PitterPatterFeet

Hello and welcome to the Pitter Patter Feet Blog. I am so happy you stopped by. My name is D’TaRelle F. Tullis, Founder and Owner of Pitter Patter Feet. Since its inception in 1993, The Pitter Patter Feet Method has been successfully used by over 20,000 children ranging in ages from infancy to 12 years old. It is a system comprised of music, movement, dance, physical development techniques and brain integration. The system is designed for all types of learning styles and ways children love to learn and is for both girls and boys. My specialty is early learners between the ages of 2 1/2 to 6. The goal of the program is to develop smart, happy and fit children by focusing on four key areas in child development, cognitive development, social and emotional development and physical development.

RESULTS

Children develop self confidence and esteem, a love of learning and exploration, have better self control over their bodies and emotions, become more self reliant and learn to work well with others. The most exciting result is children learn to use their brains and bodies more efficiently and effectively and express themselves with confidence and freedom. Most importantly, because all of the activities and processes are age appropriate and designed for young learners they are packed with fun, excitement and lots of movement and adventure.

Teachers, parents and directors also benefit greatly from the system. Because the Pitter Patter Feet Method was designed by an Early Childhood Consultant/ Trainer and Owner of a mobile dance studio, both the body and mind are engaged. The classes are held at the children’s school so parents do not have to worry about getting their children to an additional location. Teachers and directors also love it because children remain in a familiar environment and receive reinforcement and different ways of experiencing their Early Childhood Curriculums.  Movements from the class come from sports, the martial arts and yoga in addition to dance, creative movement and basic physical development movements designed to help build balance, hand eye coordination, spatial awareness and more. Props such as bubbles, balls and material are also used to enhance the learning experience and provide additional sensory information and experiences.

As mentioned earlier, all children are free to express themselves and have a great time. Some are silly( check out my friend in the front making a face and my smaller friend behind him with his shirt over his knees ), and some are just eagerly awaiting for the start of class. They are all honored and accepted for who they are and are all encouraged to do their very best at whatever level they are currently at.

RESOURCES

This blog is designed to provide resources and information for parents, teachers, directors, principal and educators and everyone who works with and care for children and are interested in optimizing children’s potential as well  their own. You matter and your comments and questions are always greatly appreciated. I encourage you to share your experiences and expertise.  Please feel free to get your questions answered and add your comments. Let me know how I can best serve you and I will do my best! Please refer to the testimonial page on our blog to find out about others experience of the program. Have a great day!

I love seeing the smile of success on my children’s faces when they accomplish something big in their eyes or get the correct answer. It is a priceless perk which I wouldn’t trade for all the money in the world. Seriously,  when my students succeed I feel it too. I love seeing them beam with pride. I had the pleasure of this experience this afternoon.

As a positive incentive to insure good behavior in my classes I reward children with stamps done with non toxic ink. The stamps have pictures on them as well as words. The pictures are of things that children really like, a cat, dinosaur, frog, teddy bear, a school bus filled with a boy and girl and a rabbit and teddy bear are just a few of the pictures on the stamps.

The words are “Terrific”, “Great Job”, “Very Good”, “Parent Signature”, to name a few. Why would a kid want a stamp that says “Parent Signature” you ask. Since 90 percent of my students are under the age of 5 most of them haven’t started reading yet. They really don’t care about the words as much as they care about the pictures on the stamp. The “Parent Signature” one in particular happens to have a star on it. So the kids really love it because of the star.

I have found this technique to be a successful one. It rewards good behavior and at the same time discourages undesirable behavior. I say undesirable as opposed to “bad” behavior because often times children are just being children and just need guidance and correction. They need to have opportunities to get it right, when we give them these opportunities, this is how they learn.

Today, Noah was standing in line waiting for his stamp. Another benefit of this technique is that it teaches the students patience. As he was standing in line, he noticed a partial picture of one of the stamps on the ink pad, which is in a white case. He asked me if this was one of the stamps that I had. I turned it around and asked him to tell me if this was the case. I turned the stamp pad case right side up and placed it next to the stamps.

