Monday, December 6, 2010
Dig With Me Playgroup Los Angeles: Dry and Wet!
We played with soil and mud and dry and cooked pasta, endlessly!
Out of Sync Child Has Fun
"Your supervision, compassion, and playfulness are essential in all activities. Always allow your child to do the activities in his or her own way--as long as that way is safe. Given the opportunity, children will usually teach you what they need. Ability, not birth date, determines a child's developmental age level. In most ways, a child is as old as he or she acts." Carol Kranowitz, The Out of Sync Child Has Fun
Many of the classes I teach for little ones from yoga to very messy play are actually thanks to work of people like Carol Kranowitz who wrote: The Out of Sync Child, The Out of Sync Child Has Fun, and How to Grow an In Sync Child.
Her work has completely demystified sensory issues, in fact, SPD or Sensory Processing Disorder, has been called "the new ADHD." People who know better may not think it is so "new" rather an historical misdiagnosis.
Children with special needs have taught many of us about how the developing brain works. All of us are occasionally out of sync, and many things that become atypical needs at a certain age--i.e. spinning--are a part of the typical development at another. It has become my interest to fuse the amazing works of all great educarers from Rudolf Steiner, the founder of the first Waldorf School, Occupational Therapists, and Brain Gym.
As a new feature for this blog, for those of you who I have not had the good fortune of meeting in a class and those I have, is that I would like to share some of my resources, give you some great info and links to purchase these books for your own library.
Please read Carol's "Seven Drops" below, great for your "back pocket."
From, The Out of Sync Child Has Fun:
THE SEVEN DROPS
When your child is having a bad day, consider these "Seven Drops"
1. DROP YOUR VOICE
When your child is explosive, demanding, and loud and needs immediate emotional first-aid, lower the volume of your voice. When you whisper, people will listen.
2. DROP YOUR BODY
Research about stress and early brain development show that children relax when caregivers are physically on their level. Megan R. Gunmnar, PhD. at the University of Minnesota's Institute of Child Development, shows that children's cortisol level goes down when caregivers are responsive and close. (Too much cortisol makes us anxious, aggressive and unable to calm.) Grown-ups standing over a child arms akimbo, or sitting in a chair, reading, can potentially raise the child's stress. Grown-ups on the floor can reduce the child's stress.
Another proponent of being on the floor with a child is child psychiatrist Stanley J. Greenspan, M.D. FloorTime, based on his work, is a systematic technique that fosters children's healthy emotional development through intensive, one-on-one interactions with adults who are literally on the child's level.
Drop your body, and you will see your child relax and relate.
3. DROP YOUR TV REMOTE
Certainly, you cherish your precious few moments to watch television, read the newspaper, or concentrate on a task without interruption. Still, when your child approaches you in an undemanding way and makes an observation or asks a question, seize the moment. This is your chance to relate in a positive and meaningful way. You will never have another opportunity just like it again.
4. DROP YOUR GUARD
Let your child take risks. Risks, that is, that are SAFE. Taking calculated risks is how we learn new skills. Every now and then, let your child fall down on a padded surface. You cannot protect him forever from the ups and downs o life. He most certainly will stumble, and he must learn all by himself, in his own way, how to cope and recover.
5. DROP YOUR DEFENSES
So your mother-in-law says you're too lenient, the teacher says your child must learn how to get along, and the next-door neighbor shakes her head when you're dealing with your child's meltdown in the front yard. People like order, your child is disorderly.
What should you do about the blaming, misunderstanding, and head shaking? Don't ignore it; meet it.
6. DROP YOUR BATTERIES
Batteries are required to turn on a flashlight, but to turn on a child they can't hold a candle to hands-on experiences. Battery-operated toys, which often serve as electronic babysitters, can dim a child's appetite to gain new physical and mental skills. Active bodies and brain cells are a child's primary energy source. Give "kid power" a chance.
7. DROP YOUR MISCONCEPTION THAT FUN IS FRIVOLOUS
We are all born to be pleasure-seekers. We gotta have fun--or else we rust. Good sensations are neither an "extra" nor a reward; they are a necessity.
Many of the classes I teach for little ones from yoga to very messy play are actually thanks to work of people like Carol Kranowitz who wrote: The Out of Sync Child, The Out of Sync Child Has Fun, and How to Grow an In Sync Child.
