About Our Classes...
At Good Beginnings, we believe that children often learn best in the company of peers. Our group classes offer an opportunity for children to practice skills in a safe and supportive environment where activities can be adapted to meet the individual needs of each child. For some, the classes offer a developmentally appropriate arena in which they can interact with peers while moving and learning. For others, the challenge of succeeding in a small group setting is a skill that builds a foundation for success in the larger classroom at school. The structure of each of our programs varies, but the one thing they have in common is a motivating environment for children to learn.
Groups offered include:
Sensory Integration Group Handwriting Group
Engine Group Social Skills
Fine Motor Group Yogalates
Toddler Group Play Partners
New programs are always forming. Call our office to check on current offerings.
Sensory Integration Group
Small group Sensory Integration classes offer children the opportunity to learn new skills while having a successful group experience. The classes, led by and occupational therapist and a special educator, work on an array of sensory integration skills to build muscle tone, improve motor planning skills and coordination. Our sensory integration curriculum utilizes strategies that help children to regulate behavior, build peer relationships and follow the class routine.
Handwriting GroupDoes your child complain when asked to write? Does his or her teacher report messy writing or the need for extra time to complete assignments? Many different skills are required when writing. A child must display solid core strength and stability, have a good grip on their pencil and use appropriate pencil pressure. Good visual motor skills will help to produce proper letter alignment, size and spacing and allow for gaze shifting between their paper and what they are copying. Without these basic skills, handwriting may become illegible, inefficient, and laborious. This class, led by an occupational therapist, offers a small group setting where children can develop new skills in a supportive environment.
In this class, geared for children eight years and up, participants learn to analyze how their own engine is “revving” and what they need to do to get their engine to the “just right place” for learning, play and social interaction. Through a curriculum of exercises teaching “engine” language and concepts, children learn to analyze their own “engine” levels and develop personal strategies for better listening, attention, sitting still, following directions, acting appropriate in social situations and controlling frustration levels. Acquiring these skills help children to take responsibility for their own behavior and provide guidance to transfer these skills to different settings.
Social Skills
Social skills are an important aspect of a child's life. They help a child to make friends, join into groups of peers for play and learn to communicate effectively. When children have difficulty with their social skills, they may be seen playing alone, getting into arguments with their peers or appear to be aggressive secondary to difficulties knowing how to act in specific situations. Our social skills class uses sensory strategies to engage children in motivating activities to promote social interaction. The class structure is constantly changing as it is tailored to the specific needs of the group.
Fine Motor Group
Fine motor is the ability to utilize the small muscles of our hands to complete tasks such as opening containers, holding a marker, buttoning, zippering and playing with small manipulatives. Weaknesses in fine motor skills can affect a child's ability to self-feed, write legibly, use a computer, turn pages in a book, and perform personal care tasks such as dressing and self-care. This class covers a broad curriculum aimed to develop a strong foundation for functional fine motor skills.
YogaLates
YogaLates is a child-centered class which combines the concepts of Yoga and Pilates . The classes are geared for children who are ready to progress toward a group exercise experience, but not yet ready to join a mainstream class within the community. The therapist taught YogaLates class will allow the child to practice their new motor skills in a supportive environment by a therapist who understands their specific challenges.
Our toddler, or preschool classes, help children to develop strategies that enable them to be successful in the group setting. Skills learned in this class can be generalized to the school, community and other mainstream settings. Group sessions also have the advantage of being a motivating setting which encourages children to develop peer relationships. The class curriculum emphasizes improving muscle tone/strength, motor planning, coordination, social skills and organization.
Play Partners
The play partners session allows the child who is ready to begin peer social interaction and play, but not quite ready to participate in a group, to partner up with an appropriate peer. The session incorporates sensory integration activities to enhance motivation and increase the children't emotional availability for shared play and turn taking opportunities.