He looked from the pad to the stamps, when he finally matched the two I saw the most beautiful smile spreading across his face. He’d done it. He succeeded at finding out if the ink picture on Ms. D’TaRelle’s stamp pad was the same as one of the stamps in the collection. You are so smart! I said to him. His smile grew bigger, his eyes twinkled, he had a happy face from the inside out. He felt great about himself and it showed.

When he left and went back to class I wondered to myself what I would have done had he not got it correct. Normally I would have said try again. This time something different came up. The words”You’re learning!” came to mind. I loved it! Children get to feel good about themselves whether they get an answer right or not. They get to understand that learning  can be a positive experience. That part of learning is not getting it right all of the time and that’s okay.

When we as parents and teachers present mistakes and not getting the right answer as just feedback, not anything that’s good or bad, we help to preserve and build  our children’s esteem and confidence as well as emotional resilience. We help them to look at it as an opportunity to do it better and get it right. It is not a reflection of them personally, like a hair out of place or the needle on the gas tank, there is something we can do and continue on.

So try this the next time with your kids. Help your children to feel good about the learning experience and themselves. If this has been helpful to you please leave a comment and share this with you family and friends. Until next time, have an amazing day! D’TaRelle

You know that it is really important to make time for yourself. You really, really wish that you were able to do it, but your schedule is crazy and jammed packed as it is. With work, the kids’ schedules and your household responsibilities, you cannot see how you can even think about squeezing another thing in. Listed below are some suggestions that will help you find that time you need just for you. Read more »

One of the biggest obstacles we as mommies run into is how we schedule our time. We think about how long something should take and don’t consider interruptions or delays. When this happens we are up against it, pressed for time and stressed out of our minds. Because of the added amount of stress we are not able to tolerate too much change or when things don’t go our way. Impatience and frustration run rampant, having a party at our expense.

Additional obstacles come in the form of not allowing enough time for other people in our household to get ready and be ready to walk out of the door when we are. In the past this used to drive me crazy, Read more »

In “Making Time For Mommy Tip” I suggested staying in bed longer or getting into bed earlier. One other thing I wanted to mention is to tell you to make sure you set your alarm in the event you fall back asleep. What I liked about this tip is often when you have small children and pets somehow in the morning they are in your bed and not theirs. By keeping your eyes closed and praying, contemplating, planning and intending your day, it can be done whether others are in your bed or you’re alone.

This second tip has nothing to do with anyone else except you. Yes, it is all about you, and although every good mommy considers her family to be a top priority, Read more »

If you are a busy mom with children, pets, and a husband, you may feel that it is impossible to have time to yourself. You’ve even tried going to the bathroom just to get a few moments to breathe and think, but to no avail. You hear that famous word that makes you want to change your name. You know that word “MOMMMMMEEEEEEE!!!!”, or those other group of words ” Baby where is my….?” or “Honey did you see my …….?” You know exactly what I am talking about.

So although you heard that you should use some form of relaxation or stress release method, or better yet you KNOW you should be using one to keep your sanity , it seems highly unlikely that it can happen in your house. Don’t loose hope just try this technique.

THE TIP

When you wake up in the morning don’t immediately jump out of bed. Take a few deep breaths and keep your eyes closed pretending to still be asleep. Lie very still and plan the wonderful and glorious day that you intend to have. You can also pray, ask for guidance or help. You can also express gratitude for the new day and all of the many things you are grateful for.

You can also use this tactic by going to bed a little earlier so that you can have peace and clear you mind for a good night sleep. Imagine all of your worries and concerns draining off your body, going down into the bed, down to the floor or floors and into the ground, leaving your body relaxed and ready for sleep. You can go back over you day and change anything that didn’t go the way that you wanted and create it exactly the way you want it in your mind. The only rule is you cannot argue back and forth with someone. It has to be what you would have liked to happen.

