GymbaROO is a high quality, research based, neuro-developmental activity program for babies and children from birth to five years and their parents. It is proudly, and uniquely Australian. Our program has been offered for over thirty-five years, and is indisputably Australia’s most popular and successful parent-child education program. Our programs come highly recommended by many professionals and our GymbaROO classes have been enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of babies, children and parents in Australia and worldwide.
GymbaROO stands out as being the ONLY parent-child program in the world that specialises in research-based, neuro-developmental, fun, learning environments for babies to school aged children and their parents. It is also the only program in the world that has integrated key developmental activities, essential for complete development in each age and stage, into an all-encompassing program.
Everything we do at GymbaROO is about ensuring that each child has the opportunity to lay down the crucial foundations for later learning and for fostering the normal sequence of development that enables children to be successful learners at school and in life, all of this in a fun and fabulous learning environment!
At GymbaROO we understand the important role that parents play in their child’s early development and we pride ourselves on delivering to our parents the best and most up to date information regarding the importance of the early years to later development and learning. At GymbaROO, parents learn how to help their children maximise learning potential through fun, developmentally appropriate activities, giving them the best start in learning and life.
GymbaROO can make a huge difference to how well children do in learning and life. Attending GymbaROO over a period of five years can make an outstanding difference to your child’s future on the sporting field, academically and in life in general. This is why: –
The GymbaROO program is backed by decades of our own research as well as that of leading early childhood development researchers. Our developmental philosophy is based on the work these experts as well as our own 35+ years of experience of working with babies and children.
The supporting documentation for our program is vast and undeniable. Mounting empirical evidence now supports the underlying concepts upon which GymbaROO was founded. Neuro-scientific studies confirm that the experiences a child has in the earliest years of life are absolutely critical for brain development and for laying down the foundations for all future learning. It is during this time that much of the essential wiring linked to learning is laid down. How well children behave, read and learn at school is directly related to the kinds of stimulation they experienced in the years before school. As a result, these formative years shape a child’s future health, happiness, development, learning ability and achievement at school.
Research into brain development clearly shows that in the early years, brain connectivity occurs as a result of movement experiences. Introducing the correct movement experiences into babies and young children’s daily lives from the earliest months will have a profound influence on neurological organisation, brain growth and intelligence. Babies and children who have the right early movement experiences are found to have improved coordination, concentration, memory, perception and improved confidence, communication and socialisation skills.
Our modern lifestyle interferes significantly with the natural, expected, physiological stimuli required for optimal brain development and this affects how ready our brain is for learning. Understanding how lifestyle changes impact on the foundations for learning, and applying a solution is the way forward. GymbaROO has a model that parents and children have enjoyed for over thirty-five years and many thousands of parents have witnessed its great value in assisting their children’s development and readiness for school.
Thousands of children have benefited from attending GymbaROO – developing into happy, confident, flourishing individuals.
Our programs are gaining even greater popularity as more and more evidence is being documented confirming the long-term benefits of GymbaROO.
Children who have been through our programs are excelling academically, on the sporting field and in leadership roles. School teachers are describing those children who have been through our programs as having higher levels of concentration, better behavior, confidence and communication skills, and being generally more socially mature and physically capable than their peers. Read more here.
The first GymbaROO centre was started by Marg Sasse in 1982 in a local church hall in Melbourne, Australia. From humble beginnings, GymbaROO has developed into an internationally acclaimed, highly recommended and enormously popular parent-child education program. Today there are hundreds of GymbaROO and KindyROO Franchisees operating centres throughout Australia and the world, and hundreds of thousands of parents, babies and children who have and are enjoying and benefitting from our highly-acclaimed programs. Read the history of GymbaROO here.
Tertiary qualified, neuro-educationally trained teachers run our classes. Your teaching team are your local experts in child neuro-development. They are inspiring and care deeply about you and your child and his/her development. They will be working with you to help ensure that your child is given the best opportunities to lay down the crucial foundations for later learning, working towards maximising his/her real potential.
Every song sung, every game played and every activity at GymbaROO is specifically designed to increase a child’s capability to learn.
At GymbaROO you join other local families and experience the wonderful socialisation, learning and movement opportunities involved in our program.
