There’s no such thing as “just playing” in early childhood. Play allows children to:
✔️ Test ideas and learn how things work ✔️ Learn new skills and solve problems ✔️ Learn to communicate, building language skills ✔️ Take on different roles through pretend play, learning how others think, feel and experience the world ✔️ Learn about symbolism, supporting literacy and math skills (zerotothree.org)
By having a trusted, loving adult participate in their play, young children can feel comfortable and confident exploring and testing out new skills – cognitive, physical and social-emotional – building their self-esteem and love of learning.
We’ve based the Gymboree Play & Music programs on play-based learning with adult participation for over four decades, supporting the healthy development of young children from birth to kindergarten. Find a Gymboree Play & Music location near you today.
🌟 Collaboration: working in collaboration with other children can build confidence and build an understanding of others’ diverse perspectives.
🌟 Communication: skills essential for learning, helping children express their thoughts, feelings and ideas
🌟 Critical thinking: helping children make good decisions, understand the consequence of their actions and solve problems
🌟 Creative innovation: using their natural inquisitiveness and imagination, exploring new ideas
🌟 Confidence: play empowers children to make their own choices, cultivate skills through trial and error, and discover what fulfills them
🌟 Social-emotional development: through play, children are able to freely express their emotions, helping them to understand and manage their feelings
🌟 Language development: through play, children learn to use language to express their thoughts and ideas, and they also learn to listen and respond to others
Kind of makes it obvious why Gymboree Play & Music‘s programs have been based on play-based learning for over four decades!
Find a Gymboree Play & Music location near you today, to enter your child’s world of play and support their physical, cognitive and social-emotional development.
From the first game of peek-a-boo to dressing up as a superhero, play is the first and most enduring form of communication and self-expression for children. It is a universal “language” that is hard-wired in your child’s DNA.
We have all heard that children learn through play. But how, exactly, does play contribute to early-childhood development?
Whether playing independently building with blocks or interacting with other children at a playground or in a class, your child is learning. Their earliest “play” interactions are simple give-and-take activities with trusted adults, but they are teaching your child about the world around them. Those early games of peek-a-boo teach them about object permanence: something can still be there, even if you can’t see it. Rolling a ball back and forth and the ever popular “drop things from my highchair” activity both teach them about cause and effect!
As they get older, their play becomes more complex, and begins to include other children: starting with parallel play where they watch and, perhaps, mirror each other and, later, through cooperative play. Their imaginations begin to expand, and they start making up and acting out stories. Their grasp and use of language explodes. By exploring their world, and challenging themselves to try new things, they are gaining confidence and building their self-esteem. They gain independence by testing their limits, exploring their boundaries, and making choices. Even making mistakes or the wrong decision – as painful as it can be – is a learning experience.
As your child’s social circle expands, they learn patience, understanding and begin to develop empathy. They begin to recognize and respond appropriately to social cues. The more opportunities they are given to socialize with a variety of other children, and adults, the more open-minded they will become. And they will begin to develop a sense of community and long-lasting friendships. These first friendships may fall away over time, but will be replaced by new and, perhaps, closer friendships that can last a lifetime.
Giving your child a variety of play-based activities – at home, at classes, at the playground – is their most important early learning experience.
Our play-based learning programs are here to support your child’s development, from birth to kindergarten. Visit us at www.gymboreeclasses.com for information on our programs.
Join us on Saturday June 23rd for a FREE day of fun. Our expert instructors will lead a day of activities for your little ones ages 0 to 5 years of age.
Also be sure to join our National Day of Play giveaway!
Spring is here and, you know what that means….PLAYTIME! April is Wobble month here at Gymboree Play & Music. Balance and coordination are vital for our kiddos in their development. Let’s get our wobble on with some fun games and activities!
Best part of all? All the below activities will be taking place at your local Gymboree Play & Music!
SIMON SAYS and FOLLOW THE LEADER! Positive benefits for your little one AND they do what you say!
Simon Says and Follow the Leader is so much fun because your child will do anything you do!
Hop on one foot, skip, crab walk, stand on one leg…get creative with different poses and movements to help your child learn how to balance and practice coordination.
HOP, HOP TO HOPSCOTCH! There’s a reason it’s a classic. Kids love it AND it helps with balance and coordination in so many ways.
The classic Hopscotch has so many benefits. Not only do kids love it, the game helps children master body control and the movements build body strength, balance, eye/hand coordination and more! For an extra challenge and to get even more out of this game, play it without switching feet — the more one-foot hopping, the better! This takes the skills of standing on one foot to the next level.
OBSTACLE COURSE! What’s a better (and fun) challenge than a good ‘ol obstacle course? Our child development experts and trained teachers come up with awesome obstacle courses for kiddos — way better than the pillows, blankets and boxes that we all grew up with!
Try this at home! Stairs, hills, crawl spaces and stepping stones all challenge a toddler’s balance and coordination. Create a (safe) obstacle course for your toddler — set up pillows and boxes and have your toddler crawl around and through the boxes and step on the pillows, without touching the ground.
There are also great obstacle courses at local parks — climb the stairs up to the slide, bounce on the wobbly bridge, find a balance beam or crawl through tunnels.
Spring is here and, you know what that means….PLAYTIME! April is Wobble month here at Gymboree Play & Music. Balance and coordination are vital for our kiddos in their development. Let’s get our wobble on with some fun games and activities!
Best part of all? All the below activities will be taking place at your local Gymboree Play & Music!
PLAY BALL! Throwing, rolling, kicking, catching…they all help your little one learn balance and coordination skills.
Learning to throw, roll, kick and catch a ball is a great way for little ones to work on their balance and coordination skills!
Try rolling a large, light ball back and forth on the floor with your child or throw a balloon in the air and catch it to promote good balance skills.
Activities like kicking a ball requires balance and coordination as your little one has to shift weight to one leg, while attempting to strike the ball with the opposite leg.
Practice at home! There are so many ways balls can help with balance and coordination in your child! Simple catch is great. Or have them try to catch the ball in a basket, rather than using their hands. Kick a ball towards a target while walking or running is another simple way to improve balance for kids. You can also bring out bats or sticks and have them strike an object into a goal. The possibilities are endless!
Simon Says and Follow the Leader is so much fun because your child will do anything you do!
