Friday, November 14, 2008

Playgym

This entry is based on my personal experience and opinion. You have the right to disagree…afterall kan ni Negara demokrasi…hihi . I just want to share my first hand experience that going to those playgym is not merely 'playing' but it is indeed an enrichment programme.

Yup, I would like to do an entry bout my kids and their playgym class. We started enrolling hArith and athirAh to the Little Crawlers Programmer by the Kidzports when they were 6 months young. Naturally, the reaction we received from others would be “budak 6 bulan paham ape anta gi class???” Yup, most people find it ridiculous when we said we send our babies for the class. But mind you, NEVER underestimate you babies’ capabilities.

There were this small when they first enrolled...







When we decided to enroll them, our first concern (or rather intention) was to enable them to be exposed to various activities so they could catch up with their age development cause they were born premature. We first went for the trial class, we found that the activities were just simple movement and musics. But I told myself, I’m sure they have done a proper research before they came out with the syllabus for the babies. So our naked eyes might think it’s just simple activities, but I’m sure it does help stimulate our babies. Unfortunately, when I took my Developmental Psychology course, I had a I-could-get-away-with-anything-lecturer, thus I didn’t pay much attention in class or else I should still be able to know all the development stage from birth till adulthood ke orang tua nyanyuk…hihi


hArith enjoying the obstacle course...


Oh we also wanted to let our kids developed social skills cause they don’t go to nursery / day care since I’m a Stay-At-Home-Mom, taknk lar anak jadi jakun biler jumper other of their age group.

Nway, after few classes, syauQi became bored with the classes cause it was mostly repetition. But this was something I know for sure…babies love something they are familiar with. Thus a repetition is actually good for them. In fact, they would actually know what’s the next activity in stored for them. I remember a 12 months old gal actually cried when the teacher skip one of the usual activity (due to time constraint). She could detect that, things are not going accordingly. Like I said, never underestimate them! No doubt it is only an hour a week class, but they do learn a thing or two in that precious 60 minutes!


athirAh enjoying the bubble...



Well, after months sending hArith and athirAh we knew there are of cause benefits sending them but we didn’t like really go into it to see how much it has helped them. But because I gave birth to uZAir, we need to take a break since syauQi wouldn’t be able to bring both alone. So campur raya and all, they had 4 months of break from the class. This month we decided to continue with the classes. And oh boy, only now we realize what the classes have helped them previously.

After months without classes, my babies’ attention span has become shorter. They don’t want to sit in a circle for long and they don’t take instruction properly. In fact I remembered, there was one time we didn’t attend classes for 3 weeks cause babies’ had flue, after skipping 3 lessons their attention span reduce what more after 4 months break! So we hope, with the continuation of the lesson from now on, it would train them to be able to listen to instruction well and also capable to concentrate longer during activities. It was only their second lesson after a long break…so hopefully after more lesson, they would get back on track =)

ni pulak, gambar latest. Dah besar...bleh diri sendiri tuk tangkap bubbles...


hArith tgh nk complete kan his obstacle course.
(ni secara tak langsung, ajar diorang tuk listen to instructions)






And I was also told by the teacher that it has proven that those who started attending classes at a young age, they concentrate better when they enter kindergarten. I guess this is very true cause secara tak langsung the classes have given them an early start for their attention span.

Like I said, you have every right to say it is ridiculous sending a 6 months young to a class, but if you can spend hundreds on their clothing and all…why can’t you spend an amount for them to have fun (if you still think it is ridiculous that they could learn in this 60 minutes of class)

yang ni both suka, teacher tonggeng2 kan diorang





pApa lak tonggeng2 kn athirAh





*chop bukan nak kutuk bangsa sendiri yer…tapi kenapa bangsa lain especially c*na always put their children education/development as number 1 priority tapi bukan bangsa kita? Kat class, bleh kira berapa jer melayu…
**oh mati lar, sure ade yang nk condem my entry ni kan
well...follow your motherly instinct, if u think it doesn't bring good for your kids....then takyah lar anta

20 comments:

Unknown said...

