By Sue Heron – Training Co-ordinator Tatty Bumpkin and Paediatric Physiotherapist
Find your local Tatty or Baby Bumpkin class at http://www.tattybumpkin.com/classes/find-class.html and have a go at Sun pose with your baby, toddler or child at home – see details on the pose below.
The Adventure This Week ..
This week Tatty Bumpkin goes on an exciting adventure with her friend the spaceman.
Together they zoom across the starry sky – visiting the planets of the solar system: little Mercury, volcanic Venus and Jupiter with the huge red spot!
They stop to rest on Mars and Tatty Bumpkin cannot wait to meet the spaceman’s Martian friends. Tatty Bumpkin wonders what the Martians might look like - What ideas?
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| Which planet would ben your favourite? |
In The Tatty Bumpkin Planet Story your Child Will Have an Opportunity to:
- Stretch out their arms, shoulders and chest muscles as they do sun pose – the perfect antidote to sitting.
- Develop their core muscles (shoulder, hip, back and tummy muscles), to improve their balance, as they zoom up and down as rockets.
- Use gestures or words to express their thoughts i.e. Feeling ‘excited’, ‘cold’, ‘anxious’ and ‘full of wonder’ with Tatty Bumpkin as she explores space.
- Come up with ideas on what Martians might look like and then have a chance to share their thoughts with the group.
- Develop their sense of rhythm, and co-ordination skills, as they move slowly to the slower beat of a Tatty Bumpkin Instrumental Tracks.
- Have fun with their friends whilst: zooming up and down through space, making the rings of Saturn together, seeing if they can balance Jupiter’s red spot on their heads, feet, elbows …
Sun Pose – Children and Toddlers
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| Reach for the sun! |
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| Reach for the sun with your toddler |
Description of Sun Pose (For Parents)
- Encourage your toddler or child to try sun pose in sitting, kneeling or standing positions. Perhaps start in sitting and then progress up into standing. If your child is younger they may find the kneeling position the hardest as this requires more body coordination.
- Guide your child to sit, kneel or stand opposite you. If your child is 3 -4 years old they will be relying on vision to learn new movements and games so sit or kneel down opposite them – then they can clearly see your movements.
- Talk your child through the pose as well as doing the actions. You could say “1, 2, 3 reach for the sun!” As you say ‘reach for the sun’ stretch your arms out to either side and take them up over your head in a wide arc until your palms touch above your head. Then say “1, 2, 3 down to the ground!” and reverse the movement, lowering your arms back down to your sides.
- Encourage your child to copy your arm movements by giving them plenty of praise and really exaggerating your arm movements.
- Repeat the pose several times so your child has a chance to learn the movement and enjoy doing it with you – Then give them a hug!
- If your child is older thet can try moving their head as they move their arms i.e. encourage your child to look up at their hands as they raise them above their head and then to look straight ahead as they bring their hands back down to their sides.
Want to Make it Harder?
Encourage your child to take a big breath in as they raise their arms above their head and then to breathe all the way out as they lower their arms back down to their sides.
Other Games to Play in Sun Pose with your Child
Reach for the Sun!
- Hold up a medium sized ball (yellow if possible!) or hoop above your child’s head and encourage them to reach for it and take it. If the ball or hoop is fairly wide then they will have to take their arms out to either side to hold it – as in sun pose!
- Then encourage your child to place the ball/hoop back down on the floor or to put it in your hands, so they have the chance to practice their squatting skills. Pictures courtesy of dougkelsey.com & babyzone.com.
Hold a hoop vertically in front of your toddler and encourage them to step through it. Picture courtesy of www.learnplayimagine.com.
Why the Sun Pose is ‘Good for Me’ - Children and Toddlers
Sun pose gives your child and toddler the opportunity to:
Stretch out their chest, shoulder and arm muscles. Sun pose is a great pose for your child to do after they have been sitting for a while – especially if they have been, hunching their body and holding their hands in front of their body i.e. playing with a iPad or writing or drawing.
Refine their movement skills. As your child moves their head to look up at their hands and then straight ahead in sun pose they will be strengthening their neck muscles and refining their postural skills i.e. they will be keeping their body still whilst only moving their head. Your child will use this selective head and neck movement in the class room when they are looking up to the white board.
Increase their 'breath awareness'. By doing big breaths with Sun pose your child will become more aware of their breathing and what it feels like to take deeper breaths. When they breathe in as they raise their arms above their head your child will be giving their chest muscles an even bigger stretch.
Progress their walking skills. Playing with a hoop in sun pose can give your toddler useful support when they just learning to walk – as well as being fun for older children! Encourage your toddler to hold one side of the hoop whilst you hold the other. In this way your toddler is being supported by the hoop which is being held by you. Slowly start to walk backwards, keeping hold of the hoop and encourage your toddler to take steps forward towards you whilst keeping hold of the hoop or for support.
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Playing games with a hoops – Horse and cart – or driving?!
Pictures courtesy of learnersinbloom.co.uk & leodjphoto.com |
The Sun Pose In Lying: Younger Babies
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| Reach up high! |
Description of Pose
N.B. Remember, when you are doing the poses with your baby, never force the movements and keep looking at your baby to make sure they are comfortable. If you feel any resistance, or your baby becomes unsettled, do stop. Once your baby has settled, gently try the pose again, perhaps making clicking sounds or using a toy to distract them. If your baby remains unsettled, do not persist with the pose instead ask your Baby Bumpkin teacher for advice.
This adaptation of sun pose is ideal if your baby is about 3-4 months or younger and has yet to gain good control of their head and upper body in sitting.
