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Toddlers get their own gym
Karen Sloan
Truckee Today correspondent
9/14/2004 05:16 pm
Laura Bronstone and her husband Howard are very active people and they like their two small children to be, too. The problem was that they had a hard time finding a place in Truckee where their kids could safely run, jump and just play.
The problem was particularly bad during Truckee’s long winters.
"You'd spend a half hour getting them all bundled up
in their snow clothes to where they could barely move and
they'd be back inside in about five minutes," Bronstone
said, laughing. "Then what are you going to do?"
Well, if you're a high-energy couple like the Bronstones,
you start a new program designed to give young children their
own little playground.
The result is their new business, called \My Playground: Serving
the Physical Activity Needs of Young Children. Operating out
of the Sierra Nevada Dance studio in the Pioneer Center in
Truckee, My Playground started its first classes Sept. 13.
The first two programs are called First Movers, for children
12 to 24 months, and Little Leapers, for children 24 to 36
months.
The classes are structured but also free-form. The instructor,
working with the children's parents, sets up stations or activity
centers that include hoops, a slide, places to bounce, tunnels,
obstacle courses, balls and lots of room to run in front of
a great big mirror. Although the adults are down on hands
and knees with the toddlers, the kids are pretty much free
to do what they want, Bronstone says.
It all looks like fun but it's serving a useful purpose, too.
It helps children develop good motor skills, and Bronstone
said play is important for early brain development.
"Movement facilitates awareness, thinking and judgment,"
Bronstone, who also teaches dance at the studio, said. "And
all of that plays a key role in learning."
Although kids at these ages often do what's called 'parallel
play' - playing alone but side-by-side with playmates - the
Bronstones note that even that solitary activity is good for
kids. They like to watch what their peers are doing and often
imitate the things they see happening.
The Bronstones also will be incorporating learning into many of the activities. Children will learn about colors, numbers and opposites, for instance. Half the gym will be devoted to activity centers and the other half is open to running, jumping, chasing, parades and ball play. Each class is 45 minutes long.
The couple had a hunch that the classes would be popular in Truckee, where residents tend to be very active. But even they were surprised at the interest. Just two weeks after they distributed brochures about My Playground, the first two classes were completely booked.
"Parents in this area are physically active and they
want that for their kids," Bronstone said. "My kids
get cranky if they don't get physical activity. And they don't
nap as well."
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