Classes/Activities with a 20 month old

Hi all,

I'm looking for some suggestions as to what classes/activities I can do with Blake (20mth old) I'm wanting to enrol in something but I'm not sure what that something is.

We currently go to Playgroup once a week which is mainly outdoor play (at this time of year) as well as getting together with our BB playgroup about once a month. I want to start getting to the local library for story time - still on my to do list, but I would like som suggestions as to what else there is.

All I can think of is Gymbaroo and swimming.

What does your toddler do? Would you recommend it?

We did gymbaroo with ds1 and 2 and only recently stopped due to not having enough days/hours in the week to fit everything in. I cannot speak highly enough of gymbaroo. DS1 did it for over 2 years - he learnt sooooooo much and in my opinion it helped his development in so many ways. Have you had a look at their website - I am pretty sure (from memory) that they give an overview of the classes and their focus/misson statement etc. They give such personal attention to each child and focus on a different developmental area each week. It is quite structured, but I like that, although there is some free play time. I am really starting to see some of the benefits now in DS1 eg his memory, agility, balance, word recognition etc - this may have happened naturally for him, but I think gymbaroo gave a fantastic base for him to grow from.

Another option is kindergym which isnt quite as structured but still offers lots of games,singing, play equipment.

Good luck.
Jem

Rach we do toddler gym which is similar to gymbaroo i think but has more free time at this age. Sammy absolutely loves it. He does this once a week and the session goes for 40 minutes. As it is at the Rec Centre..we go swimming afterwards.

Sammy also does Kindermusik which is aimed at toddlers learning new songs and movements. He hasnt been as keen on this one as it is a lot more structured but he loves using the musical instruments.

We were doing rhyme time at the local library up until last term on Thursday morning buts I feel like hes outgrown these singing sessions now and isnt really old enough to sit for story time. He loves books but with all the other kids there he just wants to play so we will leave story time for a bit longer.

Have fun finding something for Blake!

Jo

Thanks Jemima for sharing your experience. I'd looked at their site already and was quite happy with it. Will show DH too to see what he thinks.

Jo, is the toddler gym Sammy does part of a big corporation or just something run by your local rec centre? Has Sammy started to enjoy his music after his waving goodbye episode the other week? :) I'm not sure Blake will sit still enough for story time too, but he LOVES me reading books with him so I thought I'd try.

Our local roller skating centre - where my DD is a club member - do toddler skate sessions. I was thinking of trying that too, but not sure. Have spoken to the other mums at skating and their little ones enjoy it but Blake's a bit younger so still not sure. Might just have to go and try it huh?

On the liones ans Gymbaroo and Kindermusik (who also have a web site) is Hey Dee Ho Music (also online).

Be just does an activity playgroup run my a child OT and a Speech pathologist, so it incorperates the aspects of the others.

Once a week I take her to the indoor play centre and if the weather isn't too hot (I have a very pale skinned red-haired dd) I will take her to an outdoor play ground once a week.
Indoor play centres often have gymbaroo type programs that they run so that may be worth looking into.

For physical development I would go swimming... for language development I would opt for Gymbaroo or Kindermusik or Hey Dee Ho.

Thanks Jo. We definitely need the language development side of things. Although Blake comprehends very well, he aint much of a talker! So that sounds good!