i tak kondem, tp nak sokong. in fact although my baby juz reaching up to 5 mths, tp i dah sibuk usha activity class for him. i plan nak join Tumble Tots @ The Curve after he is 6mths (dats the minimum age). Yg Kidzspots nih kat mana ek? n if u dun mind telling roughly the fee is how much. Thx Munirah ;)

salzahari said...

taklah..i tak condemn, i'm open for this such new knowledge! ;) in fact, i learns a lot from the bf blogs la.. sbb i worked in gov.and had my degree local.so didn't really expose with such 'modern' parenting skills like what you and mami hafiy and the rest do.so tried to apply (or copy?)whichever good and suitable for my family!

kenapa melayu jarang ek? melayu rural mungkin jrg,sbb dia rasa mcm syg duit/ dia mmg never been exposed such kind of classes tp melayu urban kalau mampu,apa slhnya?! but both need support and understanding from our hubby jgk la kan...

MS said...

sorry yer kalo bagi komen nie, rasanya kaum kita bukan tak pentingkan education anak2, tapi rasanya lebih kepada halangan kewangan. mcm yang saya tgk, mostly educated malay, banyak yang spend duit yang banyak utk anak2 diorang. buku ker, class ker...tapi biasalah.. kaum kita nie masih banyak lagi yang kat kg atau pinggir2 bandar, so kekadang minda diorang masih tak terbuka. yang mana kat area bandar, minda diorang mmg dah terbuka. okey jek rasanya.

mOmmy of Triplets plus One said...

suryati:
kidzports ni kat OU (old wing), tepi Pizza Hut.
b4 anta my kids i dh buat survey dgn tumble tots. tumble tots if not mistaken kena bayar fees ikut cam 'semester'. but yg i gi ni bayar monthly...so tak alr terasa sgt poket. if bayar one lum sum parah gak nk anta both.

im paying RM160 a month, tp sebab anta 2 org dpt lar 10% discount. upon registration kena bayar deposit RM160 and ade fees membership tak silap around 60 kot. tak ingat. there after monthly RM160.

Besides class, bleh masuk unlimited time kt tempat main2 tu (even on other days yg takde class). The class is an hour a week, tumble tots if tak silap 45 minutes kan.

if tumble tots bleh gi for trial class..u gi lar both. then bleh buat comparison. Kidsports ni bleh gi for trial class (for free)

salzahari:
i pun blaja local uni jer, i was in UIA.
yup u r rite...support from hubby is very important. tu sbb mase trial class i angkut die skali and he witness himself how much the kids love it =)

mommysarah:
ni kn negara demokrasi..of coz comments are welcome =)
i paham when u said pasal masalah kewangan..but wat about most malay family yg dok area urban ni.
coz each time i gi major shopping complex cam OU, mid val or KLCC...byk je bangsa kite yg bleh gi shopping ber bag bag angkut..so dont think money is an issue. ( i mean for those yg dok area bandar ni)

i guess, its all about priority. melayu kite takde much exposure kot for this kind of thingy tuk anak2 kite

Anonymous said...

i think most malay yg "money-not-an-issue" ramai yg antar anak2 dieorg to this kind of enrichment class.tp sbb kat kl banyak kut tu yg u tk nmpk sgt.i send my son to gymboree at bangsar village since dia 9months.eventhough i tkde byk duit sgt tp i sedar this enrichment class will help them a lot and dont mind spending money for this.but sadly kiteorg moved to other place outside kl couple of mths after that so dia quit mase dia setaun setgh.

pastu nk cari class2 cmni kat outside kl mmg tkdela kan, tp jumpe la alternatif lain iaitu Vital Years.ok gak laa eventhough the quality of equipment tkleh tanding dgn gymboree.hehe..

Anasfadilah said...

orang kita segan..

mungkin.

atau tade geng nak pergi together-gether

mungkin.

tade duit sangat

macam saya.

LOL

kat penang tak tau la ke tak kelas macam ini.

kalau ada mungkin akan try.

kalau seronok pergi lagi

kan?

