Gymboree Play & Music, Upper West Side

These babies are on the move! Crawling, cruising, rolling, sitting, ready to explore anything and everything. Maybe your little one is walking! They might not be steady, but they’ve taken their first few steps. Now more than ever is the time to build those muscles, strengthen those legs, and let those little ones take off! We’ll explore new physical challenges every week through teacher-led activities, with a focus on different ways to use each piece of our equipment. Crawl through tunnels, explore different textures, slide down slides (or climb up slides!), toddle over bridges, or pop all of our signature bubbles! We’ll also practice social skills and memory building through sing-alongs and group-play. Playscapes, props, toys and the facility are thoroughly cleaned and sanitized before each class.

What to expect in class: It’s all about opposites: loud and quiet, fast and slow, up and down! Contrasting ‘themes’ help your child learn better ways to communicate. We move across the bridge sllowwwly and then fast! They'll learn how to control body movements and use their body to navigate and problem solve across monkey bars, giant cushions, and through little tunnels. We’ll also practice repetition and routine with regular parachute and bubble activities. Soon your little one will be leading the Gymbo Dance! Benefits: Physical: Exploration of the different equipment supports problem solving, navigating skills, and confidence. Cognitive: Repetition, songs, and interacting with their familiar adult supports language development, vocabulary, and memory. Social: Our classroom environment supports social and emotional development. Adults: Need your little one to take a good nap? This class is high energy and full of fun. In fact- you might want to take a nap too!

What to expect in class: Engage your little one in a multi-age music class which provides opportunities not only to learn musical techniques, styles, and about different instruments, but also supports social and emotional development. Benefits: Physical: Sensory exploration time is supported while children practice their motor skills, which is crucial for your child’s overall development. Cognitive: Music play helps activate parts of the brain responsible for music and speech processing. It creates an early appreciation of music and supports language development. Social: Through music, you can hear and feel emotions. Tunes can be happy, sad, or angry! This supports social development in understanding emotions in a new way. Adults: You get to engage with your little one making emotional connections and strong bonds. Being involved in your child’s play helps both you feel more connected.

Where they are: Children are ready to embark on a classroom experience without their adults by their side. They are ready to develop early literacy skills; collaborate and negotiate with their peers; and learn ways to communicate, cooperate and play together. What to expect in class: A playful twist on a traditional preschool/pre-k class. Children will develop the fundamental skills necessary for reading and writing as we explore letter recognition, phonics, sight words, spelling, and comprehension. They will build social skills during Gathering Time, while exploring the day’s fun and imaginative theme, and during Show and Share. Children will learn decision-making skills and build fine motor skills during our station play, and expand their creativity through art. The learning will extend to the home with printable “Literacy Kits”, with letter and theme-based worksheets. We will help prepare them for a lifetime love of school, classrooms, and learning.

What to expect in class: It’s all about opposites: loud and quiet, fast and slow, up and down! Contrasting ‘themes’ help your child learn better ways to communicate. We move across the bridge sllowwwly and then fast! They'll learn how to control body movements and use their body to navigate and problem solve across monkey bars, giant cushions, and through little tunnels. We’ll also practice repetition and routine with regular parachute and bubble activities. Soon your little one will be leading the Gymbo Dance! Benefits: Physical: Exploration of the different equipment supports problem solving, navigating skills, and confidence. Cognitive: Repetition, songs, and interacting with their familiar adult supports language development, vocabulary, and memory. Social: Our classroom environment supports social and emotional development. Adults: Need your little one to take a good nap? This class is high energy and full of fun. In fact- you might want to take a nap too!

All children benefit from a space to be creative. Children are eager to explore different mediums, textures, and ways to express themselves. What to expect in class: Sculpt with playdough, create a collage, or experiment with different mediums. Build a giant tower with your classmates, and read stories based on our weekly theme!

What to expect in class: Experience music from all around the world-music from both past and present, near and far! From The Beatles to Bach! In Music 2, children will begin to experiment with ways to play musical instruments, accompany a song with rhythm, and act out lyrics through movements using both gross motor and fine motor skills. Children know so much about music at this stage, and are at the beginning stages of being able to express themselves musically! Benefits: Physical: Sensory exploration time is supported while children practice their motor skills, which is crucial for your child’s overall development. Cognitive: Music play helps activate parts of the brain responsible for music and speech processing. It creates an early appreciation of music and supports language development. Social: Through music, you can hear and feel emotions. Tunes can be happy, sad, or angry! This supports social development in understanding emotions in a new way. Adults: You get to engage with your little one making emotional connections and strong bonds. Being involved in your child’s play helps both you feel more connected.

Just like that your little one is walking! They might not be steady, but they’ve taken their first few steps! Now more than ever is the time to build those muscles, strengthen those legs, and let those little ones take off! We’ll explore new physical challenges every week through teacher-led activities, with a focus on different ways to use each piece of our equipment. Crawl through tunnels, explore different textures, slide down slides (or climb up slides!), toddle over bridges, or take a ride in a swing!! We’ll also practice social skills and memory building through sing-alongs and group-play.

What to expect in class: Our play floor comes to life with trips to the grocery store, eating pizza, finding animals, and even bugs! We’ll use creativity and imagination in all activities. Throw a pretend party, imagine a wild trip to outer space, or pretend to be an ant in a bug’s world...we’ll transform our playscape into a whole new world! Benefits: Physical: Jumping, climbing, crawling, and dancing all support improved balance and coordination skills along with building strong muscles and bones. Cognitive: Playing in this class supports pretending and imagining, which benefits problem solving skills, communication, and creativity. Social: The classroom environment helps children prepare for school, learn how to be around other children and socialize. Adults: School is just a few years away, and in this class, you get to witness your child’s mind come to life and be part of their learning journey. They are only this little for so long, let’s enjoy the moments and play!