- Settle your baby on a mat in front of you
- Whilst keeping eye contact with your baby, give yourself a stretch in sun pose! Stretch your arms out to either side then, then take your hands up above your head in a wide arc. Bring your palms together above your head and look up at your hands. Then reverse the movement, taking your arms back down to your sides and look straight ahead. Repeat the stretch but this time take a breath in as you raise your arms above your head and breathe all the way out as you lower your arms down to your side. Smile at your bay as your finish the stretch.
- Now it is your baby’s go! Once again establish good eye contact with your baby – this is important as they will be able to move their arms in sun pose better if they are holding their head in the middle.
- Place your index fingers in your baby’s palms, hopefully this will encourage them to grasp hold of your fingers and helps your baby feel ‘in control’
- As your baby grips your fingers, guide their arms out to either side. Remember if your baby is under 5 mths they will not be able to fully straighten their elbows – so do not force this movement.
- Gently guide your baby’s arms, in an arc, above their head. Only go as far as is comfortable for your baby – remember they may not yet have full movement at their shoulders.
- Then reverse the movement to guide your baby’s arms back in an arc down to their sides.
- Encourage your baby to let go of your fingers so they can give their arms a wiggle!
- Repeat the pose 2-3 times, looking at your baby to make sure they are enjoying themselves.
- As your baby ‘gets the idea’ of the movement – wait and see if they start to do part of the action by themselves. You may have to support your baby to start with but then they may ‘take over’ for a bit. Smile and encourage them – as this is the start of them doing things for themselves!
The Sun Pose In Sitting. Older Babies
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| Reach up high whilst sitting on the floor |
Description of Pose
This adaptation of Sun pose is suitable if your baby is about 4 mths or over and they are able to sit on your lap with support either around their lower body or with their hands held.
If you do sun pose in front of a mirror this will give your baby the chance to see how they are moving their arms. Alternatively, ask a partner to sit in front of your baby and do the actions to sun pose – so your baby can watch the movement as they do it themselves.
- Find a comfortable place to sit on the floor with your baby. You may find it comfortable to sit up against a wall so your back is supported.
- Settle your baby so they are sitting on the floor in front of you, then they can lean back against you for support if they wish to.
- If your baby is tending to slide their bottom forwards away from you – gently bring their bottom back towards you and encourage them to lean forwards from their hips.
- Start by doing the movement yourself, if you are doing the pose in front of a mirror your baby will be able to watch,
- Stretch your arms out to either side then, keeping elbows straight then take your hands up above your head in a wide arc. Bring your palms together above your head and look up at your hands. Then reverse the movement, taking your arms back down to your sides and look straight ahead. Repeat the stretch but this time take a breath in as you raise your arms above your head and breathe all the way out as you lower your arms down to your side. Hopefully your shoulders, arms and hands will now have had a bit of stretch and your hands will be more relaxed as you do the pose with your baby.
- Place your index fingers in your baby’s palms and gently guide their arms out to each side – so they are stretching out wide!
- Then guide your baby’s hands and arms upwards in an arc, only go as far as is comfortable for your baby. Remember if your baby is under 6 mths they will not yet have full movement at their shoulders and elbows.
- Repeat the movement several times. Make the pose more fun by saying “1, 2, 3, reach for the sun!” as you do the action with your baby. See if your baby can start to anticipate the movement as you start to count.
- Encourage your baby to do the ‘reaching’ action for themselves by using a largish favourite toy or ‘sun’ prop (see below).
Other Games to Play in Sun Pose with your Baby
Reach for the Sun!
Find a yellow ball or piece of fabric and hold this over your baby whilst they are lying in front of you. Encourage your baby to reach up for it to either ‘bat’ it or to grab it! Younger babies see the red, orange and yellow colours first before greens and blues. If your baby is older, and doing sun pose in sitting, encourage them to reach out and upwards with both hands by holding a medium sized ball, or one of their larger, light weight toys, in front of them just above their shoulder level. Pictures courtesy of 123rf.com.
Why Sun Pose is ‘Good for You and Your Baby’
As you do Sun pose with your baby, you will give them a chance to:
Activate, stretch and co-ordinate their upper body muscles. From birth to 3 mnths, when your baby has time to lie on their back on the floor, the effect of gravity will help them to gently stretch out their shoulder and arm muscles. Your baby will gradually be able to move their arms further out to the side as in sun pose rather than hold them close to their body, you will probably also notice they are able to move and stretch out their elbows more.
From about 3 -4 mths, your baby’s increasing arm movements will enable them to touch various parts of their body i.e. At about 4 mths your baby will be able to reach down to touch the top of their thighs and to reach up to touch the back of their heads. As your baby hands come into contact with their different body parts, and various pieces of clothing, this will:
- Give your baby important tactile/touching experiences which will help their hand development
- Help your baby to improve their body awareness i.e. they will start to build up a mental picture of their body in their mind.
At about 6 mths your baby will have further refined their shoulder and elbow movements, possibly as a result of increased activity and strength in their tummy muscles i.e. If your baby is lying down on their back, they will not only be able to hold their arms in the air above their head to reach for a toy but they will also be able to bend and straighten their elbows in this position as they play with their toy.
Develop their early learning skills. If your baby is doing sun pose with you whilst sitting on the floor, you will notice they are becoming increasingly stable in sitting as they strengthen the muscles round their middle (their core muscles). As a result of this increasing strength and coordination in their middle, your baby will be able to control the muscles in their hands, mouth and eyes more. With this developing control your baby will be encouraged to reach out and explore their environment in a very active way and this will have an important positive impact on their cognitive development.
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.
Find your local Tatty Bumpkin class at http://www.tattybumpkin.com/classes/find-class.html
