By Sue Heron – Training Co-ordinator Tatty Bumpkin and Paediatric Physiotherapist
In this blog I will:
Describe how you can do the activity with your child or toddler at home
Give you reasons why the Tatty Bumpkin Yoga activity is beneficial for your child or toddler
Give you some ideas on progressions and games you can play with your child around the activity.
Remember though, 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.
Or, maybe, you are thinking of a new career, which gives you:
If your child is going to a Tatty Bumpkin class this week they will go on an adventure with Tatty Bumpkin and her friend Dog to the sea-side.They will have a chance to:
Strengthen their ‘core’ postural muscles as they do the downwards dog and crab poses.
Wave your tails!!
Progress their communication skills as they make the sounds of the sea and talk about the seaside creatures.
Develop their imagination and thinking skills as they imagine the sea andinvetsigate the shells and sea props used in the class.
Thinking about shells!
Have fun with others as they dance as dolphins and play crab football!
Dog Pose – Tatty Bumpkin’s Yoga Activity for the Week!
Dog pose for older children
Dog pose with your toddler
Ideally, try to do Dog pose with your child as:
Children under 3 years, largely learn new movements by copying the actions.
Research is showing that toddlers and young children bond with their parents and ‘key people’ not only through touch and by communicating with them but also by moving with them.
Downwards dog pose will give you an great opportunity to stretch out your back. N.B. if you do have back issues do the pose carefully and stop if you feel any pain.
Make sure that you and your child are on a non-slip mat. This will stop your feet slipping as you do the pose.
Start by doing Dog Yoga activity yourself, then encourage your child to copy you.
If you are unable to do the pose comfortably - ask an older child or another adult to demonstrate pose or use a doll to show your chid what to do.
If you have never done dog pose before always practise it away from your toddler or young child so you are confident in this position beofre you do the pose with your child.
If you are concerned about your back or wrists then stay on your hands and knees in 'cat' pose.
Move onto your hands and knees in ‘cat’ pose. Then tuck your toes under your feet, and push your hips up into the air to move into ‘dog’ pose.
Dog pose is a ‘back’ stretch. If you feel any tightness down the back of your legs and knees as you do the pose then bend your knees – this will help you to put your back in a better position for the stretch.Make sure your hands are flat on the floor and your neck is relaxed. Now encourage your toddler to copy you!
You can bark at each other and even ‘go for a walk’ – moving forwards, backwards and even sideways as dogs.
Other Games to Play in Dog Pose
Waving Paws and Tails!
Lift up one arm to wave at your child and encourage them to wave back. This is a great 'prewriting' activity as this pattern of movement is similar to writing as it encourages your child to use one arm as a support whilst they move their other.
Then lift up your leg to ‘wag your tail’, put it down & lift up your other leg as you have two magic tails!
Benefits of Tatty Bumpkin’s Dog Yoga Activity for Your Child or Toddler
Downwards Dog pose will give your child the opportunity to:
1. Strengthen their core muscles i.e. their tummy, back, shoulder and hip muscles. As your child does dog pose they will be actively moving and strengthening their shoulder, tummy, back and hip muscles. As your child strengthens these muscle groups they will be building up their stability in the middle of their body and this will help them to develop more complex skills for example:
Holding a pencil/pen correctly and comfortably
Doing up buttons or zips
Using cutlery
Kicking a ball
2. Stretch out their small hand muscles As your child does Dog pose they will be gently stretching and activating their hand muscles in preparation for learning more complex fine motor (hand) skills.
3. Improve their sensory processing skills to help with attention and focusing skills When your child does Dog pose they will be stimulating several senses at the same time i.e. their:
Visual sense
Sense of touch (as they feel the floor) and
Body senses i.e. their proprioceptive sense and their vestibular sense.
Our proprioceptive sense tells us about our body position. This sense stimulated when we push and pull with our bodies and lift heavy things.So as your child does Dog pose they will be stimulating their proprioceptive sense as they lift their body weight up from the floor. Activities which stimulate our proprioceptive sense are usually alerting (but in a calm way). Our vestibular sense tells us where our head is in space. Again your child will be stimulating this sense as they do Dog pose. Doing ‘sensory rich’ activities, which involve the steady stimulation of several senses, will refine your child’s ability to process and organise their senses. Good sensory organisation helps your child to ‘filter out’ distractions so they can pay attention and focus on one particular task – this is critical for learning new skills.
Tatty Bumpkin Classes
Because each Tatty Bumpkin adventure is carefully linked to the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) the sessions not only enhance your child’s physical skills they also develop their communication, social and thinking skills. Remember, you can find your local class at http://www.tattybumpkin.com/classes/find-class.html.
