Rainy Day Play: Kiddie Yoga

  

Unless you are blessed with an outdoor undercover area, or unlimited access to a playcentre (or the dosh to go to one a few times a week) keeping active kids ... um, active ... in wet weather can be quite a task. Normally, a few hours at the park or going for a walk with the kids is just the ticket, and a bit of drizzle is no barrier to those activities either, but a downpour? Oy vay. 

Today, I decided to try kids yoga with my girls. In theory, it should stretch their muscles and give them some physical activity in a calming way (instead of an excitable way - like trampolines, or running, etc), and be indoors-friendly. In practice, it was a success! 

Treasure Baskets Part 2.

Today I offered Ava a new treasure basket to explore, which contained wooden items. In this 'basket' (which was really a wooden bowl) I put the following: some blocks, two trains, a train track piece, a maraca, a trumpet, some necklaces, some large beads used for threading, a bendy doll, a babushka doll, a rattan ball, a spinning top, the lid of my metronome, a hand massager, a spoon, some puzzle pieces, and a leaf-shaped bowl I got from an op shop for 50 cents! As you can see below, it was a big hit.

Everything went straight into the mouth to be assessed; some were discarded but the ones she liked were grouped around her. My little bower-bird girl!
I struggled at first to find wooden items that were child-sized and gum-friendly, but hit the payload when I was rummaging through the play room. She loved the top (which she is pictured sucking on, above), and was mesmerised by it as Big Sister sent it spinning along the floor. I think I'll keep this one out for a while, Ava seemed to get a lot from it.
Next task: develop a few treasure baskets adapted for my toddler (who's been telling people that she's six years old thank-you-very-much). Wish me luck!

Elephant Balancing

One of my daughter's favourite songs at the moment is about elephants balancing on a string:
"Three gray elephants balancing
Step by step on a piece of string,
They thought it was such a wonderful stunt
That they called for another elephant.
Four gray elephants balancing...."

So, I taped a piece of sting onto the floor, and started teaching her how to walk on it, one foot in front of the other. I told her that we were walking on a piece of string over a creek and if we fell, we'd get all wet! She LOVED this idea. One moment Eden's carefully walking along our string, the next she's flinging herself off it, saying "I'm all wet now! I need new shoes Mummy!"; she would do anything for more shoes *sigh*.
This activity is suitable for all walking tots, just adapt your expectations to your child's skill level. It helps develop the large muscle groups in the legs, and hones their co-ordination skills. Tying it into the song helps them learn numbers, or reinforce numbers if your child already knows them. So simple!