What Can I Expect?
Making the Most of Your Experience Together
You are your child's favorite play pal!
While your instructor plans and guides the dancing fun, it is your loving interactions with your little one that will make this the best hour of your week! Come prepared and dressed in comfortable clothing (for you and your child) and ready to move. We will march, roll, gallop, stretch and more in every class!
You are also your child's safe person in a new environment...
Feel free to offer comfort when your little one needs it and enjoy the time together. There are many "right ways" to participate!
Jump right in or tip-toe
Children often take time to warm up to a new activity and approach dance class in a large studio in different ways. Some will jump right in while others prefer to hold you close and watch a while. Still others will wander the room.
These are all developmentally appropriate and to be expected. Your instructor will support you and your child while gently guiding the learning and fun.
Take the Learning Home
The one-time purchase of your Nurturing PathwaysⓇ Parent Pack gives you a valuable resource that enriches your overall experience.
Sips and snacks
Tiny tummies get hungry! Nursing during class is welcome and at your comfort level. Feel free to stay inside the studio or briefly step out. Snacks for waddlers and toddlers need to be left outside the studio but spill proof water bottles are welcome.
Everyone poops!
The classes move rather quickly and without breaks so please come to class with a clean diaper and make a potty stop before entering the studio. Of course, things happen! Just return to the fun when finished.
Why Creative Dance?
During the early years, your child's brain is growing at an astonishing rate! Babies and young children reach developmental milestones in a predictable order at their own pace, literally from the ground up. Dancing together with your child to a wide variety of music enhances neurological, emotional, social, and physical development.
Dancing with your baby in your arms; swaying and moving together as one, as well as floor time for your baby to move spontaneously aids in the integration of your baby's reflexes (involuntary movements). Young waddling walkers are explorers! They seek out challenges to expand their bodies' movement potential as they interact with this big world. Toddlers begin to refine their motor skills as expressive capabilities, social awareness, listening, focus, and musicality begin to thrive. Dancing together during these early years forms strong bonds, healthy bodies, emotional intelligence, social awareness, and cognitive thought, which are the foundation for school readiness!
With a special focus on fun and developmentally appropriate movement activities, you can feel confident you are investing in your child's healthy development. In each GrowBabyGrow Family Playgroup:
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Babies will have plenty of tummy and floor time so they can move through the early developmental patterns that wire the central nervous system and brain and help your baby reach developmental milestones.
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Waddlers will delight in learning new ways to use their body, enjoy balancing activities, and gain confidence while exploring the dance concepts.
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Toddlers confidence and budding independence will be nurtured through challenging movement experiences that cultivate creativity, develop expressive capabilities, improve listening skills, foster social skills, and develop musicality.
What are you waiting for? Dance and Play with your little one Today!
Join GrowBabyGrow to connect with other babies, waddlers, toddlers, parents, and caregivers for an hour of movement-rich creative play, bonding and fun!
Frequently Asked Questions
Distractions
Children often carry a special toy or "lovey" for comfort in new situations. Please keep in mind that while special toys can be helpful for your child, they may become distracting to other children. Lovies are welcome during free time as children play and get comfortable in the studio before class begins. To transition, suggest to your child that the lovey “watches” or “listens” from a shelf or special place in the room - or maybe the toy can be “napping” during class time. Please use your discretion and creativity.
New experiences and even developmentally appropriate activities can be challenging or overwhelming. Baby classes are slow paced early in the session to allow time for lots of encouragement and smooth transitions. Waddler and Toddler classes are faster paced and children may occasionally feel frustrated with the physical and mental challenges. Your loving tone, reassuring hugs and encouragement are key to your child's growing resilience. But sometimes there are tears! If your child is crying, you may choose to step aside or into the lobby for a few minutes to help your child calm down. Feel free to use your own discretion in deciding how to help your crying child and trust that we've all been there!
Illness
Please keep your child at home if there is any chance they could be spreading contagious illness, especially if there is coughing, sneezing, very runny nose, etc. Make-up classes will be available at the end of each session.
Props and Instruments
It's normal and developmentally appropriate for young children to explore and learn about their world by putting things in their mouths. This exploration is important and to be expected. We all work together to ensure our play materials are sanitary safe for exploratory play.
We encourage you to allow your child to explore the props and instruments in any way that's safe. If it goes in a mouth, just put it in the "mouth bucket" after the activity. These items will be cleaned prior to the next class.
You can help support sanitation in class by being aware of oral exploration, even if it’s not your child engaging in it, and taking steps if necessary to prevent mouthed items from going into another child‘s hands. We all share responsibility for our children's health.
Visitors and New Friends
We love when you invite friends to come try class with you! Special discounts are available for friend referrals (for you and your friend!).
Extra caregivers are always welcome! When grandparents or relatives are visiting, or you have other family members who want to participate, we are happy for them to experience the joy of dancing together! There is no charge for extra adults and we encourage adults to participate at their comfort level. Getting up and down from the floor can be too much for some and we are happy to make accommodations so that everyone can participate.
Although we all love photos and videos of our favorite little people doing amazing things, cameras and phones are a distraction during class. We also respect the privacy of all class participants and only allow photographs to be taken during classes by professionally contracted photographers. All participants will be able to sign a waiver if they prefer to be excluded from being photographed. Photos before or after class with your special family members and friends are welcomed.
Schedule Changes
We recognize that babies and waddlers may experience a change of schedule during the session. If it becomes difficult to attend class around changing nap times, please reach out. We'll do what we can to accommodate the change. Sleep is important!