Mom & Tot class: any suggestions?

[josephsmom]

Joseph and I just came from our first Mom & Tot gym class. It was very nice. There were all different play centers scattered throughout the gym, each with its own set of toys. There was a puzzle center, a shape sorter center, a bowling center, all different kinds of things. We only saw a few of them; more next time! The format was to alternate a few minutes of free play with a few minutes of circle time/group activity. Joseph was really into sitting on the floor and playing with familiar toys--ones similar to what we have at home. I had a little trouble encouraging to try new toys, and a LOT of trouble getting him to try circle time. He had a little tantrum each time I tried to stop what we were doing and join the group in the circle, so after a couple of times, I stopped trying. He watched the other kids in the circle game, but was really not interested in joining. At the end, he got really angry when it was time to clean up, and had difficulty leaving. Granted, he was one of the youngest kids in the group, and by far the least mobile. Maybe he was intimidated. Does anyone have any advice on how to help Joseph transition more smoothly from one activity to the next and join the group? He goes to daycare 2 days a week, and I will ask the teacher for her suggestions, but I'd really like to hear yours as well. Thanks!

Helene
mommy to Joseph 12/29/01

[lukkykatt]

My older son has a VERY hard time with transitions, so I have a lot of practice in this area.

Joseph is still a little young, but you might want to try letting him know what is going to happen next. That way, he may be more receptive to alternating activities.

I think that you did the right thing by not making him join circle time. He may just need some additional time to see what is going on and decide if he wants to join the group. That will probably get alot easier for him once he has been to a few of the classes and knows what to expect.

At clean-up time, you can give him a one minute warning that it is time to put the toys away, then try telling him that it is time to say bye-bye to the toys, and that he will see them again next week. That always worked well for us.

Maybe the person who runs the class will also have some ideas?

[josephsmom]

Thanks, Andrea, for your good suggestions.

Helene
mommy to Joseph 12/29/01