:)

p/s::hi!

p/p/s::atau mungkin saja praktis dirumah bersama anak jiran.. +P

Mommy Lyna said...

i am looking forward to send my kids to any class at very young age if possible. but since menjalani kehidupan nomad ni nak buat cemana... asal weekend je fly, asal weekend je fly. urgh!

but i think it more to mind set la. i penah have chat with my uni fren about sending kids to classes. dia kata "taknak la hanta anak aku pegi kelas ape2 awal2 ni. kesian dia kecik2 dah kene pressure". maybe becos our conservative learning style is too academic, ke cemana i pon tatau la. seingat i masa tadika pun takde cikgu ajar main-main. main pun sendiri2 masa recess.

& might be orang tak tau cost for those classes. maybe sebab it's different than tadika kemas ke apa so ppl tot it's expensive. & bila tau dia main-main gitu, maybe ada yg berpendapat "baya banyak2 utk main jerrrr?"

& about the chinese, i selalu borak ngan my chinese colleague, dia kata derang mmg pentingkan pelajaran & saving utk education sbb derang takde priority macam bumi utk masuk uni, etc. so they have to struggle utk education especially tertiary. & alang2 simpan, simpan utk belaja overseas trus. & ada uncle at my office, he's a HEAD of asia pacific for a HUGE oil&gas company, yet using proton saga buruk. he said, all his money dia simpan utk anak belaja. kita, Malay???? ada tak simpan duit utk anak belajar???? mujur ada skolarship&ptptn je zaman2 skg.

but sending to class or not, to me it's depend on how the parents see the world lah. there are parents yg mampu but still prefer to do it at home. ada yg tak mampu (sama da dari segi kewangan atau masa atau lokasi, apa sajalah) yet trying the best to do it at home, & ada yg mmg tak kisah langsung.

afterall, mother's pure instinct about what is the best for her kids is the rightest thing for them.

Jua Zulkef said...

i pun hmpir2 nk enrolled kan faris dlm this class waktu umur dia 6 bulan. malangnya my hubby selalu takde utk bawak kami kesana n faris takmo duduk dlm car seat, asek nak meriba je dlm kereta..so mama dia takleh nak driving ler =)

next year, kami cadang nak masukkan Faris ke Shichida, insyaAllah.

mOmmy of Triplets plus One said...

mommy:
yah, i've heard of vital years. mind sharing wat's the classes like?
n gymboree kat bangsar tu pun famous gak kn. tp mase u bwk ur anak, majority bangsa lain kan.
it's nice to hear such attitude where u said "this enrichment class will help them a lot and dont mind spending money for this"
coz ramai yg pikir "ish anak kecik lagi, mane paham pape"...

anas fadilah:
yup, betul u kate...if ade, gi try..if seronok pegi lagi.
ikut lah kate hati naluri kn kn =)

lyna:
aiyak mesti penat kn hidup nomad.
and u r very tru bout the difference how malay n non-malays punye thinking bout kids' education.
priority berbeza kan...
n alo betul bout the fact our education style is very acadenmic n 'exam-oriented' tu pasal kids byk presure. in fact bkn setakat kids yg pressure..mak bapak pun byk pressure takut their anak tak setanding with anak org lain.

we should let our anak go on their own pace kan..
n yup, mother's instict is the best to follow =)

jua:
aiyak, everytime hubby u takde meaning u takleh ke amen lah yer since faris tak mau dok car seat. susah gak tu kn.
once dah anta ur son for shichida, share ek bout the method. i;ve heard about it but so far takde kenal sesape yg dh anta anak die for it.

Unknown said...

macam best jer class ni. berapa kali seminggu? best jugak if bawak hariz.

