[Sponsored review with a give-away below!]
How quickly 10 weeks have flown by and just like that, our term with Sparkanauts has ended. It’s true what they said, time does fly by when you are having fun. And fun was what we had with the teachers at Sparkanauts.
It was kinda amazing that we could track Bubba’s development at Sparkanauts too! When Bubba first started at Sparkanauts, she was about 13 months. I was eager for her to be at the Cadet class (13 months – 18 months). But the folks at Sparkanauts thought otherwise. They wanted her to be at the Baby Cadet class (5 months – 12 months) first and looking back, I think it was a good choice not to throw her into the deep end of the ocean.
Here’s a quick re-cap of what went on during the 10-weeks that Bubba had at Sparkanauts:
First day of school and look how happy the Bub was! I guess she needed the time to get used to the flow of the class and because we haven’t quite exposed her to a class where there is a good mix of physical activities as well as mental stimulation games, we realised that she needed to slowly get accustomed to the flow of the session before enjoying them.
The first few sessions at Baby Cadet class was actually quite nerve-wrecking because Bubba couldn’t sit still and pay attention to what her teachers were doing. Her inquisitive streak meant that she would be contented running around checking out the boxes or the play-tent instead of looking at the flash-cards.
But by week 3 of the class, we noticed that she did make some improvement. She could take simple instructions from her teachers such as giving those flash-cards a ‘hi-five’ when the teacher had completed the sequence. During the gym circuit segment, we noticed that her confidence slowly grew as she attempted to complete those obstacle courses on her own (usually with the help of coaxing her to move forward with a toy).
Somewhere going through one-quarter of the semester, teacher Rachel decided to promote Bubba to Cadet class. Whee! A promotion!
With the Cadet class, again, it took a while for Bubba to get used to a new set of activities that accompanied the class. As the class that she attended had a relatively small crowd, so it was quite nice that the teachers could pay a little more attention to Bubba.
What we really liked about the classes at Sparkanauts that it’s parent-accompanied and that emphasis is placed upon the parents to use the time during the lesson to bond with the child. I think that’s great because having both the parents in the class help break the monotony and really the burden of one parent caring fully for an over-active toddler for 60 minutes. That said, it’s not like it’s not been done before, but I really appreciate the Man being there to do the heavy-lifting (literally) when it was time for Bubba’s physical activities. Plus Bubba loves running all over the place (the Man always says she has the attention span of an ant), so it really helps when the Man is off to chase her.
Just before our term ended with Sparkanauts, Bubba enjoyed another promotion to the Junior Pilot (1 – 2 years) class.
Look at this little bright-eyed girl all ready to start her class and diving straight into the action. Timing was about right to be in this stage of the class as well. At about 15 months, Bubba has shown increased signs of wanting to learn more.
According to the Sparkanauts, the child’s brain’s language sectors develop more synapses and become more interconnected. Their eyesight also improves, as they begin to recognise shapes and categorise objects through their characteristics. Your child is taking their first steps and is beginning to take control of their body as they take steps to explore their surroundings in an upright position.
I was actually quite impressed that by now Bubba is able to sit still during the flash cards segment. She will usually gamely give a hi-five to the teacher once the teacher completes the sequence.
Curriculum for Junior Pilot programme if you are keen to find out more:
- Introduction to a wide range of adjectives and nouns, songs, rhymes and rhythms based on a theme on a weekly basis. Intellectual activities that inspire children to speak and communicate.
- Scientific based physical activities to strengthen the vestibular system. A strong vestibular system will help a child to focus and pay attention.
- Proven activities to strengthen child’s muscle tone and postural control abilities. A good control over posture and muscles frees the brain’s capacity to comprehend higher-order thinking activities.
- Physical activities that develops a child’s speech abilities.
[Information taken from Sparkanauts]
Bubba also really enjoyed the circuit portion of the class. This is her fave new toy, the bouncer which she will happily bounce on it and not want to move on to the next part of the circuit. We had to coax her to move on with the promise that she could play with it afterwards.
