BabyGym Vereeniging with Jill

Don't miss out on this promotion for the new year. It's an amazing Christmas gift for new moms and dad's.

This is I great mother's day gift idea

WE CELEBRATE MOTHERS THROUGHOUT THE MONTH OF MAY

- Register for BabyGym 2 Firm Foundations during the month of May and receive 20% off!
- You will pay R976 instead of R1220, that is a saving of R244.
- Once registered, classes can be attended from May-August.
- Babies 6 weeks+ so very welcome!

See comments below for participating BabyGym branches.

https://babygym.co.za/

M A S T E R I N G M I L E S T O N E S

BALL SKILLS
Playing with a ball seems effortless and fun, but when a toddler lacks fundamental gross motor skills, ball skills can be very tricky to master. Kicking, throwing and catching are some of the most essential ball skills toddlers can playfully develop before the age of two.

BALL SKILLS FOLLOW NATURALLY WHEN THE DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES PRECEDING THIS PHASE, ARE IN PLACE:
- Proprioception and body awareness
- Muscle tone
- Postural control
- Balance
- Eye-hand coordination
- Eye-foot coordination.

Kicking
Kicking follows after walking. Once a toddler is a strong walker, the toddler is ready to kick a ball. This happens around 14 - 15 months. After months of practice, a toddler will be ready to run towards a ball and kick it in their stride. This is roughly around 18 months. After yet more practice, a toddler will be able to kick a moving ball and participate in more active ball games. Even if he masters this skill, he will continue to perfect it! Soon, the toddler will be able to kick a ball towards a specific direction. This usually happens at 2 and a half years old.

Throwing and Catching
Throwing usually comes before catching. A baby usually starts to throw around the one-year mark and after many months of developing coordination of the arms, legs and eyes, catching follows. Many toddlers are only able to catch a ball while standing and maintaining their balance, between 18 months and three years.

Learn more here:
https://www.babygymgo.co.za/

DID YOU KNOW?

A newborn baby's brain weighs approximately 350g
A 1-year-old's brain weighs approximately 1kg
A 6-year-old's brain weighs approximately 1.2 kg
and an adult's brain weighs approximately 1.5kg

WHOA! Say that again?

A newborn baby's brain grows from 350g to 1kg in only 1 year, while an adult brain weighs approximately 1.5kg.

Astonishing!

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Thank you Orban School / Orbanskool for inviting BabyGym Institute International and Cozette Laubser to your Parents Evening.

We hope all who attended enjoyed learning about:

- The immense brain growth that takes place in the first year of life.
- Taking a peek inside a developing brain.
- Why it is important to develop the senses and muscles in sequence.
- The different areas of the developing brain and their sensitive time frames.
- Concrete, Semi-Concrete, and Abstract learning and how these concepts apply to age-appropriate teaching in the first 6 years.
- How playful learning builds the brain in preparation for reading and writing at 6 years of age.

Dienie Wilters says, "Baie dankie vir jou Cozette! Die ouers was baie opgewonde oor wat jy met hulle gedeel het!"

Liz van Tonder says, "We had a wonderful session with Cozette at Orban tonight and what a blessing you and your team are to all of us, Melodie. Thank you!"

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Would you like to invite a BabyGym Instructor to your Parent's Evening? Get in touch via WhatsApp on 082 301 5860

https://babygym.co.za/

Dr Melodie de Jager School Readiness at Mind Moves Mind Moves Institute

Join me in Vanderbijlpark.

**Introducing Baby Gym**

- 5 Weekly interactive and informative small group classes
- 1-hour classes
- Baby massage
- Wake up & explore senses
- Strengthen muscles
- Fun-filled activities to help your baby reach all milestones.

R1220,00 for the 5-week program
Babies 6 weeks + welcome

5 Week program starts on 07 March at 09h00

Whatsapp to sign up!
📲 Jill West 073 334 5097

M A S T E R I N G M I L E S T O N E S

HUGGING

"Nothing makes a parent’s heart beat faster than a spontaneous smile, hug or kiss from their baby or toddler. These little signs of love are often what makes the selfless job of being a parent feel worthwhile.

Loving behaviour is learned, and just like holding a spoon or making a friend, it takes time and a good role model or two. The mirror neurons in baby’s brain respond to the behaviour baby sees, so when baby or toddler sees aggressive behaviour like hitting, shouting, snatching objects etc. this is what will be mimicked. But, when baby or toddler sees loving behaviour, loving behaviour is mirrored."

de Jager, M (2017)
Play Learn Grow
https://babygym.co.za/product/play-learn-grow-birth-to-3/

Learn more here:
https://www.babygymgo.co.za/

So true!

How can we claim BabyGym prevents learning problems later?

Dr Melodie de Jager, the founder of BabyGym, explains how physical development impacts learning potential. She uses tummy time and core strength to illustrate this point:

“The complex functioning of the eyes needed for reading, writing and spelling starts when the baby is free to move, unhampered, while lying flat on his back or tummy.

When the baby’s core is unstable, his eyes send wobbly pictures to the brain that lack clarity and focus. This makes it very difficult for the brain to pay attention to what it sees and the brain might decide to turn a blind eye. Although the baby isn’t blind, the seeing part of the brain may simply ignore the input from the baby’s eyes, just like you would switch off the TV if the reception is poor.

Wonky development of the ears and eyes lead to an avoidance of reading and writing later, which may cause a lot of learning problems.

Best to get baby flat on his tummy and back – the sooner the better.

A solid core is not just about muscle development, it is also a sure way to develop different parts of the baby’s brain.”

https://babygym.co.za/

Tummy time is so good for our babies!

M A S T E R I N G M I L E S T O N E S

CONTROLLING THE HEAD

Muscles develop in a specific sequence:
• from top to bottom − first the neck, then core; and
• from inside to outside – first the arms and legs, before the hands and toes.

Head stability comes before all other physical development, and then the rest of the muscles follow. This is why mastering head control is such a powerful milestone, once baby is able to control the heavy head, it becomes a lot easier to move and develop the body in a controlled manner.

Did you know?
At birth the head weighs approximately 25% of baby's total body weight? That is why being on the tummy is such a challenging position to be in, lifting the heavy head is hard work!

de Jager, M (2017)
Play Learn Grow
https://babygym.co.za/product/play-learn-grow-birth-to-3/

Learn more here:
https://www.babygymgo.co.za/

M A S T E R I N G M I L E S T O N E S

After 22 weeks of 'Why Crawling is Crucial' we are ending off this delightful topic to make way for 'Mastering Milestones'.

Stay tuned as we feature crucially important milestones from birth to 3. We will feature 1 milestone every Wednesday for 27 consecutive weeks.

Hold on for the ride!

https://www.babygymgo.co.za/

✏️AREA: Three Rivers
✏️CLASS DATE (First class): Mondays 17 October
✏️TIME: 10h00
✏️CONTACT: Jill 073 334 5097

✏️AREA: Three Rivers
✏️CLASS DATE (First class): Fridays 4 November
✏️TIME: 10h00
✏️CONTACT: Jill 073 334 5097