If your LO isn't in daycare, when did you start enrolling him/her in group activities? and what activities did you start with? I'm interested in enrolling LO in a class or 2, but i'm not sure if i should wait until she is on 1 nap (she's sorta in between 1 and 2 at the moment) and scheduling seems tough! And i'm not sure where to start...gymboree? music classes?
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At 6 months! We started with a mommy and me music class. Then from there we have done an art class and gynmastics and next we are going to do kiddie gym (city version of gymboree and much cheaper). I haven't found naps to be a problem at all. I just pick sessions that happen while she's awake!
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My son didn't begin daycare until he was 2...but before that we did swimming lessons, at 6 months and 1 year, and then at 18 months we did an organized playgroup that met weekly.
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Not yet for us at almost 8 months. She is still on 3 naps most days and there is just no time or consistency.
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Maybe start with ones are free (library story time, local meetup groups) so that you don't feel pressured to go to every one if your LO is napping. I started taking my LO to our library around 4 months for the story time and for baby yoga but once she went to 2 fairly regular naps the timing didn't work well. I am excited to start some activities when she goes to 1 nap.
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We did a music class around 8 months, but honestly story times, playgroups and other similar activities/events were better and cheaper. You also don't have the monetary commitment so it is easier to skip in the event of a bad day.
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@Pirouette: My daughter LOVES music class! She's 16 months now, but we also did it when she was 7 months and she loved it then too. If you have a Music Together program near you, I think their classes are really great.
As a starter thing, you could do things that don't require a big commitment and see how it goes. Our local library does toddler story time once a week. If it fits in our schedule and LO's nap schedule, we go. But if it doesn't, it's not like we signed up or paid for it.
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@mrs.shinerbock: that's a good idea. i think the paying and committing aspect is what gets me! i'm going to try to find some meetup groups! i've been meaning to try library story time, though i doubt she'd sit still haha.
@Radish:@looch: how did you find your playgroups?
@My Only Sunshine: I was looking at that class! but it just started, so i think we'll have to wait for the next enrollment.
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We started at 9 months. With my LOs, the morning nap was always the most consistent so I would schedule activities right after that period. I found 9am to be the morning nap time, so we found some activities that started at 10:30am that worked well with our schedule. We started with Music Together and story time at the library.
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@Pirouette: In my old city I just got to know the people at story time and the park and we all just started getting together at regular times - usually at parks. In my new city I found one on facebook.
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We started at 8 weeks with gymboree.
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I am not big on classes, haha! I know it seems to be popular on here, but it seems like torture to me, personally. I have done concerts for kids, library events, lots of parks... anyway, she just turned 19 months. Next summer she will probably do swimming lessons and maybe soccer (when she is 2). No rush for me!
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My LO is in daycare (so feel free to ignore this!), but we didn't sign her up for the Little Gym until she could walk...I'm not sure how much she would've gotten out of it before then. I took a 6-month maternity leave and took her to the library starting at 4 months. She always enjoyed that and it was free so I didn't worry if we had to miss it.
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We started Gymboree around 20 months. It was a good time and as my (then-) only child it really benefited him. His little sis didn't need anything like that... she gets plenty of stimulation from him!
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LO is in daycare part-time but I've started to think about whtehr to sign her up for music classes during the days she's home with me as well but had the same problem--her routine is consistent but her schedule isn't, so signing up for a class when it could overlap with nap time was too stressful! So instead I think I'm just going to try to get her to free/cheap classes when I can--like, there's a free story hour at a local bookstore near us, so if she's awake then we can go (we wnet yesterday for the first time), and there's a church near us that has an indoor play room with mats and balls and stuff for $6 most weekday afternoons.
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@Radish: that makes sense - we just moved, so i think i need to make some mommy friends with kids her age! but it's hard in the wintertime. i guess the library is where it's at
@lawbee11: oh yea, I thought it would be a waste of money before she was running around. i like the idea of a gymboree type thing, i think she'd love it, but it just seems like a big commitment! but since she's not in daycare, she isn't ever around other LOs so i feel like she needs something to do, especially when it's so cold out!
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We started going to library story time around 5 months. At 10 months she started a weekly gym class that we still go to at 24 mo and this fall we added a music class.
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@nana87: exactly! yea, i think free stuff seems more manageable when they are still napping inconsistently.
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Our library has a story time for 1 year olds. We will do that when he turns 1 this spring. No activities yet.
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@Pirouette: It's definitely a big commitment. And it's SO much easier once they're only on one nap. Usually the Gymboree-type places do have pretty good policies about making up classes if you have to miss some. I will say my LO absolutely loves it!
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@lawbee11: yea maybe i'll look into one that's flexible with makeup classes. i really do think she'd have so much fun!
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N was just over 2 when we started tiny tot gym. The class is once a week either Wednesday or Thursday. Next session e and n will be signed up for swim lessons. I live in a small place so the y is our option.
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Around a year-14 months, once she was on one nap and walking. We do music and gym. I'm going to take her to dance and messy play class soon when she's 18 months.
