Prenatal Sparkler
Sparkler offers expecting parents a mix of activities that they can do to prepare for their baby and learn through their pregnancy, as well as tips to help them understand early development and prepare for newborn life.
When your baby is born, you can update their birthday to start seeing content for newborns … and Sparkler will grow with you and your child through age 5 to help guide your family through the early years. Parents will see new content as their child grows!
Activities for Expecting Parents
Sparkler has four domains of development: Words (communication and literacy skills), Body (gross motor, fine motor, nutrition, and perception), Mind (cognitive and problem-solving skills), and Heart (social and emotional skills like feelings, trust, and curiosity). We divide the prenatal content for expecting parents into these same four categories:
- Words: During pregnancy, you’ll find a broad range of activities from reading to your belly to creating a list of baby names! Once your baby is born, you’ll find activities that grow babies’ and children’s skills related to expression and comprehension, sounds and letters, stories, and representation.
- Body: During pregnancy, you’ll find activities to support you and your growing baby! This is where you’ll find our Prenatal Yoga and Pilates series. You’ll have access to 2 easy-to-follow videos each trimester (and 2 postpartum), which were created by prenatal yoga and pilates experts to support you exactly where you’re at in your pregnancy journey! It’s like taking a one-on-one class from the comfort of your home. Once your baby arrives, you’ll find “Body” activities that grow your child’s gross motor and fine motor skills, as well as their perception skills.
- Mind: During pregnancy, you’ll find activities that will support you to understand pregnancy, baby’s early brain development, and planning for your new arrival! Once your baby arrives, you’ll find Mind activities that help you support your child’s developing cognitive skills. You’ll practice focus, memory, flexible thinking, connection making, imagination, and math skills (counting, numbers, geometry, measurement, patterns, operations).
- Heart: During pregnancy, you’ll complete activities that will help you build a connection with your growing baby. You’ll also find a series of journaling prompts for each trimester, so you can reflect on your journey and create a keepsake to look back on after pregnancy. Once your baby arrives, you’ll find Heart activities that help you grow your child’s social and emotional skills: feelings, identity, empathy, self-regulation, trust, curiosity, persistence, and independence.
Tips for Expecting Parents
Sparkler offers tips — based on research and experts in pregnancy and early childhood development — to help expecting parents prepare for their babies and support healthy pregnancies. The growing library includes:
- Tips for Nausea
- Caffeine and Pregnancy
- Prenatal Vitamins
- Your Birth Preferences
- Preparing Siblings for the New Baby
- Breastfeeding
- Postpartum Nutrition