gymboree vs little gym

[Jennygt]

i am thinking of starting my ds this fall in a class. he will be 2 at the end of sept. i can't find the cost of little gym online. Any thoughts on either program?

 

[kopmom]

My sister liked the little gym better for her son

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

I've never done Gymboree, but have done The little Gym with DS and DD.

Both I know are pretty expensive. The Little Gym is a 14 week enrollment and I want to say it was well over $300.00 plus the enrollment fee.

Its a cute place for some interaction for your little ones , but I wasn't overly impressed. We have another place around here called Gymkhana, and its cheaper and I think the interaction and learning experience is better.

Alot of people like The Little Gym but as I said I wasn't impressed. I called our local one for a price on a birthday party for my DD over a week ago, no one ever called back. Needless to say, she's not having it there.

 

[Chipmunk89]

We did Gymboree when DS was little. And we loved it. Now, we never belonged to Little Gym, but we had been there for birthday parties. And I preferred Gymboree.

I don't remember the prices (it's been a long time), but our Gymboree had a discount for consecutive sessions. Gymboree also offered music and art sessions.

 

[kimmylaj]

i've done both gymboree when my son was 2 and little gym for my daughter who is 2 now. i prefer gymboree for that age. my son goes to the little gym now at 5 and it is great for his age but for the little ones i think gymboree is more developmentally appropriate. more concepts up/down in /out short circle time. little gym more skills based forward roll, balance beam forward with dips. longer circle time. more of a need to follow directions. they don't push the kids at all but like i said gymboree just seems a better fit for a two year old. and the teachers at both are really sweet. have fun whatever you decide

 

[ChristusG]

We did The Little Gym when DD#1 was about 22 months old. Now we're probably about to enroll DD#2, who is now 17 months.

DD#1 was shy but seemed to enjoy it. She especailly loved group time and singing the songs, dancing, and bubbles. She enjoyed some aspects of tumbling time/gym time as well though. All of the non-shy children REALLY loved the gym time aspect.

Someone else mentioned that the price was like $300....but I know for a fact I did not pay that much....I would definitely not have enrolled for that price because we dont have that kind of money LOL! I believe it was about $120 for the course.

 

[mom~of~2]

We do both. I believe they both offer "free" trial classes - maybe you can try each and then decide? Our Gymboree offers various enrollment options (min. of 8 weeks I think) whereas Little Gym is a longer time commitment (like PP said, 14 weeks). What's nice about Gymboree is that there are a number of different programs - the regular Gymboree class, art class and music class. If you miss a class ... which happens a lot during the cold season... you can make-up the class by attending one of their other class offerings.

They really are different. My 2-year old is in Little Gym and loves it - she's VERY active and fearless so she loves all of the equipment and trying all of the tricks. My older DD is very shy and cautious and did not do as well in the Little Gym classes (but recently went to a b-day party there and was much more interested now that she is 4 years old). A lot also depends on the staff that works at your particular franchise.

 

[jenb1023]

We don't have a little gym here but my DD has been enrolled in gymboree since she was 6 months old and is about to age out when she turns 5 next month. She loves it! We started with play class. When she was about 2 1/2 she got a little bored with that so we did a few sessions of music then switched back to play. The pluses we found with gymboree are: you can make-up a class, in the summer they usually offer unlimited classes at no charge, the have open free play sessions a few times a week that are free to members and the most important one - I earn a gymbuck to spend in the clothing store a few times a year! I think ours is $58 a month for one class per week plus the above listed stuff. I know when you enroll for a certain number of consecutive sessions you get discounts. We are under an old plan since we have been going for so long but we pay 1/2 price - $29 per month.

 

[MNdisneymom]

I started my ds now 5.5 when he was really tiny at Gymboree, and continued for quite a while (until 2.5,--then all of them in our area closed ) even through my divorce/move, etc. Great program, especially at a young age.

I found another kids gym called JW Tumbles--I don't know if you have one of those near you or not. I really liked it as he got older--lots of free play, a little circle time--and they (at least in the 2.5 yo and up class) start to introduce the idea of taking turns, waiting, etc...I think Tumbles is better as they get older--there are a lot of different kinds of equipment and activities for them to do.

The great thing about kids gym stuff is it's another way to meet other moms--I'm still friends with some GymMoms years later.

 

[Emma's Mom 03]

For that age probably Gymboree - it is more play oriented. Emma goes to the Little Gym (but she is entering Kindergarten) and it is great for the skills. She is taking dance, but they also incorporated gymanastics as well. Her class is an hour, but the play sessions with mom are 45 minutes. I pay over $300, but it is for all semester and is a little longer time length then the little ones would do.

 

[weloveprincesses]

We did Little Gym, so I can't speak to Gymboree, but for US, LG was a great fit. DD9 now, started at about 3. She was a watcher, she would hang back and wait to see what was going to happen, didn't interact, nothing, she did NOT under any circumstances want to be the kid to help the teacher show the skill of the week. I thought "Oh, no, what have I done, this will scar her for life!!" Fast forward to the end of the session, and dd was a totally different person. She couldn't wait to go, wanted to be a part in everything, wanted to show off during skill of the week etc. I agree with a pp that the teachers make ALL the difference in the world...we had a fab one and stuck with her through the birth of my second daughter. We went till we outgrew them and loved it.