The handle bar segment can come across as being quite challenging for Bubba. We’ve been told that Bubba’s core muscles are slightly weak which is why when she hangs from the bars, her legs tend to ride up. The teachers have shared some tips on how we can build up her core muscles, so that’s what we’ve been doing at home (when we can remember).
It’s easy to go on and on about the programmes offered at Sparkanauts, so let me do a quick summary of what we really like about the classes:
- Allows for parent-child bonding. You may think its cliche but having that 75 minutes with Bubba has become a weekly activity that we look forward to doing. Sure there are other things that we can possibly do with Bubba, but having the structured programme helps us keep track of her development. Kids learn and grow so quickly and she usually would run away during the parachute segment but at her last lesson, she actually held the handles and started grooving to the beat.
- The class is structured so that there’s an equal mix of physical activities coupled with mental stimulation games. I really do enjoy the mystery box segment and evidently so does Bubba too as she would be among the first few to tap vigorously at the box when it comes out and the accompanying music is played. Every week, a different activity of sorts is hidden in the box. It was all about art one week, so inside our mystery box, we had pegs with materials of different textures for tactile stimulation. We even got to bring home one of these pegs to act as a paintbrush should we choose to do so after the class is over.
- The teachers are really dedicated and encouraging. We love how cosy the group is at Sparkanauts. The teachers show a keen interest in Bubba’s development and would encourage her to go forward when all she want to do is to pout.
Giveaway!!
To mark the completion of Bubba’s journey with Sparkanauts, they have very kindly given us 3 trial passes worth S$58 each to be given to our readers – your child should be within 5 months to 5 years of age.
To take part in this giveaway, simply click to enter the Rafflecopter contest below and follow the instructions.
3 Sparkanauts trial passes worth S$58 each
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/21811d534/?
Contest will close on 25 October 2015, 12am, Singapore time and is open to readers in Singapore only. Good luck!!
Well, that’s about all we have on Sparkanauts. Thank you to the dear folks at Sparkanauts for generously sponsoring Bubba’s lessons for a full term. In fact, we do like what we have done so far with them, that we are going to head back and sign on a another term with them on our own. 🙂 Stay tuned on what we have to share as Bubba heads back to Sparkanauts after our holiday!
Sparkanauts
Add: SAFRA Toa Payoh, 293 Toa Payoh Lorong 6, #02-01 Singapore 319387
Tel: 65 62590307
Email: info@sparkanauts.com
Website / Facebook
Opening hours: Tuesdays to Sundays / 9am to 5pm
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Note: Sparkanauts has very kindly sponsored Bubba’s play-gym sessions for 10 weeks for the purpose of this review. No additional monetary rewards were given. All views expressed are purely of my own and written according to our experience.
Well, for one, we are still in the Cadet class that’s ideal for toddlers between 12 to 18 months. Initially, I was worried about her not fitting in and not getting used to the curriculum. Different activities go on during the 1hr odd class but all done in a purposeful manner. During her first few visits, she simply wasn’t used to the flash cards segment and would prefer to move around. During the passing of the fruit via a relay race format, she would walk to another parent to drop off her fruit – signs of distraction.
But after a few lessons, I did see her making progress as she got used to the flow of the programme. She knows what to expect when it comes to participation and will try her best to sit still and pay attention to what the teachers are doing if she’s in a good mood.
I have to say that I’m quite impressed with how well-thought the programme is at Sparkanauts. I receive informative emails on a regular basis from Sparkanauts sharing with us the themes that Bubba can expect to learn over the next 4 weeks. Over the past few sessions, she has learned about mealtimes, shower, the neighbourhood, transportation, on the road and at the beach.
What you need:
After our first trial with Sparkanauts, we were pretty pleased with the format, the programme philosophy as well as the teachers who conducted the class which eventually led to this 10-lessons sponsorship by Sparkanauts for Bubba. 🙂
Here’s how the lesson is being structured to ensure that your child gets a full range of activities during the 75minute session:
Believe me when I say, if your child ain’t tired after all the above activities, you sure would be. This is where I’m glad that both the parents are able to be part of the lesson. I leave the physical part of the running and twirling about to the Man while I keep Bubba company for the other not-so-strenuous parts of the session. 
lady J's musings 