Gymboree Play and Music

[boilermakermom]

Has anyone/LO taken classes at Gymboree Play and Music? DD is 2.5 and I was considering enrolling her in the art classes. I have heard it isn't worth the $$, but there really isn't anything like it in my area.

Also, do you think it would still be useful at her age? I've only know people to take their infants.

Thanks!

[artvandalay]

We've done Gymboree and loved it. I always paid the monthly deductable so that you can come to the open play for free.

I never did the Art class, but when DS1 was 2.5, I put him in a drop off class. I don't know if they still have it, but I thought it would be good practice before he started preschool at age 3.

They did art, learned some letters, and I think had a little snack. I would do it again.

[ajb524]

I started taking my son when he was around 2 years old and then went off and on through age 4. He really loved gymboree and I think it was a good place for him to get his wiggles out on Saturday morning.

It is a bit pricey, but overall I think it was worth it for him to go. I recently found out that our Gymboree class place closed down and I really hate that. it was such a good place for little kids.

[AnnieW625]

We started taking DD2 to the play classes when she was 6 mos. old. She wasn't moving around a lot (I think she is just a tad lazy!) and I wanted to meet some other parents of young babies. We have been very happy with it. She gets excited to go there, and although she is not crawling (still lazy, but trying to pull up on things) I like it. We can't do any of the free play time yet because my older daughter can't come in and can't stay un attended in the lobby, but I feel that I get my monies worth out of it. I'd really like to try the music class, but right now our location doesn't have a 6 to 18 mos. music class in the evening, so we'll most likely have to wait until she is 16 or 18 mos. old to start that.

[jenfromnj]

DS (23 months) goes to Gymboree and loves it. We go to the gym class, not the art class, but an art class is running concurrently in the next room (clear wall) and looks fun, too--the kids are always walking out with really cute projects! I like that our class is fairly structured but allows for lots of playtime, since it's a good pre-preschool experience IMO--getting used to following rules (though we're still working on that one!), interacting with other kids in a more "formal" setting, etc.

Is a trial class an option? I know at our location you can take a trial class for free before signing up. This is especially good because I think a lot of how fun and successful the class is depends on the instructor. We'd tried a different Gymboree location when DS was smaller and not liked it as much--now we have the owner as our instructor and she's great.

We also love the open gym option and wish we'd signed up earlier in the winter, since it's given DS a huge open space to run and climb while all the local playgrounds are snowed under, and a change of scenery from running around the house.

[jerigirl]

Trial the art class. DS1 did Gymboree Art from 18 months to 2 and for the summer at 3. We loved it! I liked the idea of getting messy there instead of at home :tongue5: We also did the play class from 3 mo to 2.5 yrs. At about 2.5 I thought he was getting a bit too big for the equipment. He was a big climber though.

[katydid1971]

The Gymboree here closed :( but I use to take DS. I found that the teacher would make or break a class. There was one teacher who I really liked as a person but she was a terrible teacher. I did start to avoid her classes. Gymboree class are expensive but honestly so are almost any of those enrichment type classes. I have done lots of different things with my kids and they all were about the same cost as Gymboree.

[jerigirl]

I found that the teacher would make or break a class. There was one teacher who I really liked as a person but she was a terrible teacher. I did start to avoid her classes.

:yeahthat: Definitely! Your experience can vary greatly depending on location and teachers. I would definitely try to do your trial with the teacher that will be teaching the time slot you are looking at.

[jenstring95]

We love Gymboree, and we love their art classes. I am trying to sign my 3 & 5yo up for art there, but they don't have any classes for their age group right now. DD (3) has gone to Gymboree (the gym class) for 2 years. I keep thinking it's time to pull her out and do gymnastics or something, but she really loves it. Also, it's one of the only things you get to do WITH your child instead of just dropping them off/watching from the sidelines. (They do have a drop off class as well, though. Haven't tried that yet as DC go to MDO.) I think you can do trial classes in all 3 areas (art, gym and music), so why not try them all and see which you like the best?

[eh613c]

I started taking my DS when he was 6 months old and now that he's 2.5 y/o we put him in a nursery school twice a week for 3 hours. They do art, music, play, storytime and all sorts of fun stuff. I think you're better off going to a nursery school.