More Than Play
GLOWORLD MUSIC & LIGHTS PLAYMAT
Baby, get ready for the ultimate play experience! The MUSIC & LIGHTS PLAYMAT is packed with sensory delights, including lots of textures, three music modes, gently glowing lights and toys for baby to see, learn and explore. This exciting activity center lets you customize your little one’s experience for lots of playtime fun! There are seven separate toys that can be repositioned to unlock learning for overhead, tummy time or sit-up play. Set up the attachable bars for overhead play or remove them to let baby focus on floor-level activities for a tummy time workout. Choose between calm, soothing songs and active playtime music for continuous sound—or switch to jiggle mode to make music trigger whenever baby moves on the mat! With so much to keep your baby busy, there’s no stopping the fun!
It’s More Than Play... This Toy Also Teaches:
Tummy Time
Tactile Play
Visual Discrimination
Auditory Development
Fundamental Movement Skills
Fine Motor Skills
Soothing & Comforting
Basic Body Concepts
Tummy Time
When babies are on their tummies, it encourages little muscles in the upper body to develop, little heads to lift off the ground and little arms and fingers to strengthen and explore their world. For some babies, tummy time is not enjoyable, so providing delightful distractions to make tummy time seem more fun is a great way to keep infants happy while they develop their neck, arm and upper body muscles. Once baby gets stronger and is comfortable on her tummy, the next step is to pull those little knees up under her so she can push herself forward. The MUSIC & LIGHTS PLAYMAT is full of interesting discoveries for baby to explore while she’s enjoying tummy-time fun!
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Tactile Play
The skin contains millions of sensory receptors that send information to the brain. Tactile play allows children to learn about their world through touch, so the experience of different textures on the skin sends information back to the brain and helps integrate the sensory system. The MUSIC & LIGHTS PLAYMAT is packed with sensory experiences, featuring lots of different fabrics and textures integrated into the mat as well as attachable toys to grab and explore.
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Visual Discrimination
As baby plays on the MUSIC & LIGHTS PLAYMAT and notices differences and similarities between its different colors and patterns, he’s practicing what experts call “visual discrimination.” When babies are first born, they can’t tell the difference between certain colors, and they can only focus on objects within about eight inches of their eyes. It takes time and practice for little ones to learn to see the similarities and differences between different objects, colors and patterns. The MUSIC & LIGHTS PLAYMAT, with its many colors, high-contrast patterns, and low-dangling toys, was designed to capture baby’s attention and provide him with lots of visual discrimination practice. When he sees the friendly GLOWORLD characters pictured on the mat, he may notice similarities and differences in their faces and features. Recognizing similarities is a key aspect of visual discrimination—and a foundational skill for later skills like reading. Children need to be able to spot the differences between different letters and cases, such as “B” and “b,” and realize that they are the same letter when learning to read and spell.
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Auditory Development
The MUSIC & LIGHTS PLAYMAT, with its three music modes—active, soothing and a baby-activated "jiggle mode"—is designed with little ears in mind. When babies are newborn, they are more likely to respond to higher frequency, repetitious sound. That’s why most parents instinctually speak to their children in high-pitched “Motherese.” The music of the MUSIC & LIGHTS PLAYMAT is high-frequency and can be set to continuously loop to capture baby's attention and activate her hearing and sound-response in the same way. Listening to music can also help children practice discriminating tone, pitch and rhythm. Becoming attuned to these subtle differences in sound is an especially important foundational skill for learning language—when children need to be able to hear the differences between different letters of the alphabet, intonations, and cadences.
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Fundamental Movement Skills
Curious little ones need to be able to move so they can explore! Fundamental movement skills allow the body to move from one place to another. These physical skills develop from simple to complex, and require hours and hours of trial and error to master. The beginnings of fundamental movements, like rolling and scooting along on his tummy, are encouraged as baby makes his way to all the fun spots on the MUSIC & LIGHTS PLAYMAT. When baby learns to move and roll, the bars above him jiggle and trigger the glowing sun with lights and music, unfolding a whole new experience.
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Fine Motor Skills
Exposing children to lots of tactile sensations through sensory play can help prepare them to develop fine motor skills. At a young age, children’s finger and hand movements are random. Over time, hand and finger movements become more refined and purposeful, helping children to intensify discovery and fun. In order to develop fine motor skills, children need to build strong finger muscles and practice refined hands-on tasks, like exploring the detachable toys and textured surfaces of the MUSIC & LIGHTS PLAYMAT.
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Soothing & Comforting
Surfaces that are pleasing to the touch can contribute to a baby’s ability to relax and self calm. When a baby feels relaxed, he can more easily access higher levels of the brain and may have a better learning experience. Creating a warm and peaceful environment with a familiar toy with comforting features like the MUSIC & LIGHTS PLAYMAT is helpful for providing small children with the nurturing and sense of security they need.
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Basic Body Concepts
With the MUSIC & LIGHTS PLAYMAT’s detachable mirror toy, little ones can start to understand that the face in the mirror is their own, and figure out how to identify different parts of their body. This helps them form a sense of self and overall body awareness. Young children learn about their world by first understanding their own body, its parts and how it moves and reacts in environments. Looking at himself reflected in the mirror of the MUSIC & LIGHTS PLAYMAT can help your child with important fundamentals in basic body concepts as well as establishing self-recognition.
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Learn more—together!
Want to join the fun? Playing with your child can boost his learning, and it gives him more time to bond with you! Try these simple tips to enhance your child’s play experience:
- Detach the rattles and then clasp them back together to make a busy new toy!
- Talk about the facial features of the GLOWORM on the mat. Talk about eyes. Ask him where his eyes are—and where are yours?
- Name the various sensory experiences on the MUSIC & LIGHTS PLAYMAT like soft, rough, bumpy, squishy and crinkly. Exposing children to sensory language will help deepen their understanding of language and broaden their vocabulary.
