Classic Play : A review

Classic Play is an online magazine dedicated to celebrating the joys of childhood.

It is inspirational and very refreshing - and there is a Sports Issue.

Check it out here.

Giants

The picture story book 'Giants' by Nick Maland was the prompt for the Tunnel Ball idea.

This is a book about empathy and letting go of assumptions and prejudices. Sweet Pea and Boogaloo take a walk through what looks like many many giants' legs.

You can find a review of it here.

Happy reading.

Tunnel Ball fun

The team game of tunnel ball can be great fun and is very appropriate for the Preschool age group.

In tunnel ball, groups of people stand in single file - with a gap of an arms length between each team member -  with the legs wide apart. The person at the beginning of the file begins by rolling the ball down the file until it reaches the end person who collects the ball and runs up the side to the front of the file. The ball must pass under the legs of each person. In the meantime, the group shuffles down a position. The new leader repeats the process until the original leader returns to the front.

This activity can be played very informally but it can also be very competitive with many rules to be adhered to.

Playing at home with your Preschooler is a great idea as it gives your little one a chance to grasp the concept of the game before it is introduced in a group setting - allowing them to get on with enjoying the activity.

A few tips....
Begin with a Use a soft ball that is the size of the participants chest...they should be able to tuck it under one arm.
The leader must ensure the ball begins on the ground before it is rolled.
Encourage the leader to look under the legs to get a straight aim.

Toddlers need not apply.

Weight, Shape and Appearance

There are many things we can do as parents - and educators - to help our little ones develop a healthy body image.

....Body image refers to how a person perceives, thinks and feels about their physical appearance. While a person’s appearance encompasses only a small part of who they are and what they contribute to the world, body image too commonly represents a person’s greater sense of self worth, whereby poor body image contributes directly to low self esteem. 


The thinking has been that the teenage years were the appropriate time to discuss issues and concerns relating to weight shape and appearance...but not so.

Unhealthy body image can begin at an early age...and anyone who works and or live with little ones could have a powerful and long lasting influence on the development of a positive body image; one where there is an acceptance of DIVERSITY in weight, shape and appearance of people.

As we go about our day, we are surrounded by images and messages that portray a narrow view of what is acceptable or good weight, shape and appearance.  Movies, TV dramas, advertisements, the influence of friends and family, music videos, music lyrics, magazines, video games, slogans and texts on clothes, seem to portray an ideal but unrealistic and many times overly sexualised image.

And it is a slippery slope from being innocent and harmless to being inappropriate.

My current concern is the overemphasis on appearance. I counted the number of times my Preschooler focused on her appearance in one day...too many to mention here. But what I found more interesting and alarming was the number of times people in our community would stop in the street and make a comment (before I can intervene) about her ensemble, or clips, her hair, her shoes - all very innocent and friendly but this happens every day. What message is that sending to the brain of a four year old girl?

I wish to avoid an overemphasis on appearance - one where it prevents her from doing more important things...like participating, or just being in the 'moment'.

The next few years, she will be joining the dots about body weight and shape - as well as appearance. So I hope and plan to provide her with the protective coping tools to help her navigate through this minefield. Eating Disorders Foundation of Victoria has a website which provides a very helpful list of what parents and teachers can do to promote healthy views on weight shape and appearance. I have linked it
here.

On a final note...where do you stand on these?

Make up for tweens

Bratz dolls

The following of Suri's style?

Milk Carton Catchers

An oldie but a goodie. Homemade catchers - of sorts - made by recycling milk cartons.

I used a soft sided 3 litre carton. Sharp edges should be covered with tape - this carton was surprisingly not sharp at all.

This can be used individually; throwing and catching any object that will fit comfortably in it. Begin with items that won't roll away to readily...ie. beanbags or soft toys  are ideal.

It can also be used by two people to throw and catch to each other. With older children, suggest rallies over a makeshift net, suggest boundaries and begin simple rules. Include a bounce before catching.

We are at the stage of scooping up balls and anything that will fit in the carton. Quite a lot of investigation has taken place with regard to what fits in the carton, the tipping angle before it falls out, the noise each item makes. Not much PE yet, but a lot of other learning taking place.

And of course there is also a great deal of laughter. As you can see, all this takes place before breakfast is over.

Shapes with Elastics

Can you make a shape with three sides?

And upside down triangle.....and a right way up triangle

 Does anyone have a different shape with three sides?

A triangle where all the sides are the same length

What other shapes can be made?

A four sided shape

During this activity students exercised their mind and bodies. Spatial awareness, language, strength, flexibility, creative thinking, working in pairs.

Zigzag Lines

Zig Zag as a pathway appears in many sports and team games; skiing, dribbling in hockey, ducking and weaving in ball games. Changing directions whilst moving at a pace is described at agility and is important in many running games.

Seeing the patterns, and then using the patterns in their movement experiences gives them the foundation for when they search for a way to navigate through obstacles.

I used masking tape to make one zigzag line on the rug. We then walked along it, pushed toy cars along it and then stepped, ran and jumped over it. Many creative suggestions were put forward regarding how one might travel along and/or over it.

This activity took place over the course of the day. The zigzag line was put in place at breakfast. Allowing plenty of time for the inspiration and ideas to flow through and then the opportuntiy to return to the activity results in richness in the results - one of the many benefits of doing PhysEd at home.

Also, a larger carpeted area would have also been handy.

Resource Review

I recently attended a fabulous workshop presented by Robyn Crowe - a specialists in the area of motor development for Preschoolers and Primary aged children. Highly regarded for her innovative ideas and equipment, Robyn's passion for this area comes through in her workshops. She was very engaging and inspiring. You can find Robyn Crowe here .

Robyn has an interesting unit on elastics. We have been using elastics to continue to develop spatial awareness. I bought waistband elastics at the haberdashery store. For my Preschooler, I used a length of 160cm and tied the ends together. I also made a set for myself - adult size 2m and toddler size 120cm in length.

I left them on the coffee table to be discovered by the little ones and supervised their exploration of the new equipment. During this time, I showed the little ones how to use them safely..no stretching and flicking etc.

Then I pointed to solid shapes around the house - can you make a rectangle/square/triangle/quadrilateral?  could there be different ones? how about lying down? with one foot, or bottom. For older children,  rotations and reflections of shapes could be introduced.

Lots of fun.

40/40 with toddlers

There are many playground games that could be adapted for play at home.

'40/40 Save All' is a good one.

Pick a suitable 'home'. Assign someone as 'It'. Everyone finds a suitable hiding position.

A suitable position is one where 'Home' and 'It' can be seen by the player. The aim is to not be found by 'It' but also to return home while 'It' is away  from 'Home' searching for other players. ie. if Home is a tree, a suitable hiding spot could be simply on the other side of the tree.

'It' has to look for players and call out '40/40 I see John on the stairs' when players are spotted. 'It' also has to protect 'Home' and not let any players reach home while they are away - the consequence being another turn at being 'it'.

I played this recently with my little ones...an adapted version of course. I was 'It' and allowed my preschooler to reach 'Home', while I pretended to look for her. When she was 'It', I hid in places where it was easy for her to find me, or when I saw she was looking elsewhere, I would attempt to run 'home' but letting her reach home before I did. Lots of fun.