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..
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 featherin 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.
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