I know this only muddies the water!!! I also think that taking the trial classes is a great idea....Good luck!!

Maggi

 

[Jennygt]

Thanks for all the advice! It sounds like they are bothe good. LG is $360 for 5months, that is about $72 month/$18 per class. That is about the same as gymboree around here. We have a trial class at LG this Monday and I plan to check out Gymboree also. I will let you know how it works out!

 

[Jennygt]

Well we have done both over the past 2 nights and Little gym wins by far. I don't know if it is our ds but he had sooo much more fun at LG. I will post more details in the am.

 

[ChillyWilleys]

DD4 has been at The little gym since she was 17mos, we've never tried gymboree. It is quite pricey, around $300. If you can pay all at once you save a little rather than with the payment plans. I often hear parents saying they're going to try going somewhere else because of the price but I think its worth it. Its always clean, each child is greeted excitedly by name as soon as they walk in the door (I don't know how they do that!). The kids are always encouraged to particpate but never forced to do anything they aren't comfortable with. Also each semester is really long so even though its pricey it is for alot of classes I believe there's 20 in a semester. We love them and have no desire to go elsewhere.

 

[fivikse]

One other thing to think about when figuring out the cost, is that Gymboree often offers free play times. Our Little Gym does not offer that. My Gymboree had free play twice a week, on top of my regular class. So I was paying $59 (ish?) a month for one class/week, but could actually go 3 times a week including free play. Very nice when the weather is bad and you can't go to the park.

 

[Jennygt]

Well here was our experience at gymboree
We had to wait out in a hall, in an office building for a while prior to the class, that sort of turned us off but we still tried it. This location was pretty small, not much room to run around, lots of thigs to climb on, very packed in. there were lots of balls, toys all around the place, the balls were all ds was interested in. They did sing a few songs and blow bubbles but to be honest Ds and myself and dh were a little board. There were things stored all around in corners that ds kept getting into. The greeting was very bland for us as trial members as well as for the regulars in the class. I almost felt like I was in someones overcrowded living room. We did stay for the whole class even though dh was "done" after 20 min and wanted to leave.

Little gym
We were gretted very enthusiasticly as we came in and we were given some idea of what to expect. Gymboree did not ask us or explain anything to us. The waiting area at Lg was very nice and it had large windows so that you could see into the gym. As soon as ds entered he was running around laughing and having a ball. The instructor was wonderful and kept good flow of the class which was large with 22 kids( make ups and new trials) the class is normaly 12. To us there was no comparison between lg and gymboree. That beeing said perhaps out local gymboree is just not a good one. Our ds is very active and he loves all the running jumping at lg. He seemd too confined at gymboree.
The price difference is only a few dollars so we are going to call and enrol in lg today. Thanks for all the advice!!

 

[chrisw127]

We did both and liked Little Gym much more. I thought Gymboree was fine for kids prior to walking, but they aren't set up for kids after that point, equipment wise. Also, the instructors at our Little Gym were all involved in sports somehow (either they were former gymnasts or dancers) whereas at Gymboree they just seemed to be housewives earning a little extra money. I also didn't like that Gymboree at such broad age differences for their classes; some kids were barely walking, some were toddlers capable of running.

ADDED: I just read about the poster's experience at both. We had the exact same experiece at Gymboree (in North Carolina). There was no space to run around in (which really, they do NOT encourage) and the instructors were sort of not into the whole thing. I felt, especially for an active boy (like mine) it was not the best experience.

 

[Jennygt]

We did both and liked Little Gym much more. I thought Gymboree was fine for kids prior to walking, but they aren't set up for kids after that point, equipment wise. Also, the instructors at our Little Gym were all involved in sports somehow (either they were former gymnasts or dancers) whereas at Gymboree they just seemed to be housewives earning a little extra money. I also didn't like that Gymboree at such broad age differences for their classes; some kids were barely walking, some were toddlers capable of running.

ADDED: I just read about the poster's experience at both. We had the exact same experiece at Gymboree (in North Carolina). There was no space to run around in (which really, they do NOT encourage) and the instructors were sort of not into the whole thing. I felt, especially for an active boy (like mine) it was not the best experience.

I guess it is not just our gymboree. i agree it would have been better for a much younger child. It seemed that my son was almost too old and active for the set up at gymboree.

 

[lclark0621]

My DS (now 5) did both.

IMHO Little Gym is SO much better them Gymboree. It offers real Gymnastic skills, life skills, and offers more options (at least ours' does).

My DS loves Little Gym. I am so happy we switched from Gymboree to Little Gym.

Gymboree is great but is geared much more for younger kids & that is it. Where Little Gym is geared towards the younger ones, but the classes grow as the children to. Our Gym offers so many choices from sports skills to cheerleading, even Karate.

 

[carj]

We have tried both. I love The Little Gym!

I felt like every single activity at Gymboree was a sales pitch. If they played with bubbles during the class, we were told that the Gymboree bubbles were available in the lobby. If we sang a song, we were reminded that the CDs were available to purchase. It just really turned me off of the whole experience.

My children have gone to The Little Gym for many years now and the quality of the staff is awesome. I feel like they actually "get it".