For example, if someone was rude to you, and you looked at them in disbelief,  like what is the matter with you but you said nothing. Don’t go back over that  incident and think to yourself I should have told her blah blah bleep bleep. Instead imagine that person being pleasant and helpful instead because this is what you really want.

So the whole key is to either stay in bed longer or get into bed earlier so you can have time to yourself. I find that when I start my day by setting my intention to have a great day, be happy and also think about all the things that I intend to receive during that day like Love, Peace, Harmony, Cooperation etc., my day turns out so much better. The great thing about this technique is that it will even work if your kids or pets have climbed into bed with you.

Try it and let me know how it turns out. Please come back and leave a comment so I can hear about it. Also share this post on social media or with someone you think can use it. I would greatly appreciate it and have a great day! D’TaRelle

Mother’s Day is fast approaching, only a couple of weeks away. If you haven’t decided on a gift, a perfect experience would be a luxurious and delicious spa experience.  My sugar lump husband and I attended the Grand Opening of Indulgence Day Spa last night in South Orange, New Jersey. Harold Tullis is a Registered Architect (R.A.)  and this was one of his projects that he designed and provided consulting services for.

He spoke so highly of the owners Joye’ Foust and Patrice Hairston, that I couldn’t wait to go to the Grand Opening. “You will love the owners Joye’ and Patrice”, he said , “they are really nice people who know what they are doing and have an elegant style about them.”

I met them both and my husband was right. They are both beautiful inside and out. They made everyone feel welcomed and were very attentive to everyone. You might say, well you are the architect’s wife of course they were nice to you. And I would tell you not so, they were genuinely kind and caring to every one, I watched them interacting with all of their guests. They warmly embraced and talked to everyone and made you feel so wonderful!

Just imagine yourself putting your tired aching feet, after a long day of work in these beautiful custom made pedicure stations. Those beautiful white lace items are curtains so you can close yourself off and enter another world.

This lovely and gorgeous chandelier hangs two stories high and can be seen both from the second floor lounge area as well as the main floor. Your comfort and privacy were given top priority at Indulgence Day Spa, along with spectacular service and ample space to relax and be pampered.

Indulgence Day Spa is  elegantly decorated in an upscale decor that reminds you of another place and time. The owners Joye’ and Patrice are wonderful people and will make sure that your visit is a pleasant and transformative experience. You can read about the experiences of others here: http://www.demandforce.com/b/myindulgencedayspa

Please visit them and let me know how your experience was. Indulgence Day Spa is located at 61 South Orange Avenue South Orange, New Jersey 07079 and can be reached at 973-821-5609. Tell them Mrs. Tullis sent you and have a wonderful time. D’TaRelle

What’s a really great and fun way to work your child’s mind and body. Word Hop Scotch of course, you don’t have to use all  of the letters and you can tailor it to your child’s age. Before I continue I saw this concept on a cable show called “Fun to Grow On”, it can be found on the Veria Living Channel. I have  altered it a little because I work with children from infancy to 12 years of age and want to include as many age groups as possible.

In some schools they start learning vocabulary as early as kindergarten, mainly three letter words which there are a lot of. To build in success, let your child look at some words and practice them first. Maybe they can write them down ahead of time.

You can use the traditional hop scotch diagram or you can make it with 6 or 8 or 9 blocks. You can have multiple letters in a block. For younger children I would put two  letters in each block. I would leave out the least used letters like “x” , “y”,”z”, “q” or whatever you wish.

You can have each word they come up with start with the letter they land on or just have that letter in the word. You make the rules.  Since this is a game where you want the kids  to use both their body and their mind you want to make sure you keep the game moving. They will get a pretty good work out trying to balance on one leg while they try to figure out a word. This would also be a great way to get them to remember their spelling words in school. Just grab a bunch of their classmates and have a blast.

If you are a teacher this would be a great opportunity to get some kinesthetic learning in. The more senses that are involved the more your students will retain the information. They will also love the opportunity to do something different .

