Taking the burden off working families, and offering children developmental opportunities, are the reasons Goodstart Maroochydore Main Road has started weekly swimming lessons and GymbaROO sessions.
“There’s never enough time for working families with young children and we wanted to find a way to support them with these services and free parents up for more quality family time,” said centre director Natasha Sullivan.
Children aged three to five years of age have been learning about water safety and building their skills at a nearby swimming school, with some showing amazing progress.
“Being on the Sunshine Coast, water safety is extremely important for children of all ages but especially in the early years before school,” Ms Sullivan said.
“Learning how to turn around and pull themselves out of pools can be life-saving, and the lessons have also seen the children build their confidence and develop motor skills too.”
While the older children have been busy in the pool, younger children at the centre have been enjoying weekly sessions provided by GymbaROO.
The GymbaROO program focusses on using movement to encourage neurological development as a foundation for future learning and school readiness.
“GymbaROO is a motor-sensory program which supports the relationship between the learning involved in movements and later learning at school.
“We’ve only been running the sessions for a month but we’re already seeing noticeable physical and cognitive development in the younger children.
“We see the improvements in everyday experiences the children have like sorting, colour recognition and navigating obstacle courses.
“At the moment we have to charge a fee to deliver the program however our educators are learning to be GymbaROO instructors so we’ll soon be able to offer it free of charge to families.”
“There’s never enough time for working families with young children and we wanted to find a way to support them with these services and free parents up for more quality family time,” said centre director Natasha Sullivan.
Children aged three to five years of age have been learning about water safety and building their skills at a nearby swimming school, with some showing amazing progress.
“Being on the Sunshine Coast, water safety is extremely important for children of all ages but especially in the early years before school,” Ms Sullivan said.
“Learning how to turn around and pull themselves out of pools can be life-saving, and the lessons have also seen the children build their confidence and develop motor skills too.”
While the older children have been busy in the pool, younger children at the centre have been enjoying weekly sessions provided by GymbaROO.
The GymbaROO program focusses on using movement to encourage neurological development as a foundation for future learning and school readiness.
“GymbaROO is a motor-sensory program which supports the relationship between the learning involved in movements and later learning at school.
“We’ve only been running the sessions for a month but we’re already seeing noticeable physical and cognitive development in the younger children.
“We see the improvements in everyday experiences the children have like sorting, colour recognition and navigating obstacle courses.
“At the moment we have to charge a fee to deliver the program however our educators are learning to be GymbaROO instructors so we’ll soon be able to offer it free of charge to families.”