Review: YMCA Play Gym

There are several YMCA Recreation Centers in our city. They offer a range of fantastic programs.

One in particular is the Play Gym. For the cost of about $6 per child, toddlers and Preschoolers (with the assistance of a carer) have access to a fully equipped gymnastics gym - a real gymnastics gym - complete with foam pit into which they can tumble.

For 45minutes, little ones and carers move around the space and try their hand on the special apparatus.

As one can see from the pictures, we have not been a for a while because,  I could not see how I could spot and coach the Preschooler and still keep the toddler from injuring himself.

But I think the 'age and stage' of our two little ones is just right now.

Play Gym sessions being an indoor activity is not only a fantastic option for when the weather is cold; it is also ideal when the weather is too hot and sunny or for when the pollen count in the air is at the highest it has been for10 years.

The challenge for me will be to remember the visit is for the little ones, not for me to revisit my gymnastics skills.

Line Jumping

Using any line on the floor, this activity develops laterality, Left and Right Concepts, directionality, static and dynamic balance and creativity.

A masking tape could be used on the floor to mark the line.  The line could be anywhere from 1 m to 4 m. This could be done with one child or small groups.

Ask your little one to listen and look up at you when you are directing. Pause until you have their attention before you begin instructions.

The instructions are:
Jump over the line; forwards, backwards. Take off and land on two feet in a controlled manner.
Jump over the line and do a quarter turn whilst in the air, turn to the left/and or right.
Jump over the line by taking off on one foot and land on two feet.
With feet side by side, jump from one side to the other - forward and backwards.
Straddle with feet on either side of the line and jog with high knee raises along the length of the line

What combination of the above could be put together in a routine?
How else could the line be traversed? crossed?

Make up a little song or rap to help remember the routine.

Musical Hoops

Today we had several little ones running around the backyard with Hula Hoops whilst mums waited patiently to reacquainted themselves with the skill.

I was reminded of a game I play in a Physical Education class setting - but it would work as a party game. As yet, I have not played it in a social setting but I am pretty sure it would be a winner.

Musical Hoops - it is a non elimination game and involves hoops, children, and music or a musical instrument. Begin with a ratio of 3 students to every hoop. When the music begins, the children run, skip, gallop. When the music stops, they are to stop also and move into a hoop. It is a cooperation game so as many as possible is permitted in the hoop. Each time the music stops - remove a hoop and the game becomes a little more interesting as the group works as a whole to squeeze many people into the diminishing number of hoops.

Every time I play this game, I am uplifted - as are the students - by the spirit of cooperation and goodwill in the room.

There is only one rule - no body part is on floor outside the hoop...everything else is accepted. Try it out on adults.

Hula Hoop fun #2

With the weather being so enticing we have been spending late afternoons out in the backyard - our Preschooler gets really involved in her role playing, today it was making chocolate - aka mud - smoothies and our Toddler limps around with his wagon (still with a toddler fracture) and me working in the garden.

The hula hoops hang at the ready on the back porch and I have found them to be a very fun way to break up the tedious back breaking work of weeding on my hands and knees.

I can not remember learning how to hula hoop...so I performed a search for instructions that covered what I know about this skill. Why reinvent the wheel?

• Hold the hoop at the waist with one hand on either side of it.
• Position feet slightly wider than hip width apart.
• Move one foot a bit in front of the other.
• Move the hoop so that it is touching one hip.
• Spin the hoop and let go to set it spinning around the middle of the body.
• Shift weight from one foot to the other, making hips rock from side to side.
• Coordinate movements so that the hip bumps the hoop as it rotates.
• Persistence

Point number 8 is my contribution. I must say that at this early stage of learning this skill, it almost seems an impossible task. But as I told my little one today...we are not born knowing how to do everything. We all have to learn how to do things...small steps first, and then a lot of practice.

The above is the basic method but the hoops can be rotated over the wrists, arms, legs, thighs, and shoulders. Once the basic movement is mastered it is possible to move the hoop up and down the body without stopping the rotation.




"...try, have a go, try again, keep trying, don't stop trying, take a break and go back to it.."

Hula Hoop fun

 

I have hula hoops of various sizes at home and have generally used them as targets on the ground or tied to the fence. Yesterday however, I was reminded of using them for its intended purpose -  hula hooping around the waist.

When I was younger, I could hula hoop for long periods but today, I found it quite tricky to keep the momentum going. Still, it was impressive to my Preschooler

Of course, she wanted to learn. We began by using the hula hoop on the arm...much more success that way. It gave her the opportunity to feel the force of the hoop traveling in the opposite direction to the arm - scaffolding the experience.

Lots of fun...I had to stop myself from taking over. Had so much fun, I did not get a chance to pick up the camera.  

Have on hand various sizes of hoops to suit the hooper.

Happy hooping!

Rock and Roll in Tuck sits

We have been practicing Tuck sits and V Sits. The natural progression is to rock back and forth gently using the toes to push off. Allow this to happen and build on this rocking action but encourage strong arms around the legs.

After several sessions of this, enough momentum can be built up which leads to rolling onto the back. With arms held tight around the legs, the back is nicely curved which allows for rocking forward after rolling backwards.

Build up the momentum first.

Give it a try yourself. It is a lot of fun.

Walking Stilts

I love these walking stilts. I wish they would take my weight as I would love to use them.

It has taken a while for her to be comfortable on them. I wish I had presented this to her first madebyjoel - toddler-stilts

But as my Preschooler gained confidence balancing on them, I have become increasingly creative with path I create for her. I trace/draw various figures/lines on the driveway or mat. Figure of eights, zig zag lines, wavy lines etc.

We try sideways, backwards, small steps, large steps, cross over/grapevine etc...

