What classes/activities does your toddler do?

[LoveBWVVBR]

DD is about to turn 2 this week. We've done a lot of different activities, but lately we're down to just Kindermusic and open play time at the play place. I'm looking for some ideas of what other 2 year-olds are doing for classes and activities. DD has a Dec. birthday so she probably won't start actual preschool until she's almost 4.

Also, if you do Gymboree, does your 2 year-old still enjoy it? I had DD signed up for the "core Gymboree" class for a few months, but we stopped doing it because it seemed "young" for her and I thought that she wasn't finding it all that interesting. I'm thinking of trying their art class out, though.

DH thinks that we should start DD in gymnastics again. She wasn't all that interested in it the last time I signed her up, but that was a year ago.

Also, we're going to start swim lessons, but that's only one day a week for 45 minutes. Thanks for any ideas.

 

[PA Princess]

Well, my 2 year old dd (3 in a few days actually) does not really do any activities. She does go to church every week and is in the nursery program there, but that is pretty much it. None of the learn to swim programs around here will take kids younger than 3, so we have not started swim lessons but we probably will soon. She also will be part of the church kid choir next fall and we may start a dance lessons. In fact, it seems many activities around here prefer kids are 3.

Of course, for us it is more than just her age - with 3 older siblings it is just hard to find the time to add in one more activity. All of her older siblings are on summer and winter swim team and they all sing in the kids choirs at church and they all take dance lessons, so those will be her activities also because it is just easier if we all go in the same direction. At 3 and 4 I am sure she will be thrilled to do what the big kids are doing and over time she will growm her own interests rather the same or different from the others.

Is your daughter an only? With older siblings and the constant busyness of their activities (and she interacts and plays with the siblings of the kids in the activties) special activities for our dd seem unnecessary at this age. Maybe you could seek out a playgroup? That is what I did with our oldest kids. Many churches run moms group programs that are great as well.

 

[puffkin]

Our DS (he'll be 2 in March) isn't involved in any activities. He is in daycare everyday because we both work FT and he does plenty of stuff there. I will sign him up for swim lessons in the spring because I think every kid should learn water safety at a YOUNG age. We have no plans to enroll him in anything else until he is school aged unless HE would show an interest in something.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

Yes, DD is an only. I agree with the activities preferring kids over 3. We have some in town that take kids under 3, but it's "Mommy and Me" type stuff. The swim lessons that we are doing are 2 on 1 private lessons. It will be DD and her best friend. Parents don't actually go in the water...just the kids and the instructor.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

Our DS (he'll be 2 in March) isn't involved in any activities. He is in daycare everyday because we both work FT and he does plenty of stuff there. I will sign him up for swim lessons in the spring because I think every kid should learn water safety at a YOUNG age. We have no plans to enroll him in anything else until he is school aged unless HE would show an interest in something.

DD isn't in daycare, so that's why I look for outside activities. Otherwise, she'd never socialize with kids her own age. Our play place was fantastic for a long time, but it's experiencing some changes that I'm not sure about right now. We'll see how that shakes out eventually, but in the meantime I'm trying to get DD into some other activities.

I agree about swim lessons. We live at the beach in FL, so DD needs to know how to swim asap. That's why we're doing the private lessons.

 

[DawnM]

None. I just don't see the need really. I know our society seems to think 2 year olds need structured lessons, play, activities, etc...., but I think unstructured time is just fine. We get together with friends who have kids and that is enough for us.

My 9 (almost 10) year old is very good at golf and has won a tournament so far. We did not do any structured sports with him and didn't even do anything until he specifically asked.

I realize this is just my .02.

Dawn

 

[dyna]

My almost 2 yr old Gson doesn't do much yet either. Story time at the library is just about it. He could do mommy an me at the YMCA or in his case it would be aunt or gmom an him.

There really isn't any special programs here other that those for little here.

 

[jenb1023]

My DD is now 4. At age 2 she was in gymboree and started preschool two mornings a week (5 hours a week total).

We have attended gymboree since she was 6 months old and still go. She loves it! She did go through periods where she was not that interested so we switched to music class for awhile (I think she was about two or so). Then she grew tired of that and we switched back to play and she has been loving the play class!

She was just shy of her 2nd birthday when she started preschool. It was a bit of a rocky road at first but now in her third year she loves it and has made some very good friends.

My mom watches her during the day and she is an only child so we felt interaction with other kids and social and classroom settings were very important for her.

At age 3 she started dance lessons for a year but wasn't crazy about it so we stopped those. In the last 6 months, she has done a few mini-soccer sessions.

I highly recommend gymboree and an early preschool based on my experience. Everyone is different and every child is different so I am sure whatever you decide will be the right choice for you.

Good luck!

 

[3littleHalls]

HUGE Kindermusik fans here! Wonderful program/setup. If you are seriously interested see if you can set in on a session to see what you think. There is a wait list for our Kindermusik teacher, but she is so worth it. My 3yr old will be starting gymnastics soon too.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

HUGE Kindermusik fans here! Wonderful program/setup. If you are seriously interested see if you can set in on a session to see what you think. There is a wait list for our Kindermusik teacher, but she is so worth it. My 3yr old will be starting gymnastics soon too.

