Whole Lotta Play

We all want to be great parents and spend quality time with our kids (while we marvel at their cuteness). But since our attention span is marginally longer than that of a two year-old, we quickly run out of activities we can enjoy together. This is why we love the concept of Wholeplay, a program that focuses on enhancing the parent-child relationship through play, education and support.
 
Wholeplay offers a complete approach to play, benefiting, uniting and involving both parent and child in deliberately small class sizes. Their inspired programs are created and run by Mary Elizabeth Picher, who has worked (and schooled) extensively in the children’s health field. Picher’s experiences led her to develop classes (which are held in Roncesvalles and Leslieville) that offer all the fun that you would expect for kids—music, tumbling, games and socializing—but with an equal focus on parental support. 

In each class, a Child Development Specialist leads fun and physical parent-child play activities for the first half. The second half of the class centres on a parent discussion, focused on a topic related to healthy child development. If you’ve ever wondered about how to provide the best sensory play for your 6 month-old, curb separation anxiety in an 18 month-old or deftly deflate a temper tantrum in a 3 year-old, Wholeplay classes offer expert advice and sharing on these topics and dozens more. 

The owl-themed Hoot Group has five different levels of classes depending on age and developmental ability of the child, including Baby Hoots, Hoots-on-the Move, Wee Hoots, Hooty Hoots, and Hoot Friends. Wholeplay also offers a separate Wise Parenting Circle program, which gives parents an opportunity to come together to discuss similar issues and experiences in a welcoming and understanding environment.

Figuring it out on the fly is a slice of life when it comes to parenting. Thankfully, there’s a whole lot of support to be found if you’re wise enough to look for it.

Comments