Watch, Wait, Play! Encourage independence and curiosity by allowing your child to take the lead with play. It’s best to support their actions, but let your child be the leader. Play only happens when your child is in control, you can’t make her play.
Here are some examples of “Wait & Watch” by age group.
Baby
If baby is reaching for the ball, stop yourself from giving it to them. Let them get it themselves.
Toddler
If they’re trying to get up on the chair, let them try on their own before assisting. Let them get dress by themselves – put on their own shoes etc.
Preschooler:
When they encounter another child coming up the slide when they’re ready to go down, let them figure out how “negotiate” with the other child without interrupting.
Wait and Watch in action!
Cassidy’s first time in the Play & Learn Level 5 Class — she did well figuring out how to go in a circle with this rope. – from GymboFam Ambassador Crystal, https://www.instagram.com/Sugarlandfan/
Hey there, everyone! Our names are Josiah and Krissy and we’re the parents of the most spunky and adventurous 2-year old named Noah. Our little guy has been going to Gymboree Play & Music for the past year and we’ve seen so much change in him since starting.
It’s given him confidence to come out of his shell and learn new things. His favorite activity when at Gymboree Play & Music is anything to do with the parachute or bubbles. His face literally lights up when he knows the teacher will bring it out for them to play with. It’s been an absolute joy watching him grow up through this program.
On top of being his parents, dad is a Parole Officer and mom is a stay at home entrepreneur who works in the social media field. There is nothing better than seeing our son play at Gymboree Play & Music because we know he’s constantly learning new ways to work on his development. We’re looking forward to what else he is able to accomplish and how much more he is able to grow.
Follow this easy summer checklist to get prepared for SUMMERTIME!
Stock up on supplies: Get those cabinets and refrigerators ready for a workout. Stock up on everything from sunscreen to popsicles to snacks!
Get out those summer clothes: Goodbye sweaters, hello tank tops and bathing suits!
Keep those books in sight: Don’t let those books collect dust this summer. Create a reading schedule to keep your little one learning!
Get the family together: There’s no shortage of fun to be had during the summer. Whether it’s at the beach, theme parks or going to outdoor events, make it a family adventure!
The Gymboree Play & Music theme for May is Play Big and we’re focusing on developing gross motor skills through play.
When children ‘play big’, meaning they are jumping, climbing, running they are subconsciously learning and beginning to understand their bodies and how they work. The technical term is “proprioception”. This seems simple enough, but it is much more complicated than just knowing where your hand is when you are not looking at it.
It is also about center of balance, posture, reflexes, and general movement confidence. Children will generally be more successful lifelong and able to better manage the inevitable changes of our bodies when they are well grounded in their senses at an early age.
Get moving at Gymboree Play & Music this week. GymboFams Ambassador Laura knows how to get her Monday off to a great start with some amazing balancing acts.
Good balance helps avoid injury during physical activity, improves our posture, and creates a keen sense of the capabilities of our muscles and joints.
Here’s is Baby Girl practicing her balance at Gymboree Play & Music. She was able to stand holding onto something for stability all by herself! From GymboMom April https://www.instagram.com/cheekycelie/
At Gymboree Play and Music, Music 1 we are learning how to dance! Bouncing, twisting and swaying — Ollie loves to bounce and sometimes likes to combine all 3. From GymboFams Ambassador Chantelle https://www.instagram.com/chantelle10987/
Jacqui loves to do the see-saw boat! When her friend gets off from the boat, she has to read just her weight and pressure to stay afloat. From GymboFams Ambassador Melissa https://www.instagram.com/meliss_msw/
Try This At Home Wobble Activity For Baby!
The baby boogie!
Pick out a favorite song, hold your baby in front of you and swing them in and out or spin them round and round. Babies will squeal with glee when we move them around fast! Why? This simple activity is helping to stimulate their vestibular system. All leading to good balance when they are ready to stand up! So, wobble them around and have fun! You’re building up their ability to understand where their body is in space!
The Gymboree Play & Music theme for April is Wobble and we’re Focusing on Balance & Coordination. All this month we’ll be bringing you stories and activities that focus on balance and coordination.
Why Wobble?
Practicing our balance whether we are in tummy time, sitting up, standing, walking, or running helps improve our understanding of our body in space, or our proprioception.
When we have good balance, we avoid injury during physical activity, improve our posture, and create a keen sense of the capabilities of our muscles and joints.
When we use different surfaces to build up these muscles in our legs and core (like the surfaces in our playscapes), we take the challenge to the next level. Balancing on the floor is easy! But walking on our soft gym cushion? Tricky! Think about how you use different parts of your body and brain when you are walking on the beach, as opposed to when you are walking on the sidewalk. Different right? It’s because we are challenging our bodies, and that challenge improves our abilities!
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.
I started bringing my daughter to Gymboree Play & Music when she was 11 months old. She is now almost 16 months old and we go to Gymboree Play & Music at least 3 days a week.
She has enjoyed going, so much, and I have seen so much growth in her! Her teachers are fantastic!!!! They are so enthusiastic and involved in each class. We love our monthly, unlimited pass.
We have also met new people and my daughter has met some great little buddies. We are looking forward to growing even more and being able to attend more classes!
Before I begin one of my (many) favorite Gymboree Play & Music stories, I must make the comment that Gymboree Play & Music has been and is WONDERFUL for my son, Asher! His teacher, Ms. Emily has a true talent in teaching her classes and the rest of the Pearland staff is awesome as well!;) We have made new friends and that’s always great!
Asher, had been “cruising” and taking a few steps here and there for quite some time! It’s been an amazing time and opportunity to have Asher at home and not in school or daycare, and as the super overprotective, no germs on Asher parents that my husband and I have been and are lol, We never really had Asher around a lot of other Little Ones! His relatives are all older than he is! He never saw other Little Ones his age walking and just preferred to be picked up and carried everywhere, as we enjoyed this too!!! This “I’m not going to walk until I’m ready” was until of course, we started to attend Gymboree Play & Music!!!
We came in on a Friday, spoke with the staff, and decided to do a trial class the next day, Saturday, and Asher cried literally the entire class! After his class, the staff assured us that Asher just needed time to get used to Gymboree Play & Music and we should come to open classes, so we enrolled him! Best thing ever!!! We were confident that Asher would familiarize himself with Gymboree Play & Music and like it! What we did not know was that he was truly taking everything in and observing his now friends!
Later that evening, we were playing with Asher and blowing bubbles with him as he did earlier with Ms. Emily! We were trying to repeat some of the things Asher did earlier in his class and voilà!!!!! Asher began to walk!!! After being completely astonished and grabbing the camera for pics, we concluded that this newly found walking was due to Gymboree Play & Music and Asher noticing and observing other Little Ones in his class! It had to be! We didn’t do any other exercises with him and he had seen bubbles before!!! I’m so glad that we got the pics- and story to prove this!!! Gymboree Play & Music, you are great and we will always remember you all as taking part in our bright star, Asher walking!!!
