Gymboree Play & Music

Kate took a month of Gymboree Play & Music class, and she just finished up week before last. Her occupational therapist actually recommended some type of gymnastics class a while back, but we just got around to signing up for one--even though by the time we joined, I don't really think Kate needed it. (We have dropped our OT and ST for the time being. If we need to pick speech therapy back up again, we can do that--but Kate's OT didn't think she would need any more OT sessions. YAY! We are so thankful!)

Anyway, back to Gymboree ... We first took the free class to check it out. Kate was on the verge of turning 22 months, which is a class-cutoff age, so I actually took her to the 22-28 month class. But it turns out that they are pretty strict about the age cutoffs, so when we enrolled we had to attend a class for toddlers from 16-22 months. (I still think Kate would have enjoyed the older class, but oh well. She just seemed so much bigger than the kids in the younger class.)

Kate loved climbing on all of the equipment, stairs, slides and such. She really enjoyed herself! When it came to participating in the class activities, though, she really wasn't feeling it. She just wanted to run around and do her own thing--which was fine, of course. While most of the kiddos participate in the circle time and other group things, some kids--like Kate--just run freely. Kate would sometimes stop and watch or clap along to a song. And she LOVED the bubbles! I've heard good things about Gymboree bubbles, but I'd never bought any because they are kind of pricey. But they do last a good long while--and Kate had a blast walking around the room finding lingering bubbles to pop. LOL!

We decided not to continue the class after our first month was up--but we can always join back up if we want. (They offer other classes, too!) You only have to pay the membership fee once, so that's good. I actually had a coupon for $20 off the fee (or something like that). So I recommend waiting for a deal like that if you are looking to sign up. You can register to receive the Gymboree Play & Music e-mails so you'll know when a special promotion is going on. Also, I registered Kate during a Gymbucks-earing peroid, and I got some Gymbucks to spend in the store! Another score! Upon joining, you'll also receive coupons to Gymboree, Janie & Jack and Crazy 8--and who doesn't love a good coupon, right?

Anyway, check out a free class to see if your little one will like it. Have fun!


Coloring in the lobby area


Kate loves to climb!


There she goes!


Gymboree P&M also offers "open gym" times when members can just show up to play--but none of the times were convenient for us, so we didn't participate.


Going up ...


... and sliding down!


Here Kate is saying that she wants up.


Bubble time!


Popping bubbles!


The bubbles linger around for a long time. This was actually after class was over one day. There were lots of bubbles left to find and to pop.


Kiddos get a Gymbo the Clown (not a fan of Gymbo, by the way) stamp after class. This was taken several hours later, so the stamp has faded quite a bit. But you get the idea.