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.

The hidden treasures of Active Play

With warmth in the air and more consistent sunny weather, our little ones have spent a lot of time preoccupied with outside play.

Many turns of the garden collecting little jugs of water, mud and sand for the making of mud pies (Preschooler) and carting, transporting pebbles and relocating objects from the back yard to front yard (Toddler) have kept both very busy - leaving me with snatches of time to do some weeding here and there.

There have been moments - briefly - where all three of us are engrossed in our own little endeavour.

Randomly slotted in amongst all this mud pie making and carting are bouts of Active Play...spontaneous skipping, hula hooping, walking-stilt(ing), hopscotching, croqueting, Jumping Jacks....etc I am glad I have just allowed for them to be lead by their imaginations and inspirations.

I came across a website which outlines the benefits of such activities when it is self lead by little individuals - rather than directed by an adult.  the hidden treasures of active play.

I also like the tips and suggestion on Role modeling for children. It is a fantastic resource.

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!

Review: other blogs

I really like the content of this blog - the current topics being discussed, the ideas and the information offered are all very interesting and useful.

I have many other blogs and sites I refer to - and would like to begin sharing them here. Look for it on the right hand side column.

The Body Smart blog

I hope you like it too.