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We started at 6 months I think with a mommy and me type class. A few months later we started music and once she was 16-18 months we added a hiking group and art class. I always thought the classes were a good excuse to get out of the house. Lo loves and needs the socialization and so do I. We've met a lot of great friends that we socialize with outside of class now.
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We did gymboree starting at 8 months. We tried a music class at 9 months, but DS didn't really enjoy the loud noises from instruments. We started swimming at 13 months.
We took a break from everything over the summer, nicer weather months. But we'll be starting swimming again later this month.
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We started going to story time at the library at 4 or 5 months. He really likes it now that he's bigger (9 months). There are a couple of baby story hours at different libraries in our county system, and I live in pretty small, semi-rural area.
I can usually make one work (they're at 10:15, 11:15 and 11:00) even on two naps, and I've been known to wake him a few minutes early so we can get to the library on time.
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We did story time at the library and a mom's group from the beginning. We started Gymboree at 11 months and I highly recommend it once your LO is mobile. It's completely worth it for me because of the open gym times. We live in a small apartment, so it's really key to have someplace close by where he can run around for an hour a few days a week. There are cheaper places to go (community center playroom, indoor playground at the zoo), but Gymboree is so CLEAN. It was getting to where I felt like he was getting sick everytime I took him to an indoor play area.
ETA: We do a music class at Gymboree.
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@Pirouette: We're doing Gymboree because at this age (Level 2), you can go to any and all of the classes in Play and Learn, every week. So even if your "enrolled" class is on Wednesdays at 4pm, you can take LO to the class on any day of the week. This helps a lot because their naps are still all over the place.
Harry is on 3 naps a day (sometimes 2), so it's nice that I can go up to 7 Gymboree classes a week, plus Open Gym.
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@Woolly Mammoth: ooh didn't even think about germs...yikes!
@HabesBabe: oh that's cool, i think i'll check out the gymboree in our area. that kind of flexibility would work for us!
@illumina: i can't wait for dance classes! must check into how old she has to be for that (and i have to do it on a weekend because i want to take her!)
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@Pirouette: All Level 1 (NB to 6 months) and Level 2 (6 months to 10 months) are unlimited classes for Play and Learn-- not sure about Music, but you should def hit them up for a free class and find out!
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We started Music Together when she was 8 months old. It's been really great. During our first semester, she started clapping, and now knows how to dance a little.
I have friends who do several activities at a time (like swimming, sign language, music, etc.), but with our budget, we've decided 1 class per quarter will work, I think she's still engaged. It gives me something to look forward to (out of the house) each Friday.
If you have a local mom group on FB, I'd ask what classes are most worth it. I'm sure you'll get a lot of different answers, but it'll be a great source for recommendations.
ETA: We also do free library sing-song/story times, and free story times at a local bookstore. There are also a few kid's musicians in town that do free concerts a few times per month. I wouldn't have known about them without asking a mom's group on FB. It's been really fun.
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@Pirouette: The playgroup we attended was a specific language based one (we lived abroad at the time) and I happened to find out about it because a friend suggested it.
I wouldn't have known otherwise.
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@BandDmommy: 8 weeks??? What can I baby do at 8 weeks at a gym?
She's going to start baby tumbling when she turns one. Well after she turns one and whenever she walks. We do a mostly weekly playgroup with her little friends that is good for her. And then we're out and about on errands everyday. For us this works!
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DS started gym class @ MyGym when he turned 1, Storytime at the library was around 6 months. Once he started walking we stopped going because he was all over the place (around 12-15 months) and it wasn't fun. But we go back again now (he's 18 months).
I'm thinking of signing him up for a music class, too, and maybe a swimming class.
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I started taking him to a baby massage class at 6 weeks old, and he started swimming lessons at 4 months old. He still has swimming lessons once a week, and I also take him to a playgroup, a singing and story time group and a messy play session each week. Also soft play whenever we can get the chance. Both of us get very cabin feverish if we don't get out of the house and socialise most days! The swimming is the only thing I have to pay for up front though, everything else you pay £1 on arrival
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We don't do any classes! We went to library story hour a few times and I wasn't a fan. Seemed a bit overwhelming for him, I didn't feel like chitchatting with the other moms and I just figured I could read him a story at home.
I do run an outdoor playgroup/hiking group though. And we will do play dates or go to the children's museum (and they have a playgroup). Or just go to the library to hang out. Although I avoid it there in the winter. So there is still plenty of stimulation and activities and opportunities for socialization. Paying for classes just doesn't appeal to me! Maybe if we had Gymboree around here. Although, tbh I have no idea what that is. Sounds fun though!
Eta; swim lessons I wish I had done. No idea his to do them with two though!
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DS is 4 months and we have just started going to "Bounce & Rhyme" at the library - it's just a group of parents and kids singing nursery rhymes and songs together. It's sweet
When he's 6 months, I'd like to start swimming lessons and I may or may not enrol him in kiddie Spanish classes later on.
It often seems like a lot of the classes/activities for babies are actually more beneficial for the parents. It's just so lovely to get out of the house and talk to other mothers.
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We started going to a weekly playgroup at 4 weeks (okay, it was more for me at that point). Started music class at 6 mo and started going to story time at the library around 1 year. DD loves getting out of the house!
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