With nurseries still closed across Dubai and social distancing measures still in force, many parents of babies and young children are reluctant to let them interact with anyone from beyond their own family units. But social skills are a key part of childhood development, and the foundations are laid from a very young age. Safely simulate in-person interaction and stimulate little hearts and minds with online baby singing and movement groups that keep kids having fun and making friends from your own living room.
KatieJane Dubai – Singing and Storytime with Shonali
Although Katie Jane herself has recently stepped down from this well-loved provider of creative and child-led classes for little ones aged 0 to 4, Chief Play Officer Shonali Lihala has taken up the helm and is currently running a series of online singing and storytime classes on the Zoom platform. The live sessions see babies from as young as six months to age four (and older or younger siblings) meeting up virtually to sing nursery rhymes, explore some sensory activities and listen to Shonali read a story (the storybook pictures are projected on screen). Great fun and excellent value at just Dh90 for five sessions, or Dh60 for three sessions.
Every day Sunday to Thursday at 10am, or Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday at 11.15am. Dh90 for five sessions or Dh60 for three sessions per week. Email shonali@katiejanedubai.com
Kids Zone – Weekly playgroup
Kids Zone has launched an online playgroup held from 9am to 11am on Zoom where little ones can engage in a program of fun tasks designed to stimulate, engage and encourage the development of gross motor skills. Covering dance, exercise, singing, experiments and arts and crafts, little ones will be able to get all the fun of interacting with their peers, supervised by the Kids Zone experts, all via the magic of modern technology.
Dh500 for a month of classes three times a week, call 0504604203.
Smart Start – Baby Massage, Baby Sensory, Toddler Sense and Mini Professors
Smart Start has taken all of it classes online, with a varied timetable of sessions that cater to every age group, from baby massage classes and colic workshops for the parents of newborns, to Baby Sensory classes for up to 13-month-olds, music and imaginative play-based Toddler Sense sessions for 1-4 year olds, and the hands-on science program Mini Professors for 4-6 year olds. Classes run from Sunday to Wednesday, plus Fridays, and include both early morning and afternoon sessions, so you can fit them around home learning for older kids. Smart Start is also selling at-home messy play and other themed activity kits containing everything you might need for one of their creative play workshops for Dh150.
Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesdays and Fridays, at a variety of times throughout the day from 9.15am to 4pm. Classes last 45 minutes and cost Dh50 per family, booking@babysensory.ae or 0551126895.