During your class you and your child will be guided through a wide range of fun and loving activities that are perfect for the developing brain and body. Together with your child you will actively engage in our program and sing, learn hand plays, exercise, experience massage, music, dance, games and play with the beautiful colourful parachute. You and your child will also enjoy small equipment activities using beanbags, balls, hoops, swisher ribbons, ropes… just to mention a few. We have a special ‘Treasure Bag’ time, loved by the children and important for language, social interaction, tactile experiences and imagination. All of this plus the fun and learning of the specialised GymbaROO big equipment!
Watch as your child brightens with excitement and participates with great enthusiasm. Be actively involved as he/she experiences the pure joy of learning!
Throughout each term your teaching team will share with you important information, helping you understand your child’s development and why each activity helps to build key brain pathways essential for healthy neurological development.
Read more here.
At GymbaROO you will find a room full of amazing and colourful equipment that has been specifically designed and built in Australia for babies and children. Each piece of equipment serves the purpose of providing crucial stimulation for optimal development.
During the baby classes our trained staff show you many wonderful ways to use this equipment to lovingly give your non-mobile babies the stimulation they cannot give themselves. Once babies are mobile, right up to our School Readiness classes, children have the time of their lives practicing their developing skills while climbing, balancing, jumping, tumbling, swinging, bouncing and more.
GymbaROO music is perfect for your child’s developing brain.
While the songs written or chosen for our program are delightful and enjoyed by all, young and old, our music also encourages skill development in auditory processing, verbal memory, language, speech processing, perception, coordination, literacy, mathematics and more. GymbaROO music forms an integral part of all our sessions. The songs incorporate developmental sequences and are recorded at a speed that allows children to complete the actions and build a range of skills. Our much-loved music contains positive messages and appropriate and suitable language for young children. Read more here.
Each term’s theme has accompanying GymbaROO music and songs which can be downloaded.
You can join GymbaROO at any time during your child’s first five years, however the earlier the better! The earlier you start GymbaROO, the more of a difference you can make to your child’s future learning ability.
During pregnancy: Healthy brain development begins before birth. Read about how to start your GymbaROO journey during pregnancy here.
From birth to six weeks: When you and your baby are ready, you can gently begin the movement experiences and learning opportunities included in our enormously popular free online Active Babies Smart Kids BabyROO video series. These can be started from the earliest weeks after birth and are easy, natural, loving and fantastic for bonding.
From six weeks to five years: You can begin GymbaROO classes at a centre with your baby once he/she reaches six weeks of age and you can continue right up until five years of age.
GymbaROO classes start with our BabyROO non-crawling and crawling classes and continue right through to School Readiness classes. Our classes are specific for ages and stages of development and include activities that promote the development of physical, social, emotional, communication and thinking skills at each level of development.
Learn more about classes for each age and stage here.
At GymbaROO we enrol on a term basis. This is usually ten weeks, however may vary depending on State primary school terms. You bring your baby or child to your class once a week during term time. Classes typically run for 45 minutes however this may vary with developmental ages and stages.
Some centres run holiday programs. Please check with your local centre.
All children attending GymbaROO must be accompanied by an adult, be it a parent, grandparent, nanny or any other nominated adult carer.
If you have twins, triplets, or even quads, we would love to have you come along. For safety reasons, we do have a ‘one adult per child’ policy so you will be required to bring a ‘helper’ for each additional child.
Enrolments generally begin three weeks before the end of term, however many GymbaROO’s have waiting lists that you can join at any time.
Subject to availability, it may be possible for you to join a class mid-way through a term. Check with your local centre. Our fees are based on a sliding scale so if you begin part way through the term your fees will be adjusted accordingly.
GymbaROO does not take casual bookings.
The price of a term will vary a little from centre to centre as it reflects the number of weeks in the term. Please check with your local centre.
