The Best Programs with even Better Leaders!

As our spring program sessions come to an end and our summer sessions begin, GiGi’s Playhouse Detroit wants to highlight all our wonderful programs that took place and our program leaders who worked so hard the past few months. Each program is designed with a specific purpose in mind and helps each participant reach their best of all. With the help of our incredible volunteers, our participants are able to have fun while learning and growing!  

LMNOP (Language Music N’ Our Peeps) is our interactive program for birth to 3 years old that focuses on learning basic sign language and other forms of communication using music and language-based activities. Kelli Robinson led LMNOP this spring and we are thankful for her knowledge of sign language! She is so talented and loves being with the little ones. Thank you Ms. Kelli for all you do!  

GiGiFIT Toddler is for individuals who are walking to 5 years of age. For one hour, our participants work on foundational and targeted mobility movements, reflex integration and control. Ms. Denise led this program for our first spring session and she is great with the little ones. Her exercises and songs make Saturday mornings so fun! We are so thankful for her gentle heart and her love for our toddlers!   

Playhouse Pals is a super fun and casual program for our 4-7 year olds. The goal of this program is to work on social skills, gross motor skills and language skills through exciting games and crafts. Lisa Kocab our board president and we are fortunate to also have her for our Playhouse Pals program leader. She always comes up with the best activities and works hard to support the Playhouse! We could not do what we do without you Ms. Lisa!  

Kids Club like Playhouse Pals focuses on social skills and gross motor skills but is designed for 8-12 year olds. Kids Club is led by Ms. Becca who is a special education teacher. She brings many fun exercises, art projects, and knows how to engage and challenge our participants. Ms. Becca is the best! 

Teen Tastic is such a great program for our teen friends who are learning teamwork and more about friendship! The activities and games help participants to understand compromise, turn-taking and problem-solving. Ms. Betsy is our program lead and comes to us with lots of experience since she has four sisters with Down syndrome. Ms. Betsy also sits on our board, she is very involved around the Playhouse but loves getting to encourage our teens. 

Fantastic Friends is well fantastic! Created for our adult friends, this program seeks to promote peer to peer interaction through activities like tie dying and game nights. Ms. Nancy led this program and she did a lovely job. Her intentionality and her heart for this community is such an asset to the Playhouse.  

GiGiFIT Teen and GiGiFIT Adult allows participants to learn how to move their bodies purposefully. The program helps our teen and adult friends grow in strength, endurance, joint stability, balance, and movement control all while playing fun games and exercising! Ms. Rachel is our leader for this program and she does an amazing job encouraging our friends to be healthy! Thank you Ms. Rachel for all your fun exercises and games that make Tuesday evenings so fun!   

It is no surprise that our friends with Down syndrome love to perform. Dance with Ms. Sarah and Dance: Zumba with Samantha give our participants a space to do just that, to express themselves and to have fun! We are so thankful for Ms. Sarah and Samantha for helping this community increase in strength, flexibility, and coordination!  

If you love fun crafts, painting, and getting your hands dirty, then art explosion is for you! Led by Ms. Mia, art explosion gives participants the chance to be creative and confident. Ms. Mia always comes up with fun projects and encourages participants to express themselves through art!  

GiGi’s Playhouse Detroit is so thankful to everyone who made our spring programs successful! We are excited for our summer programs and can’t wait to watch all our participants reach their best of all with the encouragement and support of the best program leaders.