ideas?
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| Umm - What is your favourite cake? |
Then Tatty Bumpkin remembers the candles! Oh No! She has to think hard, which one of her Wobble Farm creature friends would be able to help her make a candle? I’ll give you a clue … it begins with a ‘B’!
This story gives your child an opportunity to:
- Activate and strengthen their core muscles i.e. their hip, back, shoulder and abdominal muscles as they do the owl and candle poses
- Bring their attention to their breath as they ‘have a go’ at blowing Owl’s feathers into the basket
- Dance and dive with Dolphin to the Tatty Bumpkin Dolphin song
- Think and talk about the times they have felt excited, just like Tatty Bumpkin
- Come up with ideas on ‘what to put into the cake’
- Play with others to do candle pose and help make the cake
- Use their imagination and creativity to decorate the ‘Best Bumpkin Cake Ever!'
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| The Best Bumpkin Cake Ever! |
Find your local Tatty Bumpkin class at http://www.tattybumpkin.com/classes/find-class.html
