February 2018 – GYMBO BUZZ – Explore our world and share yours.

Easy Musical Kid’s Craft: Make a Bell Shaker

Easy Musical Kid’s Craft: Make a Bell Shaker

By Megan Schiller of The Art Pantry

Last night we had friends over for dinner. All the kids were off playing together and suddenly they came marching through the dining room with various musical instruments and pronounced that they had started a band!

One of these instruments was a favorite DIY bell shaker that is super easy to make and is just as fun for our 6 year old to make as it is for a toddler.

Materials:

1 stick (You could also use a wood dowel or even a chopstick!)
Craft Bells (we used 5 for this one, but any amount will work. The more bells, the louder the jingle).
Craft Wire, cut to about 2 ft. (pipe cleaners work fine too). If the wire is sharp on the end, just wrap the ends with tape.
Craft/Washi Tape

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Steps:

This is a fun project to do with your child. Young kids will most likely need help with the wire wrapping so it’s a good idea to work together with your child on one shaker or you can each make your own while you demonstrate the steps.

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Wrap one end of the wire around the end of the stick a few times to secure it.
Wrap tape over the secured wire and down the stick for decoration.
Thread a bell onto the loose end of the wire and slide it down into place against the stick.
Wrap the wire a few more times around the stick and make sure to keep it tight.
Repeat steps 3 and 4 for each new bell.
When you get all of the bells onto the stick, wrap the rest of the wire around the stick and secure with tape.

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For added decoration, wrap the rest of the stick with craft tape.

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Shake, shake, shake and have fun with your new instrument!

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Megan’s Bio

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Megan Schiller is a former art teacher who designs children’s creative play spaces at The Art Pantry. She especially loves to help families set up art spaces that encourage exploration, independence, and joyful learning. When Megan’s not doing art with kids or designing spaces, you might find her out in nature, reading, or chatting with her husband on their podcast about creating the life of your dreams.

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Play Lab Offers Interactive Classes Designed Just For Children Ages 2 to 5

Our NEW Play Lab offers interactive classes designed just for children ages 2 to 5 years and includes themes like Stretch, Spin, Sound, Splash, Dwell, Shine and Squish.

Play Lab is an innovative program that brings S.T.E.A.M (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art & Math) learning to life — with an interactive twist. Play Lab immerses kids in a fun, messy, creative world of vibrant sensory experiences, problem-solving activities and plenty of confidence-building social interaction.

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We have two types of classes available.

The parent/child class gives mom and dad (caregivers welcome too!) the opportunity to be co-creators in invention, discovery and play… bringing them together for one of the first S.T.E.A.M-powered classes ever created for this age group.

Our drop-off class allows children ages 3-5 to experience independent fun and interaction with their peers in a safe and nurturing environment all while building the confidence they’ll need for school.

The new Play Lab programs makes the most of our state-of-the-art equipment, child-friendly environment and draws on our 40 years of expertise in early childhood education — while bringing fresh new interactive S.T.E.A.M activities to get your little scientists learning like crazy while doing the following:

Stretch

Imagine playing with a life-sized slingshot. Lycra swings. Elastic bands. Things that stretch will help children learn about flexibility and strength.

Spin

Children discover centrifugal force while using salad spinners, colorful tops and the highlight of the class – kids get to twirl around in a (safe) suspended spinning saucer!

Sound

The sound lab lets children compose their own musical masterpiece, make instruments and even start their own Play Lab band! Better here than being noisy at home, right?

Splash

Kids will get their hands wet with water tables, sponges and funnels while exploring the science of surfing and splashing.

Dwell

Calling all aspiring architects! Solve basic engineering problems by using blocks and building materials selected specifically for their age group. This is also a great way to explore design through trial and error, and learn the persistence to keep trying.

Shine

Kids will get their shine on as light dominates our Shine Lab with wearable lights, shadowplay, light-up-blocks and flash dancing.

Squish

The Squish Lab allows little fingers to dig into tactile play as they learn about liquids and solids. Get messy as we use art and science to create play potions that smoosh, squish and slide.

To enroll in Play Lab classes find a location near you.

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What Are The Benefits Of Baby Lab?

Our NEW Baby Lab offers interactive classes designed just for babies ages 0-10 months including themes like Art, Music, Signs, Literacy, Lights and Mindfullness.

