Yoga Babies

The little ones and mama are fresh from a limbering session of afternoon yoga at a local Children's Centre. Well, in truth mum sat with Little Big Cheeks on my lap at the corner and egged on his older brother.

It was a treat to see my 3-year-old (who's already built more like a rugby player than a tiny dancer) ease himself into various poses. It was even better to see how quickly he transformed from wallflower into proud, standing tree with waving branches - amongst other yogic moves.

What's clever about Yoga Bugs is a series of standard poses are woven into storytelling so the kids feel like they're going on a magical adventure with plenty of stretching and rolling about.

It's a canny mix of song, dance and fitness that appeals to toddlers (1 to 2) and pre-schoolers (3 to 4) already hooked on yoga-inspired CBeebies show Waybuloo. Check out the Yoga Bugs web site to get a sense of it and find your nearest class.

Sing with Putumayo

I was thrilled to find a copy of Putumayo’s compilation World Playground 2 at our local children’s library. I’ve always been a big fan of Putumayo whose ethos is to promote diversity through multicultural song and dance from around the globe. Following on from the multiple award-winning World Playground, this CD features tunes to appeal to little ones such as Music Farm, a sort of Trinidadian version of Old Macdonald, as well as legendary artists like Toots & the Maytals. It rounds off with Miriam Makeba singing an updated version of the joyful South African classic Pata Pata with her granddaughter.

The liner notes are filled with colourful drawings that I could read to my baby like a book. I also picked up Latin Playground and Sing Along with Putumayo which has enough catchy folk and blues to chase away those Baa Baa Black Sheep for a few weeks. Putumayo do a fab job of exposing kids to stuff often tucked away on the back shelves of record stores. But it’s up to us parents to teach them that all music is world music and world music belongs to everyone.

Technorati tags baby music gifts

Signing with baby

Ever been so frustrated trying to get your point across with someone that you end up screaming? Imagine what it’s like when your verbal skills are limited to ‘mama’ and ‘dada’ or just babbling. Studies suggest babies who are taught to communicate through sign language are happier, throw fewer tantrums and may even have accelerated speech development. If you don’t have access to signing classes, and you’re not ready to commit to books and videos, you can rent download software for $3 a week at Kiddie Signs.com.

This web site also offers free sign language games teaching kids the alphabet, shapes and colours in American Sign Language using multicultural animation. Kiddie Signs is part of KiddieGames.com a fantastic hub of interactive games to play at the computer with your little one while she’s cuddled on your lap. Just watch what happens when she bashes the keyboard and one of the cartoon kids talks back!

So Smart baby videos

I first stumbled across So Smart videos at the local library. This award-winning series uses striking animation and classical soundtracks to stimulate and entertain babies from 0 to 36 months. We got the Shapes and Musical Instruments videos and my then six month old delighted in the shapes and colours dancing across the screen. I liked that each video allows space for parent and child to interact by talking, clapping or even dancing along. Mostly, I enjoyed the look of wonder on my baby’s face. If you’re worried by studies claiming TV is harmful to kids, the So Smart web site offers guidelines about how to watch and when to switch off. After all, most babes may look like spuds but nobody wants to raise a couch potato.