Gymboree! Time to Play & Learn

Now that Shelby is motoring all over the place and really working on her communication, we jumped on the opportunity to enroll her in a class at Gymboree! When she comes home from school during the week, she has little play left in her, so this class is a fun opportunity for Jack and I to recreate with our sweetie and see her personality shine.

Gymboree is to small tikes what an all-inclusive resort is to adults. It's paradise. It's bright, it's fun, there is music, bubbles, other babies - all things that every baby loves. They offer a variety of age-appropriate classes in several  "subjects," (art, sports, music, etc). For now, we enrolled Shelby in the 10 -16 month Play & Learn Class. It was pretty much cuteness overload. The adorable and extra-energetic Miss Noa, leads the class and refers to the kids as "Little Communicators" since communication is a key component to their development right now.

Upon arrival everyone, moms and dads too, get nametags, the child's go on their back so they don't pull it off. Brilliant. The moment we put Shelby down on the colorful mats she took off crawling all over the place.  Of course you have to keep your eye on your little one, but it's a nice, cushy, baby-proofed environment.

The 45 minute class started with some very simple, upbeat song that encourage parent-child interaction. It was fun to watch some of the older kids who have been in the class for a while - many sang, clapped, pointed and bounced to some of the songs. From there Miss Noa opened a variety of physical obstacles that encourage crawling, walking, throwing, touching, sliding etc. Shelby is definitely on the younger side of the class, so she could not do all the activities, but it was no problem.....she was perfectly content chomping on this tasty treat of pillowed perfection they call an Air Shape.

After some parent-guided exploration, we all gathered in the middle of the room again for some group activities. I think this was Shelby's favorite part. At one point all the kids were on a parachute in the middle of the room, parents forming a circle around them, and we played, sang songs, made "waves," and explored bubbles that were delivered by the staff. It was a cute  sea of sweet Little Communicators.

This is definitely a bright spot in my weekend. The staff is great and I love that everything they do is fun for the kids has an educational component as well. I don't know who had more fun - Shelby or Mom and Dad???? We can't wait for our next weekend at Gymboree!