We went to GymbaROO and this is how it went

For the last 3 Friday’s, instead of going to playgroup, Hunter and I were kindly invited to try a few sessions of Gymbaroo over in Albury as part of a collaboration. GymbaROO goes from birth all the way to 8 years old, and is split up into levels based on age. Hunter is in Level 5: Wallaby this term. There’s a theme for each week, the first one was see-saw, the second one was star, and the last one was crown. These themes are based on different nursery rhymes, which are sung during the sessions.

GymbaROO helps kids academically, physically, emotionally and socially. The classes are also structured which helps the children learn that there's a routine they have to follow. The routine of the class is: free play, mat time, equipment time, music time, and lastly there's home activities. 

The kids are encouraged to bring an item from home relating to the theme of the week for the treasure box! At our first class, Hunter was given a piece of paper with a see-saw on it because Mummy was disorganised and didn't bring anything, but for the second week, Hunter brought a car with stars on it, and for crown week, we brought along a flash card of the letter Q for Queen, who was wearing a crown.

Hunter loved the gym part of the classes where he could climb up ladders, balance on beams, and jump on the trampoline. He was a bit unsure about climbing across the equipment in the first class, and wanted to climb back down. However, by the second class, his confidence had really grown and he was ready to take on more challenging equipment. In our last class, he didn’t want much help and was happy to navigate the equipment solo.

There was a part of the class where we did songs, exercises, and this was where Hunter didn’t want to participate at first, because he just wanted to be back over in the gym. With some tears in the first session, he managed to do a few of the moves. But he was happier when he was back climbing etc. By the second session, he was happier to get involved, knowing that there would be more time afterwards to play on the gym equipment. At our third and final session, there were no tears! Hunter was racing over from the gym for mat time, and participated in all the songs and activities - such a proud mum!

If you'd like to read more about GymbaROO, or you'd like to enrol your child for next term, check out their website here for more info.

 Check out our photos below too for a snapshot of what a typical Gymbaroo class is like!