Her work has completely demystified sensory issues, in fact, SPD or Sensory Processing Disorder, has been called "the new ADHD." People who know better may not think it is so "new" rather an historical misdiagnosis.
Children with special needs have taught many of us about how the developing brain works. All of us are occasionally out of sync, and many things that become atypical needs at a certain age--i.e. spinning--are a part of the typical development at another. It has become my interest to fuse the amazing works of all great educarers from Rudolf Steiner, the founder of the first Waldorf School, Occupational Therapists, and Brain Gym.
As a new feature for this blog, for those of you who I have not had the good fortune of meeting in a class and those I have, is that I would like to share some of my resources, give you some great info and links to purchase these books for your own library.
Please read Carol's "Seven Drops" below, great for your "back pocket."
From, The Out of Sync Child Has Fun:
THE SEVEN DROPS
When your child is having a bad day, consider these "Seven Drops"
1. DROP YOUR VOICE
When your child is explosive, demanding, and loud and needs immediate emotional first-aid, lower the volume of your voice. When you whisper, people will listen.
2. DROP YOUR BODY
Research about stress and early brain development show that children relax when caregivers are physically on their level. Megan R. Gunmnar, PhD. at the University of Minnesota's Institute of Child Development, shows that children's cortisol level goes down when caregivers are responsive and close. (Too much cortisol makes us anxious, aggressive and unable to calm.) Grown-ups standing over a child arms akimbo, or sitting in a chair, reading, can potentially raise the child's stress. Grown-ups on the floor can reduce the child's stress.
Another proponent of being on the floor with a child is child psychiatrist Stanley J. Greenspan, M.D. FloorTime, based on his work, is a systematic technique that fosters children's healthy emotional development through intensive, one-on-one interactions with adults who are literally on the child's level.
Drop your body, and you will see your child relax and relate.
3. DROP YOUR TV REMOTE
Certainly, you cherish your precious few moments to watch television, read the newspaper, or concentrate on a task without interruption. Still, when your child approaches you in an undemanding way and makes an observation or asks a question, seize the moment. This is your chance to relate in a positive and meaningful way. You will never have another opportunity just like it again.
4. DROP YOUR GUARD
Let your child take risks. Risks, that is, that are SAFE. Taking calculated risks is how we learn new skills. Every now and then, let your child fall down on a padded surface. You cannot protect him forever from the ups and downs o life. He most certainly will stumble, and he must learn all by himself, in his own way, how to cope and recover.
5. DROP YOUR DEFENSES
So your mother-in-law says you're too lenient, the teacher says your child must learn how to get along, and the next-door neighbor shakes her head when you're dealing with your child's meltdown in the front yard. People like order, your child is disorderly.
What should you do about the blaming, misunderstanding, and head shaking? Don't ignore it; meet it.
6. DROP YOUR BATTERIES
Batteries are required to turn on a flashlight, but to turn on a child they can't hold a candle to hands-on experiences. Battery-operated toys, which often serve as electronic babysitters, can dim a child's appetite to gain new physical and mental skills. Active bodies and brain cells are a child's primary energy source. Give "kid power" a chance.
7. DROP YOUR MISCONCEPTION THAT FUN IS FRIVOLOUS
We are all born to be pleasure-seekers. We gotta have fun--or else we rust. Good sensations are neither an "extra" nor a reward; they are a necessity.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Sarah's Silks Sale
Sarah's Silk toys are amazing, my favorite!
Check out the Sarah's Silks catalog, these are a wonderful addition for imaginative play and part of the Waldorf Education tradition, and they are for sale on sale through Tree Pose Family Blog.
http://www.sarahssilks.com/catalog.htm
Please email me with order information and price inquiries: bedelberg@yahoo.com
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Holiday-with-Me! Starts Dec 2
Holiday-with-Me!
