Gymboree Play & Learn Classes

Every Thursday afternoon, Noah and I head out to our weekly Play & Learn class at Gymboree. I get a lot of questions about our classes there; therefore, I thought I would write up a little review about our experience at Gymboree. Noah is currently enrolled in the Level 1 class that is geared for babies from birth up to 6 months. We started Noah at about 2 months old. At first, I had so many questions running through my head. What does a baby even learn in a "class" at this age? Would the other moms be welcoming? Would there even be any other 2 month olds in the class? To my surprise, my "worries" were put to rest within the first few minutes of class beginning. The content of the class fit Noah's age + ability perfectly, the other moms were very welcoming, and there were actually several other 2 month olds (all boys too!). 

In a nutshell, Gymboree's Level 1 class encompasses lots of tummy time, songs, interactive games, bubbles, parachute time, and our good pal Gymbo the Clown (pictured below). It also includes discussion time for the moms, which I think is great. Noah's favorites are undoubtedly bubbles, parachute time, and Gymbo!

Since beginning that first class, I have grown to love Gymboree even more. As a stay-at-home mama, it can get pretty isolating at times. Don't get me wrong, I love my job, but feel it's important to connect with other moms, as well as let Noah have some interaction with other babies. Gymboree has provided us with both. I'm not one to stay cooped up in the house all day (unless of course it's a yucky day weather-wise), so I try to get out as much as possible. Beyond Gymboree, I try to coordinate play dates (I've started a small monthly playgroup), take him to story times, and will be enrolling him in swim lessons later this spring.

Noah will be getting ready to graduate from Level 1 and move up to Level 2 next week (he'll start attending 2x per week). We actually attended our 1st Level 2 class today just to check it out, and I think it's safe to say that Noah loved it. Level 2 is geared for babies from 6 to 10 months, and is quite a bit more active than Level 1. Noah took to tummy "surfing" and baby soccer really well! I wish I would have had a camera handy during tummy surfing...he was grinning from ear to ear! SO.MUCH.FUN! 

So, if you are a stay-at-home (or work-from-home) mom and are looking for something fun to do with your little one (Gymboree offers classes from birth to 5 years), I highly recommend checking it out. Our experience has been a lot of fun, and I am happy to answer any questions you may have about it.