Lots of quiet (concentrating) fun - which gives me about 30 minutes or so to carry out essential tasks like cook dinner/play with my toddler/tackle the washing?

These stilts are made for walking..

Jack be nimble, Jack be quick...

We do lots of jumping here - a great way to spend energy and develop leg muscles at the same time.

Standing Broad Jumps are a great way to build power in the legs and is used as a measure of leg strength in fitness tests. It was once an Olympic event - and it is also a lot of fun.

I use anti-slip mats from the $2 dollar shop cut into shapes to cue the little ones to their beginning and landing positions when I introduce this. It helps to stop them from slipping upon landing, and since it is soft, it encourages landing with soft, well oiled knees.

Begin with two  feet together - slightly apart. Use arms to propel forward and push off on both legs, jump and land in front on both feet without loosing balance. The idea is to increase the distance traveled with each try. Experimentation with size of arm swing and angle of torso is encouraged.

Landing with soft bendy knees with arms in the the position of a motorbike rider is important.

We do this to the nursery rhyme and use a prop for the candle.

Give it a go yourself.
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Balloon Cover giveaway still available to the first two comments to come in - get in quick.

One Potato, Two Potato...

........Three Potatos, Four

Balloons can be a lot of fun on their own without covers.

Good night Inchy Inchworm

I can imagine that just about now, bed time routines are being enacted in every household inhabited by toddlers, preschoolers and primary aged children.

Our bedtime routine involves; milk, teddy bear biscuit (or more than one if the behaviour warrants it) books - usually three - and occasionally some gymnastics.

I have been encouraging my Preschooler to do different 'animal walks' to build upper body strength. With Spring, comes many more opportunities to visit the park and make use of a wider range of equipment. Playgrounds for preschoolers provide greater and more exciting challenges.

So we have been preparing for it by building upper body strength - nothing too serious...just lots of opportunities to support her own body weight. Animal walks are great for this.

This evening, we said good night to our 'Inchy Inchworm'.

1. Begin with hands and feet on the floor as close together as possible.

Bottoms in the air and legs as straight as comfortably possible..

2. Keeping the feet still, walk the hands out until then are under the chest.

3. Now, keeping the hands still, walk the feet towards the hands.

4. Repeat

Music and Movement...

...go together like a Horse and Carriage. Where would Early Childhood Education be without it?

Children LOVE it, every early childhood educator would have to admit they get a kick out of it, and I am pretty sure parents dig it too.

And there are so many 'music and movement' offerings on the market - some more music than movement. Where to begin?

Here is my recommendation:

This is the blurb:
These field-tested "learning through movement" activities encourage eye-hand, aural-motor, and visual motor coordination. They also develop body image, balance, laterality, directionality, and visual perception. Easy to introduce to your class, the activities do not require partners or constant teacher direction. 

You can hear samples of each track from Perceptual Motor Rhythm Games 
Check out the track Move Like A Machine (Electronic) and Clap and Shake #1 (Ballin' The Jack) with voice cues.

I bet you won't be able to stop grinning and tapping your toes.

Have a listen and drop me a line to tell me what you think - especially if you try it on your little ones.

What about you? Do you have a recommendation you would like to share? Click on the word 'comment' at the end of the post. I would love to hear from you.

You can not stop our apple fun

We love Dr Seuss books here..they are fantastic read-aloud books.

'Ten Apples Up On Top' is a good resource for teaching numeracy as well being a good title for the early reader.

For our Preschooler however, just counting the apples on each page to concur with the text proved to be enticing.

From there, we started to look for things to balance on our heads. Fortunately, I happened to have small Bean Bags ready for just that purpose.

Balancing a Bean Bag on the head promotes good posture and develops balance and control. Head held still and eyes straight ahead are necessary reminders.

Once this is achieved, encourage walking around the room; forwards, sideways, backwards. Suggest bending down to touch the ground, turn around. Then try balancing the Bean Bag on the shoulder, elbow, knee etc.

Combining the Bean Bag balance with 'Heel-Toe walking' would present a very good challenge.

What fun!
We will not
let them fall.

We wish you lots of apple fun.

Heel, Toe, Heel, Toe

Most kids love to walk along brick walls or any wall/edge wide enough to safely hold their weight. Whenever we are out and about and have the opportunity to, we always take it. It is fun and a great way to enjoy the outdoors.

When we are at home though, masking tape on the carpet or rug serves as a visual wall for heel toe walking. The heel of each next step touches the toe of the foot behind. My Pre-Schooler has just started to do this and at this initial stage, great concentration is required to succeed at this task. Gentle encouragement is required.

Opportunities to return to the task at her own time has proved to be positive.

Why Heel Toe walking? The action requires controlled coordinated dynamic balance and practicing this type of walking develops this.

Low tack masking tape is better. Experiment with various lengths and don't forget to remove the tape at the end of the session to avoid permanent adhesive stains.

Hop, Gallop, Skip

Once a toddler can jump confidently, hopping soon follows.

Hopping is a gross motor skill that develops strength and balance.It requires the coordinated movements of large muscles groups in the body.

When my Pre-Schooler started to learn to hop, she brought her knee up high so that her thigh was parallel to the ground. This is an inefficient position for hopping but perhaps comfortable and necessary until strength and balance is developed.

With encouragement and many opportunities to hop, she developed a more efficient style where the knee swings forward and backwards to counter the momentum. We played a lot of Hopscotch.


Very soon after she mastered the hop, came the gallop.....same leg in front, hop, step, hop, step. She galloped whenever she could. And then one day, she just decided to skip. And has not stopped.

Being able to confidently hop, skip, gallop, jump and run means that she is more keen to do so whenever the opportunity arises. The patterns of movement in these actions form the basis for more complex skills.

Having someone to hop, skip and gallop with is great encouragement.