45 minute playgroup: music-and-movement, developmental play, and hands-on fun
Thursdays in Silverlake
Dec 2 “I made it out of clay”
Dec 9 “Nutcracker Suite”
Dec 16 “Wrapping, Ribbons & Bows”
Dec 30 “Ring in the New Year”
Prices:
Drop-in $22
4-class package $65
no refunds
Twin/Sibling Prices:
Drop-in $25
4-class package $75
For registration information contact:
(323) 841-0369 or bedelberg@yahoo.com
visit:
www.treeposefamilyblog.blogspot.com
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Straws! Mommy and Me! Dig with Me Playgroup Los Angeles
Weeks of collecting and cutting hundreds of straws and generous donation from Coffee Bean Hollywood--shout out--
to create this rich tactile tub of sound, color, texture, and fun! A few months
to go before my goal to fill a pool, a tiny pool.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Harvest Time! "Dig with Me" Mommy and Me Silverlake, Hay n "Dirt"
10 months to 22 our little ones all found there way through the hay! No one was deterred by the cobwebs, mice, gourds, pumpkins or cotton-ball ghosts! Boo!
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
The Littlest Los Angeles, CA
Hurray for Littlest!
let's get dirty!
the newest installment of our baby/toddler class starts thursday october 28th and is called dig with me! what a perfect time of year to be outside. the first class will be a dress up for halloween so it won't be dirty. mainly digging through different textures. this is a one month class, short and sweet and before the holidays get in full swing. please join in the fun!
Creative Local: Elizabeth Antonia creator and curator of littlest line on www.thelittlestblog.com
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Dig With ME Playgroup Los Angeles begins 10/28
DIG WITH ME!
parent-and-me messy playgroup
in Silverlake
45 minute
music-and-movement, developmental play, and hands-on digging!
OCT 28 Dress-up and Dig Halloween
“Hay” and “Soil” (not dirty)
NOV 4 Dig through Straws
NOV 11 Dig through Dry and Wet
NOV 18 Dig through Rice and Beans
Drop In $22
4-Class Package $65
no refunds
TWIN/SIBLING PRICES:
Drop In $25
4 class Package $75
To register contact:
Betsy Edelberg (323) 841-0369 bedelberg@yahoo.com
www.treeposefamilyblog.blogspot.com
for pics of “Paint with Me” and “Waterplay with Me” and for more information about sensory integration
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
"Waterplay with Me" Mommy-and-Me Class Silverlake, CA
It rained rice, leaves, beans, pasta, water, you name it, and our toddlers braved the sounds and textures of the storm and wanted more!
Bubble Art & Body Paint "Paint with Me" Mommy-and-Me Class Silverlake, CA
Waldorf Technique Wet-on-Wet Painting, "Paint with Me" Mommy-and-Me class Silverlake, CA
Wet-on-wet is a wonderful way to introduce painting to our very youngest children. We use Stockmar paints which truly represent color the way it is seen in nature. First we soaked the watercolor paper in water, when we took the soaked paper out of the water, we used medicine droppers and paint brushes and watched the colors dance and chase each other all over the pages.
On Sensory Integration
One of the most exciting new developments in my work is the expansion of yoga, movement and music into sensory integration activities. As I began to develop a website, the name of the site perplexed me. The designer and I came up with "Yogarama," because my classes have gone beyond just yoga, and have become a balanced offering of many and multiple platforms. One of my newest and new favorite kinds of classes is the "Dig With Me" class. A couple of creative and educated moms asked me if I could offer them less yoga and more hands on messy fun. We have had the "Paint with Me" session, which included: fruit/veggie painting, waldorf wet-on-wet, bubble painting, and body painting. And next "Waterplay with Me" where we had a carwash, swampy fishing, under umbrellas and tie dye. I so enjoyed the experience, that I no longer wish to call the classes I teach Yogarama but "Dig with Me." "Dig with Me" will be the next session we do, but the idea is endless: unique, hands-on, sensory-integrated Mommy-and-Me classes (or dad, nanny, grandma).
As parents and educators, we are becoming more and more aware of the importance of sensory integration, and luckily most preschools offer a great deal of this kind of fun. For those who have never heard of such a thing and wonder why they would want to introduce it into their young child's life is a little info from the website, www.sensory-processing-disorder.com:
From the womb into adulthood, our neurological systems are developing
and processing an overwhelming amount of sensory information every day.
Our system must then interpret this information and make it ready to be
tolerated and used for specific purposes.
If this normal developmental process is hindered in any way, it can cause detrimental effects. Proper intake and use of sensory input is absolutely critical to a child's maturation process and the building of core, foundational skills. I certainly can not stress this enough... it isthat important!
The best part about sensory integration activities is the creative fun
you can have coming up with ideas, playing with your child using sensory
input, or purchasing unique toys and products anyone would love! (I'll be honest, sometimes adults need and love these products as much as, if not more than, the child!)