Unknown said...

thx munirah for sharing the info. i pun main reason nak anta my son to such classes @ young age psl daily dia dok umah ngan maid, dah ler umah tak jejak tanah, so afraid his social skill takde, jakun plak nanti jumpa org. yg vital years tuh my boss send her dotter there, min age is 2 years. mcm tadika tp dia tak stick to one silibus, dia ikut the kid nyer capability.

bout the fee tuh, i pun bukan lar dr org "beruang" (tau2 je lar M*H nyer salary kan) but now kena lar korbankan bags/shoes/baju shopping

mOmmy of Triplets plus One said...

queen bee:
once a week jer class for 1 hour. bwk lar Hariz gi for the trial class...sure die suke. afterall Hariz mmg suke bekawan kan

Anonymous said...

Vital Years tu min age to enrol 2 yrs. Dieorg ajar the kids how to read at the very young age sbb age 2yrs kids senang absorb ape yg kite ajar. kelas dia tk paksa2 la, ada main2, nyanyi gak.mon-fri 2 hrs fee per mth rm280.dieorg tk ajar huruf tau terus ajar words.i pun tk reti la nk ckp method dia cmane tp bagus la method dia tu.

Ida said...

Sorry yek kalu ada yg terasa dgn my comment....

Actually bukan ada perbezaan mendapat pengalaman oversea or local, I juga student local and my hubby jer grad from US tp apa2 pun semua ni usaha parents yg nak tgk anak2 berjaya. Org kata meluntur buluh biar dr rebungnya...kita bukan anta depa nih pegi study yg dok hafal2 tuh kita just explore kan depa dgn aktiviti yg boleh membuatkan mereka lebih aktif dan kreatif.

Nadhrah and Nafeesah pun mmg I anta from 6 months old join gym class...dan hasilnya mmg tak rugi...cuma maybe kat Malaysia class2 nih mmg mahal...and it just take for 1 hour per week so maybe ramai yg berkira-kira...kat OZ plak still the same concept tp lebih murah dan semua org mampu nak anta anak2 mereka...kat sini it just take $20 for 3 months + $24 for registeration (a year)

Tapi tak salahkan kalu kita menggunakan duit tuh utk pembelajaran anak2 drpd kita membeli belah yg dah tentu barangan tersebut akan lusuh dan punah...berbanding ilmu yg kita berikan utk anak2 kita...

Jadi fikir-fikirkanla...

mOmmy of Triplets plus One said...

moomy:
thanks for the info regarding vital years. i think i know wat u mean, diorang tak ajar huruf or words. they teaching by the sound of the huruf instead of the huruf itself, phonics.
and u r very tru bout, at young age kids actually absorb/learn faster. and its good that they follow the kids' capability..so they can go on their own level...no pressure and all.

ida:
wahh murahnye kt OZ!!!
tu lah ramai org kate for once a week, its rather costly.
but like u said...tak salah we spend tuk pembelajaran anak2 kn. good foundation is important aight =)

Jiey^Mien said...

I agree la Munirah.. In fact, me n hubby tgh nk register Ian to join 1 class where they use a method called Shichida method.. Hopefully Ian will get something bout it.. :-)

Anonymous said...

thnx mfr yr info..nk tnye..trial class tue ms ble..?? kena wat appointment dlu or jz walk-in jer??

mOmmy of Triplets plus One said...

jiey^mien
i survey gak shichida tu..tp class die kt KL. cam leceh lah gi KL...jam and all

ibu Eiymann:
u have to know the schedule of classes. basically u gi kate nk go for trial class, they will tell u when and wat time is the class

iL4na said...

Munirah, biasaler org kita ni suka spend duitnya neck down, not neck up. Well that's what one of my motivator lecturer told us. haha and i suppose it is true. Tapi it is also unfair to us jugak, Kizsport gym charge too much. I myself can open up and a smal gym like that at home and have a fun 1hr time with all the kids. RM160 per month which will make rm40 per entry per hour per week. pergh cekik darah. tapi anything for the kids right? i don't enroll haiqal, but i send him there whenever im on my off day. So perhaps we can let the kids play together in the walker class one day?

Anonymous said...

Hi, stumbled upon ur blog via Mye's. Great review on the Kizsport classes, thanks. Unfortunately I don't have many Malay friends with small babies... selalu DH Chinese colleague kasi feedback.

My LO just turned 1 year...so time to learn more things outside :)