Bond with baby, make new friends with Zumbini

Zumbini may sound like a fancy Italian pasta dish, but it’s actually a music and movement class for kids ages zero to 4 years old.

The program promotes itself as the only one of its kind to combine a live class with take-home materials to interact with your children at home, and a TV show on BabyFirst Network to tie it all together.

“Zumbini is a children’s education program for bonding, social, cognitive and emotional development,” explained local Zumbini instructor Carrie Templeton. “It’s not a fitness class, but it was created by Zumba, so it has a lot of movement and up and down motions.”

Over the summer, Templeton is hosting several pop-up classes to drum up interest in her classes, which will begin in late August at Playground Music Center in Mary Esther. At a recent pop-up class, about 16 children and their parents showed up to participate in the class.

The class began with a fun welcome song, in which Templeton sang out each participant by name. Next came a slew of songs that involved dancing, playing musical instruments and even waving colorful scarves around to keep the children engaged and moving around.

Even the youngest babies seemed to enjoy the dancing movements as they gurgled and cooed in their parents arms.

“I actually wanted to be a Zumba instructor, and when I went to get certified I saw Zumbini,” Templeton said when asked how she found the program. “I have an 18-month-old daughter, so it just fit perfectly.”

Templeton currently is the only Zumbini instructor in the area and said she is excited to bring the unique parent-child bonding program to the Emerald Coast.

“We will typically limit the class to 10 or 12 students so that it’s a little more intimate,” she said. “Keeping it smaller allows for the participants to really form a community, and for the kids to build their social skills.” 

There will be another Zumbini pop-up class at Fit Your Way 30A, 2078 U.S. 98, Santa Rosa Beach, on Saturday, July 15, at 1 p.m. Cost is $10 per family and participates must RSVP as space is limited. Regular classes begin Aug. 23 at Playground Music Center in Mary Esther and will continue every Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. Cost ranges from $10-$20 per class. Call 404-457-5465 or email missczumbini@aol.com for more information. 

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