The price of a term at GymbaROO includes:
- Insurance
- Your parent neurological information/home activity handouts
- Your child’s own GymbaROO visualisation book
- Your child’s word and picture for their visualisation book each week
At GymbaROO we know that the role you play in the first years of your child’s development is one of the most important tasks you will ever undertake as a parent. You are your child’s first, most important and best teacher. We also understand that it can be hard to take in a lot of information at once, especially whilst you are attending to your child during class time so, throughout the term you will receive take home parent information sheets and activity suggestions. These are designed to help consolidate your understanding of key developmental stages, to be shared with other carers of your child, and to provide you with daily activities you can do at home with to promote neurological excellence in these crucial early years of early development.
Dress yourself and your baby or child in comfortable clothing that allows for movement! For girls, skirts and dresses can restrict movement opportunities and get in the way on equipment. Pants or shorts and tops are preferable.
If you bring your baby in a bodysuit or onesie, please ensure that it is one of those that allow for easy access to their feet and toes.
At GymbaROO your child will enjoy the many benefits of bare feet. No footwear is needed! Having bare feet not only assist grip on the equipment, it also stimulates healthy development of the muscles and tendons in the feet and legs, provides your child with important balance and navigation skills and improves memory!! Read more here: http://activebabiessmartkids.com.au/articles/bare-feet-babies-children-important/
If you require you child to wear socks please discuss this with your teaching team and make any coverings are the non-slip variety with rubber pads on the base.
As parents and/or carers, you also need to remove your shoes, (you can keep your socks on), so that we can keep the equipment and floor clean for the children. Alternatively, in some centres, you can bring some clean ‘inside only’ shoes. Safety note: Wooden floors can become very slippery when wearing socks. Adults in socks should take due care.
If your child is ill on their GymbaROO day it is best for them to rest and recover, so please stay home and book in for a make-up class. This also importantly helps to prevent the spread of infection.
Unwell can sometimes be difficult to define. If you are unsure, please follow the recommended guidelines below.
Please keep your child at home:
- If they are unable to participate in the program as they normally would
- For 24 hours after they have stopped vomiting or had diarrhoea
- For 24 hours after a raised temperature
- For 24 hours after they have commenced a course of antibiotics or antifungal medication
For further information on exclusion periods for illnesses visit your State Government’s website
We reserve the right to refuse entry to class to any child who presents with a known infectious or contagious condition. Signs of infection include: fever, diarrhoea, vomiting, a cough with mucus secretions, a runny nose showing greenish nasal mucus, a rash (other than nappy or heat rash), and green/yellow discharge from eyes or from a wound. Thank you for your consideration.
Make-up classes are available if you miss your scheduled class due to illness. Make-up classes must be taken during the same term of enrolment and are subject to availability. You will need to book your make-up class with your GymbaROO centre management. There is no cash equivalent available.
GymbaROO endeavours to provide a special one on one learning experience for you and your child and does not encourage the attendance of siblings. We do however understand that, on the odd occasion, a situation may arise where this is impossible and attendance may be permitted if the sibling is in a pram, stroller or sitting adjacent to the mat. For both safety and insurance reasons, siblings may not participate in the class activities and they are strictly not permitted on the equipment.
This will vary from centre to centre. Please respect each GymbaROO centre’s policy on this. If your centre does permit photographs please remember that at GymbaROO we respect all member’s privacy, so please ensure that there are no other recognisable people in your images, other than members of your own family. If you have a lovely photo you would like to share with us with us, or to possibly have your photo featured in our First Steps magazine or on our online platforms, you are welcome to:
- Email them through to us at newsletter@gymbaroo.com.au
- Instagram: Tag us @gymbaroo or #gymbaroo, #babyroo, #kindyroo, #gymbarookid or #gymbaroobaby
- Facebook: Message them through to our Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/GymbaROO.KindyROO.BabyROO/
Please note that by tagging or sending your photos and comments you give GymbaROO / KindyROO permission to use them on our social media platforms and in our advertising.
Fees are non-refundable or transferable. In extenuating circumstances, for example, on medical grounds or if you are moving away from the area, management may approve a cancellation. The refund will be calculated from the date the centre is informed and will incur a $25 administration fee.
At GymbaROO and KindyROO we are always looking for inspiring and caring individuals to join our wonderful team and set up franchises in areas where there is no GymbaROO or KindyROO centre. The more franchises, the more babies, children and parents who will have access to our highly successful program and the more children who get off to a great start in learning and life!
Find out more here.