I know it’s been a while, but things have been a little crazy over here! If you follow me on Instagram, you know that we were in Maine for two weeks…and then came back to some unexpected delays in our moving plan. Speaking of Instagram, I started this post thinking it would go there, but it just got too long. So, let me tell you what I’ve learned about classes for toddlers in NYC.
Since we’ve had a couple of unexpected extra weeks in the city without daycare, we decided to try a bunch of different classes so we could get out of the apartment and see other kids. We didn’t want to sign up for a whole semester or class pack, so we looked for ones that offered single classes (some for free!). Here are the ones we’ve tried and what we thought:
Ramblin’ Dan’s Freewheelin’ Band at Union Square Play: We went to two of these, and Jonny’s class was our favorite. Both were very participatory and fun with shakers, drums, and familiar songs. I loved that they ask for the kids’ names at the beginning and use them throughout the class. Union Square Play is where we had Seth’s 2nd Birthday, and it’s such an a great place!
Rocks, Smocks and Animals at The Art Farm: My mom took Seth to this one. They had music with instruments, and scarves and balls to play with. The “Animal of the Week” was a guinea pig named Brownie, and they got to check out some other animals. There wasn’t an art project, and not a ton of animal time.
Explorers at Gymboree: This was another Seth and Gigi adventure. Each class has a theme, and this one was camping. There were themed activities and spaces set up around the play floor for the kids to explore. This wasn’t the most engaging for Seth, but he liked playing with rings and getting to use a flashlight for the first time.
Music and Movement with Juliette and Ella’s Play Date: They fit A LOT into 45 minutes. The teachers have vocal and dance training, and they incorporate both into the class. They also have puppets, instruments, books, scarves, a parachute…and they teach sign language. It’s very high energy, and Seth was a little overstimulated for the first half or so. But, the teachers were very sweet and he got more into it as time went by.
Open Play at NY Kids Club: Seth and I went to the Upper West Side location for this one. We were actually supposed to go to a more structured class called Creative Play, but the teacher called in sick. Open Play was exactly as it sounds, and the kids got to explore the gym at their own pace. It was perfect for getting out some energy, and Seth loved climbing and jumping around.
I booked the last two classes on Sawyer, a database of online and in person kids’ activities. I was able to search in my area, filter by age and type of class, and read reviews. I will definitely be using it again!
I hope this little roundup helps you find a great activity for your toddler the next time you’re in need of some outside the house engagement. Hopefully our move won’t be delayed enough to try many more of these, but we’ll see!