Baby Lab gives very young children the opportunity to experience play and learning in a fun, supportive space with their parents as their partners. The benefits of Baby Lab will follow children throughout their lives by providing the building blocks of education and play.

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The Benefits Of Baby Lab include–

Sensory Experience – Touch, sight and sound let babies learn and develop from early sensory experiences. We utilize textures, music, movement, sound and words to engage the senses.

Coordination & Balance – Babies learn basic coordination and balance skills on our baby-friendly state-of-the-art equipment.

Whole-child Innovation – Babies will learn in a safe, healthy and supportive environment that supports intellectual growth and social development.

Problem Solving – Babies solve problems by movement — crawling towards mom, grasping a toy or making a hand gesture. The Baby Lab encourages curiosity and teaches persistence in solving these baby sized problems.

Togetherness! Babies and parents team up for play and learning in our 6 unique Baby Labs. Not only will they engage with their parents but they also have a chance to interact with one another (and we all know babies love other babies) which creates important early social bonds that will last a lifetime.

Baby Lab is about exploration and engagement and each lab encompasses age-appropriate sound, visual and reflex stimulation.

To enroll in Baby Lab classes find a location near you.

Tips For Moms

5 Tips For A Happy, Tear-Free Playdate For 3 Year Olds

3-year-olds are extremely skilled at expressing emotions with both adults and children. They smile, hug, ask questions and have a basic understanding of feelings which means it’s a perfect age to start hosting more independent playdates.

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At three children can play with other children rather than just “side-by-side” parallel play even if they aren’t quite ready to be completely free of mom or dad’s watchful eye.

Here are 5 super simple things you can do to help facilitate a happy playdate that doesn’t end in a meltdown.

Mind the time.

Set a start time and end time — 3-year-olds tend to do best with about an hour of play time. Once a child gets crabby, bored or distracted the tears are more likely to flow.

Two’s company, Three’s a possible tear fest.

While multiple children at parties and other events is a good way for 3-year-olds to hone their social skills, play dates are often better with two children. Odd numbers can mean someone could be left out and communication and sharing are a bit simpler one-on-one.

Don’t force interactions.

3-year-olds are used to playing in their own bubble while other kids play nearby (parallel play) and there’s no need to force side-by-side play. Eventually your two playmates will start to interact on their own out of curiosity and friendship.

Snack time is your friend.

Offering a small snack provides a distraction for children who are getting grumpy or bored. Not many tears are shed during milk and cookie time! Tip – Don’t offer too many choices — in this case mom knows best.

Give a 10-Minute Warning.

3-three-year olds can’t think too far in advance but a gentle reminder that Jake’s mom is coming to take him home in 10-minutes might help in transitioning to the end of a play date.

Three is a wonderful age to start building friendships and with just a bit of planning your play date is sure to have smooth sailing.

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So many colors, so little mess!

We have Miss Alex for Art class, Sat at 1pm in Corona, CA. Jaydon moved to School Skills class from Miss Alex’s art class. We are very grateful for having Miss Alex as an art teacher.

Not only is she extremely kind and patient, but is very instrumental when it comes to teaching our little ones about colors, combining colors, sharing, taking turns and staying clean. How she does that, I don’t know, but am so happy she keeps them happy, inspired and clean. We love to see her on School Skills days when she is available to help with Miss Coco’s class. She’s always ready in case she is needed in class.

Always with such a warm smile. No wonder she is one of Jaydon’s favorite people there at Gymboree Play & Music!! We miss doing art class with Miss Alex, but are happy to see her when she there to help out with School Skills Class. Thank you Miss Alex for always greeting us with a smile and kindness. It is because of teachers like you that we keep coming back.

Mom to Jaydon – Corona, CA

Play & Learn Classes

Mrs. Sue is AWESOME!

Mrs. Sue Fowler is my son’s teacher at Gymboree Play & Music and she is awesome. Mrs. Sue leads her class with a genuine enthusiasm that really connects with the kids. With Mrs. Sue story books become adventures, puppets come alive, and the friendships she builds with parents and kids are real.

Thanks to all the Gymboree Play & Music staff, and especially Mrs. Sue for everything. It has been a wonderful and enriching experience. I am eternally grateful.

Best wishes,
Jason – Baltimore, MD