FAQ

Karibou’s program is offered by different organizations throughout Quebec and Canada. They are called Official Providers. It is the Official Providers that determine their own schedules, enrolment procedures and the price they offer the activities. For more information we invite you to contact them directly. Use the map to find your nearest Official Provider.

Karibou’s program was created for children aged from 1 to 5 years old. It is made up of different levels in order to adapt the activities to the motor abilities of the children. There are no prerequisites for enrolling your child in the program except for the first level: The Cheeky Chicks (12 to 16 months).

For this level, the child must be able to stand in an upright position and take a few steps with the help of his parent. No evaluation is required to be able to progress to the following levels; the objective being to stimulate the development of the children’s motor abilities while having fun!

In order to make the most of the activities, the children in the Cheeky Chicks group must be able to stand in an upright position and to take a few steps with the help of their parents. As such, we recommend that the children are at least 12 months old at the start of the activity. As the sessions only last 10 weeks, we suggest that you wait until the next session to enrol in the Cheeky Chicks!

It is certainly possible to participate in the activities with twins; however, each child must be accompanied by an adult. If it is not possible for both parents to be present for every period, feel free to ask a grandparent or a friend to come along and have fun with you and your little ones!

Karibou’s program is for children from 1 to 5 years old and has different levels in order to best adapt the activities to the motor abilities of the children. If you participate in one class with two children who are different ages, the activities will not be adapted and safe for one of the children.

For example, a child of 14-months is just starting to walk, whereas a 3-years old can already run very quickly. In the Feisty Foxes (3 to 4 years old) level, there are lots of games which involve running  and the equipment for the obstacle courses are adapted so as to be more challenging: for example, the beams are higher. A 14-months old child would not be safe in this environment and would not have fun.

It is possible, however, to bring a baby carrier for a child under 12-months old. With your baby secure in his carrier, you will be able to participate freely in the Karibou’s activities with your other child.

Since 2007, Karibou’s team has worked to make the program accessible to more and more children. New Official Providers come along regularly so stay in touch with us by following us on Facebook.

However, the program is still not available in certain regions and towns. We invite you to contact your city or local leisure organization to mention your interest in having this activity in your area. They are often very interested to hear suggestions from people like you when they prepare their activity programs and schedules. 

In order to provide a maximum number of organizations with the possibility of offering Karibou’s program and so that as many children as possible can move with Karibou, the registration fees for each session of activities is determined by each Official Provider. Consequently, the prices can differ from one Official Provider to another. This is mainly due to the advantages and constraints of each type of organization (private business, municipality, not-for-profit organization), but also because of the services already offered in the area around each organization's activity site.

Karibou’s program was created with the objective of offering children the opportunity to repeat a multitude of motor skills in a safe, adapted way and in a stimulating, playful environment. Why?

According to studies, researchers agree on the notion that a child’s acquisition of fundamental motor abilities (walking, running, jumping, throwing, etc.) is marked by 3 precise stages (initial, intermediate and final). For any given motor ability, access to the next stage depends on the quality (type of intervention) and the quantity of experiences that each child has. The motor development of young children is in fact achieved by a gradual learning process made up of the modification of a certain behaviour by the repetition of a particular task, among other things.

Even though the 7 levels of the program contain more than 90 different motor activities, it could appear to you, and rightly so, that certain activities are repetitive. This is normal! As we have previously said: in order to learn, children, like adults, must repeat a certain action several times in order to be able to acquire it. When we learn to play tennis, we have to hit a forehand hundreds of times in order to master this stroke and win our matches! 

What’s more, it is not possible to perform certain motor abilities without learning others beforehand. We learn to walk before we run, for example, or you may have even noticed that your child walks down stairs by placing both feet on a step before he can do so by alternating his feet. Thanks to the 7 age-based levels of the program and their precise goals, the motor capacities of children are respected.

Finally, children often really enjoy having fun with Karibou, even if they jump on the same trampoline, throw the same colourful balls or shake the same maracas each week. They do all of this with a big smile on their faces: they’re having fun!

 
*Karibou’s program was made by taking into account the broad principles of child development and is inspired by Paoletti’s (1999) approach to motor education.

The Official Providers of Karibou’s program are organizations working in the sports and leisure sectors, municipalities or simply parents who want to start their own businesses. They offer the program on their premises and all have one thing in common: they all promote healthy lifestyle habits amongst young children.

Firstly, we suggest that you see our Become An Offical Provider section.

Following this, we suggest that you contact us on 1-877-872-9992 (toll free) so that we can give you the information that you require for your project (explanation of licences, motor skills equipment for the activities, training of instructors, costs to consider, etc.).