Sensory Integration Activities are the lifeline to providing and achieving the necessary challenges for your child so they maximize:
daily functioning
intellectual, social, and emotional development
the development of a positive self-esteem
a mind and body which is ready for learning
positive interactions in the world around him
the achievement of normal developmental milestones
From the womb into adulthood, our neurological systems are developing
and processing an overwhelming amount of sensory information every day.
Our system must then interpret this information and make it ready to be
tolerated and used for specific purposes.
If this normal developmental process is hindered in any way, it can cause detrimental effects. Proper intake and use of sensory input is absolutely critical to a child's maturation process and the building of core, foundational skills. I certainly can not stress this enough... it isthat important!
The best part about sensory integration activities is the creative fun
you can have coming up with ideas, playing with your child using sensory
input, or purchasing unique toys and products anyone would love! (I'll be honest, sometimes adults need and love these products as much as, if not more than, the child!)
Friday, January 29, 2010
Silverlake Yoga Multi-Age Yoga Music Art 2/18/10 3PM
This class is for infants and young toddlers, standard yoga class prices and packages apply, see www.silverlakeyoga.com for details.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Children's Yoga Los Angeles
Useful information:
Giving your child the benefit of socializing with a group of mixed-age children is such an enhancement to their self-awareness and self-confidence, and some believe it can actually to lead to higher i.q.'s, but don't hold me to that!
Movement is the biggest anchor for learning, this is why yoga is such a fun and productive way to learn songs and stories.
Children under the age of 7 learn the most about their world and how it works throughmimicking! Around 15 months is the time when toddlers first experience themselves as separate from their parents, and learn to identify with their peers. However, the way that they come to understand and learn about their environment is mimicking everything--for better or worse ;)
What will class be like:
Our yoga is preschool yoga, so it will be musical, merry and theatrical with all of the traditional yoga asanas woven throughout. We will learn to become aware of our breath through the same play.
The first few classes--will depend largely (if not soley) on grown-up involvement. Some toddlers will mimic as they observe with no need to process, some will need to only observe the yoga play (might look either like a deer in the headlights or distracted) and then tend to practice at home.
For this reason, this class will also include many other activities in hopes to appeal to all of the senses and toddler personalities. Eventually with repetition, the class will become familiar and everyone will be universally confident and yoga-ready!
Monday, January 4, 2010
Tree Pose is linked to Facebook!
So, the good news is there an audience! The other news is that I know them!--I'm still going to pretend I don't.
Until my website is up...coming very soon! this blog is here to tell you about what I do for work--and apparently fun.
Toddler Yoga Los Angeles: Note
Hi Families!
Here is a quick message re: Toddler Yoga, Thursday January 7.
For our first Green Art Project on Thursday, PLEASE SAVE AND BRING USED DRYER SHEETS (fabric softener sheets) to class.
Thank you :)
Here is a quick message re: Toddler Yoga, Thursday January 7.
For our first Green Art Project on Thursday, PLEASE SAVE AND BRING USED DRYER SHEETS (fabric softener sheets) to class.
Thank you :)
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Baby Class coming to Silverlake Yoga
New baby class coming to Silverlake Yoga:
Mommy-and-me class in a supportive social environment providing tools to take home: including infant massage and infant yoga, music and movement, sign language and some yoga for the moms.
We are interested in your feedback, when is nap time: does a morning or afternoon class work best for you?
Please email: bedelberg@yahoo.com
Back to Blogging
(This poor old blog was abandoned last Spring, and it is time to get back to bloggin'.)
This Thursday 1/7 a new Yoga-centered playgroup begins in Sherman Oaks. Toddlers must be 18 months and older to enjoy this class! We will be all over the map, exploring movement, music, art and stories!
Coming soon to Hollywood, a Mommy-and-Mozart class! This is a mixed-age musical exploration and concert series which will take place at the Theosophical Center on Beachwood Drive.
Coming soon to LA, a Saturday morning Yiddishe Bubbele Mommele Culture Class for you and your baby! We will eat, sing, play instruments, learn signs and have FUN! as we learn about Judaism. No need to be Jewish even!
Coming soon to Calabasas, a mommy-and-me musical playgroup. A great way to give your baby the gift of social experience, music-learning, sign language, movement and special concert performances.
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