Some 80 per cent of the human brain develops in the first three years of childhood, shows a research.
And that’s what made Gymboree, a global leader in early childhood development, join hands with internationally-acclaimed Beaconhouse Education System in Pakistan. Gymboree has around 700 branches in 55 countries across the globe.
“Adopting creativity, confidence and friendship” as its slogan, Gymboree Play and Music launched Sunday in the city to take care of the kids on pre-school level.
“Our focus would be the overall development of a child’s life skills instead of academic one,” Sophia Kasuri, Director Gymboree, told a well-attended ceremony that saw the launching of first Play & Learn center here at Gymboree’s premises in DHA.
Flanked by Beaconhouse CEO Kasim Kasuri, she said parents being the first teachers and “key influencers” of children’s lives were the main focus of Gymboree under the unique parent-child programs.
“Our highly trained teaching staff educates the parents who then develop their children physically, socially and emotionally through regular activities at home,” the director added.
Giving historical background, Sophia said Gymboree was launched in 1976 by a couple in the US and had first arrived in 2010 in Gulberg, Lahore. Secondly, the center was established in DHA area of Punjab’s capital in 2012.
Getting an overwhelming response from Karachiites, Gymboree intends to open a pre-school center next month in this metropolis where the center claims to have made about 100 admissions within a short span of 15 days.
A number of families were seen visiting the center with their children of 0-5 years age on Sunday to attend the free preview organised by the center. The visiting kids bought Gymboree’s educational toys. All the equipment at the center, a Gymboree affiliate Tabraiz Bokhari said, was hygienic, non-toxic and edible thus not harmful for children’s health in case the latter eats them.
“Unique feature of Gymboree is that parents accompany their kids here,” said Beaconhouse CEO Kasim Kasuri. By joining hands with Gymboree, he said the Beaconhouse had extended its education system to “all spectrum” of age groups: “from birth to graduation”.
Beaconhouse covered education from age groups ranging from three to A-Level, he added. “Gymboree has as much experience in educating 0-3 age kids as we at Beaconhouse have with three-onwards,” Kasuri said.
Beaconhouse, he recalled, was launched in Lahore in 1975 and was then expanded to Karachi in 1978. Sophia said even those children could attend Gymboree who were enrolled in other schools.
“It is like a support program. Your children can come here even if enrolled in other schools,” she told the parents, who were well in attendance.
Bokhari said all the programs at Gymboree were developed after years of research in consultation of relevant experts of an international repute. Sophia said Gymboree would be opening more branches in Karachi, Lahore, Faisalabad and Islamabad by end 2015.