You play the game like traditional hop scotch where you throw an object on a block area and hop onto to each letter. You will need to assign some one to keep track of the words so they aren’t used again. This doesn’t have to be the same person as they can take turns.

Try this game with your children. It’s a game that can be played both out doors or inside. Hop Scotch is a game that never goes out of style and is so easy and simple to play. Try it and let me know how it turns out. I’d love to hear from you.

My sessions are designed to contain structured and unstructured activities. Even though an activity may be unstructured there is still  a desired objective I am trying to achieve. For instance,  since it is warm  and more children will be playing outside my children are working with balls.  My students love the character balls, the ones with Spider Man and Jake the Pirate and Dinosaurs etc.

My purpose for working with balls are:

1. To develop rhythm and timing.

2. Develop hand and eye coordination.

3. Develop and enhance focus and concentration.

4. To learn to react and respond immediately to the word “Stop!” Read more »

Today while teaching my infant class I got the greatest thrill. These little precious ones are  probably around 10 to 12 months or younger. None of them are walking yet and have support while they are dancing. They sit either in a bumpy or high chair. Other times they sit in our laps or support themselves on the floor. They can wiggle their bodies and move their arms and legs, bop their heads and my favorite laugh and giggle.

In this class we learn simple things like clapping, creating different rhythms and learning different body parts  and just the freedom of  moving their body. It’s also a time to learn about what their bodies can do and how the different parts of the body function differently from each other. Like how your hands can hold and shake a rattle but not your toes. Read more »

“Play” what kind of images does that word bring to mind. As an adult when I hear the word “play” I get excited. I feel happy and very willing to participate. I think about other words like fun, joy and happiness. Now how about these words “work out” or ” exercise”. Did you feel your body just sink? Do you feel energized and invigorated about taking part in this activity. Not so much right, you can think of all the things that need to get done and that are really more important than working out or exercising.

Why is this important to explore? Our children are influenced by how we feel about things. If we don’t have enthusiasm about a particular topic or subject, they are likely not to have it either. If they see us dragging ourselves to the gym or studio or complaining about going to work out, how happy do you think they are going to be about doing it.

It would be a lot easier to get our children involved if we looked at moving our bodies from the aspect of play. In our minds we would feel much better about doing it also. Let’s play catch. Let’s play kick the ball. Let’s play hopscotch or jump rope or who’s got the bean bag or swing on the swing in the park. In all of the mentioned activities we are moving our bodies burning calories and hopefully we are also having fun.

THE BENEFITS OF PLAY

When you play there’s no time limit. You are so lost in the activity and having fun that you don’t even think about the time. You have a big smile on your face and you feel great. You are probably laughing and acting silly and goofy. You will probably notice that your competitive spirit starts to come out and you want to win. This drives you harder to do your best so that you can win, which calls for more energy and more time.

Sure you may get a little winded but you can always call a time out or take a break. You don’t have to be perfect or do anything perfectly but you do have to do something. Get going and get active is the name of the game. You will be spending quality time with your child or children. You will also be leading by example and this is great for your child.

ALL KINDS OF GAMES ARE A GREAT FORM OF PLAY

So start to look at the things that you and your child can do from the aspect of play. Even silly party games like pin the tail on the donkey and cracking open a pinata get the body moving and burn excess energy. If because of work and timing you aren’t able to participate allowing your children just to play at the park or team sports are excellent forms of play also.

Lastly, you child might not be ready for team sports yet. Think about creating a play date with some of their friends where it is centered around some activity where they are moving their bodies and not just sitting and playing videos game. Skating is a great activity that comes to mind. If you child is more academic than athletic why not try word hop scotch.

Try these suggestions and let me know how they turn out. If you have had success with something different please share it with us, we’d love to hear from you . Also please pick up a free ebook on healthy eating and activities that you can do with your child at http://www.healthykidsweightloss.com