We've been doing Kindermusic for a year and we love it too! That is the one class that DD has been in consistently. Our Kindermusic teacher is awesome. She is only going to teach through May as of right now, though I'm sure that DD will be upset if she can't go to class w/her teacher anymore, so that's part of the reason why I'm looking to add another class or 2 every week.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

My DD is now 4. At age 2 she was in gymboree and started preschool two mornings a week (5 hours a week total).

We have attended gymboree since she was 6 months old and still go. She loves it! She did go through periods where she was not that interested so we switched to music class for awhile (I think she was about two or so). Then she grew tired of that and we switched back to play and she has been loving the play class!

She was just shy of her 2nd birthday when she started preschool. It was a bit of a rocky road at first but now in her third year she loves it and has made some very good friends.

My mom watches her during the day and she is an only child so we felt interaction with other kids and social and classroom settings were very important for her.

At age 3 she started dance lessons for a year but wasn't crazy about it so we stopped those. In the last 6 months, she has done a few mini-soccer sessions.

I highly recommend gymboree and an early preschool based on my experience. Everyone is different and every child is different so I am sure whatever you decide will be the right choice for you.

Good luck!

Hmmm...maybe we didn't give Gymboree enough of a chance It seemed $$ for what DD was actually getting out of it. Do you do the "Core" Gymboree or do you do some other class that they have? We did the "Core" Gymboree and I'm not sure that DD actually liked it very much. Also, there were a lot of wild kids at the open playtimes and the Gymboree people didn't do anything to get the parents to keep their children under control. That really bothered me for some reason.

 

[amarberry]

My DD is 3.5 now, but when she was around that age she did Gymboree play (which is probably like your "core" class?), Gymboree art (LOVED that class), tumbling through the park district, and library storytime (free!). Gymboree classes do seem expensive, but keep in mind that they have a very liberal makeup policy. The park district classes that we would take were technically cheaper, but there were no makeups so it worked out to be about the same.

My DD went through a phase where I thought she was getting too old for the Gymboree play classes, but then she turned really social and she made a couple of really good friends in the class which turned it into a different experience. I think people's experience with Gymboree really depends on the teachers at your facility. We had two very good Gymboree teachers, so I thought it was definitely a positive experience.

 

[MomNeedsVacay]

My DD(2) is in preschool 2 mornings/week for just three hours... They have music class, circle time, free play and crafts. Additionally, She has done gymnastics and soccer (not at the same time). I think kids get over-scheduled the older they get, so I'm trying not to do that with her. :thumbsup

 

[emma'smom]

DD2 does Musikgarten (like Kindermusik), Tiny Tumblers (gymanastics), and swimming lessons. The swimming was supposed to be a "Pike and Parent" program, but most of the other kids/parents bailed and they moved my dd2 to the three year old class.

 

[jenb1023]

Hmmm...maybe we didn't give Gymboree enough of a chance It seemed $$ for what DD was actually getting out of it. Do you do the "Core" Gymboree or do you do some other class that they have? We did the "Core" Gymboree and I'm not sure that DD actually liked it very much. Also, there were a lot of wild kids at the open playtimes and the Gymboree people didn't do anything to get the parents to keep their children under control. That really bothered me for some reason.

We do the play class which I believe is now called the Core class. We are level 7 now which is for 3-5 year olds. Gymboree is a bit pricey but since we have been members for so long we only pay half price. If you enroll consistently for so many sessions, you start getting discounts. You also get discounts for more than one child I think. I had the same problem with unruly classes/kids - trying switching to an art or music class for awhile. My problems were parents not watching their kids and a teacher that was friends with half the class and spent most of the class chatting. We have a new teacher now and she is great!

 

[grlpwrd]

My 2.5yo dd and 4yo ds stay home with me. I do things with my dd and my son is enrolled in gymnastics. I am kinda homeschooling them now and I have decided to restart my home daycare in the spring. I also teach hula to kids.

We basically have our own enrichment classes at home. We cook, do experiments, have art time, music time, hula, etc. Keep in mind I have 5 kids total and I am going on my 8th year as a Girl Scout leader and volunteer. Kids are my thing. lol

I do this because I want to save money, but also because I am fortunate to stay at home with them (aside from classes I take and my homebased businesses) and I want to do spend time with them.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

I think I'm going to call Gymboree to see if DD can try a trial art class there. DD liked the art class that we did at another enrichment place, so maybe she'll like the one at Gymboree.

DD doesn't seem to want to go to her play place at all anymore. I don't know if she's picked up on the recent changes, or if I'm somehow unconciously giving her the message that I'm not totally comfortable there right now I couldn't get her to go there at all this morning, even though her best friend was going to be there. I really need to find some different activities I guess.

I do all sorts of activities w/my DD at home, but I also think that she really needs to be around other kids since she's an only child. If I had 5 kids, I wouldn't probably have them in any activities. They could entertain each other