Children 5 and under class question.. music, sports etc..

My DD is 13 months old. She goes to daycare 4 days a week so she is entertained. I really wanted to do something together so we took a trial gym class and had so much fun. Now that I priced it out it is kinda $$ for a class that is 45 minutes, 1 time a week.

I am not sure if I should go fwd with the class, and am feeling guilty if I don't. We do lots of fun stuff at home, or on outings but sometimes it is boring and it is hard to come up with ideas. At least the class felt like an hour of quality time doing something.

So for the younger kids--lets say 5 and under, do you all do an activity with them or have them signed up for classes?

Message edited 6/25/2015 1:59:22 PM.

Children 5 and under class question.. music, sports etc..

Library classes are a good activity that is free... Some libraries have certain programs that repeat each week... As for me, my dd started dance last year when she was 2... I Put her in dance and soccer for the summer... And plan on continuing dance in the fall. Since your dd is so young, library would be best bet... I think all those gymnastics type places are rediculously priced.

Children 5 and under class question.. music, sports etc..

DD is 3 years old. She is in daycare 5 days a week and it will turn into a camp come Monday. In September she starts pre school at the same place and I will also have her enrolled in a dance class on Saturday for an hour. She was in a dance class for 9 months and loved it so I am just going to continue with it come September (it finished last week for the summer)

Re: Children 5 and under class question.. music, sports etc..

I don't.
She goes to daycare 10 hours a day, 3 days a week.
They do SO much it's insane.

Weekends and evenings are family time.
We do stuff as a family

And she also has learned to entertain herself at home- play doh, coloring, drawing, crafts, imaginative play with her dolls and toys.

I think that is an invaluable lesson as well....

Re: Children 5 and under class question.. music, sports etc..

At 13 months, I thought my kids were too young to "really" benefit.

I would save it for when she gets older.

Re: Children 5 and under class question.. music, sports etc..

I do the library classes. We try to sign up for 1 a week. They are usually 45 mins and it's free.

Children 5 and under class question.. music, sports etc..

my DS is 4.5... i'm a SAHM, he's an only child with TONS of energy!!! so he's done a bunch of stuff LOL when he was younger he did classes at The Little Gym (but, yeah, they were $$$). he also did a mommy and me playgroup type class at this indoor play place near us (i live in NJ). he does swim lessons, soccer through the town, and goes to preschool about 8 hours a week, plus we usually do one or 2 playdates a week.
I would definitely look into library classes--- they are great for your daughters age!! they do little songs in between books, and ours had some play time at the end...
ALSO for the gym thing... check out gymnastics places near you. there are 2 gymnastics places near me that do a " mom and me open play" time for under 5 year olds. it goes from like 9-12.... and you pay just $8 for every hour you stay. so you could stay for 3 hours for the same price as one of the Gymboree or Little Gym type places. PLUS the kids like it a little better because they can just run around and do whatever they want, instead of the class part HAHA so maybe theres a gymnastics place near you that does something like that...

Children 5 and under class question.. music, sports etc..

My DS stays at home with a babysitter, so i have signed him up for things. Right now he does a library class 1x per week (free), a playgroup 1x per week ($17), and an open play at the gym (paid for the membership for 1 year -- he did the class for 12 weeks, and since has done an open play 1 time per week). In September he will start preschool 2 days per week, so we will drop gym.

Edited to add: when looking at the cost of the gym class are you including the open play time that comes included? For instance when we signed up DS for the gym class it was 16 classes, and 30 open plays for one price. I divided the cost by 46 classes bc that is how many times he would be able to go there. When looking at that cost it made me feel it was worth it.

Message edited 6/25/2015 3:57:48 PM.

Children 5 and under class question.. music, sports etc..

I take my son to library classes on the weekend. When the weather was not good I enrolled him at My Gym which was great. My son is going to be 3 in February. This fall I am going to sign him up for soccer and swimming with me on the weekends.

Children 5 and under class question.. music, sports etc..

Other than a swim class that we did this past spring I refuse to do classes on the weekends. My ds is in daycare 5 days a week for 10 hrs. He gets enough learning and stimulation during the week that our time on the weekend is to spend as a family doing anything or nothing.

Children 5 and under class question.. music, sports etc..

I think it's diff for working(daycare) moms vs sahm. I'm sahm and those classes are as much for me as they are for her. If not more lol! I need to get out the house and she needs to socialize.

Your dd gets plenty of that in daycare. I'm sure your weekends are spent with her no matter what that it doesn't have to be at a class. It's quality time regardless.

Re: Children 5 and under class question.. music, sports etc..

My dd (23 months) goes to the babysitter 2x a week and is with her grandmas the other days. She takes a dance class for 45 minutes a week. Once she turns 4 she will also take an acting class and do soccer. My older girls are involved in a lot of activities and she has been asking to do dance since she could verbalize that.

Children 5 and under class question.. music, sports etc..

We do lots of library classes for free and find plenty of other free things to do. I think dd was 2.5 before I paid for her to take any classes.

Children 5 and under class question.. music, sports etc..

Our library doesn't have much on the weekends but I will certainly look into it. The gym class we were looking into does offer 5 passes for free play so that IS something to put into the cost I suppose. Thanks for all the info and input ladies. =)

Children 5 and under class question.. music, sports etc..

I have a 14 month old who is in daycare. I feel like he gets enough stimulation there. If I was a sahm, I'd look into classes.

Children 5 and under class question.. music, sports etc..

Dd is 11 months, and I'm home with her over the summer. If I can get her into the library program I will, otherwise she won't be doing anything else. I can't justify spending money on classes like my gym when there's so many other things I can do with her.

Our library offers museum passes, we have a zoo pass, and we have an empire pass. That's more than enough for us.

Children 5 and under class question.. music, sports etc..

My dd is 15 months old and I have her enrolled in two classes- she takes a class at the little gym and a music class- I highly recommend the "music together" program. It is offered at many different locations. I am a SAHM so I feel dd needs some structured activities. The little gym offers open play in addition to the class so it off sets the cost a bit.

Children 5 and under class question.. music, sports etc..

I started staying home with DD on Fridays back in November. We did Gymboree for a couple of months when I had gotten a groupon type deal. We also go to the library sometimes and play in the children's room. Or we just play at home. Some Fridays we run errands or have a play date.

Children 5 and under class question.. music, sports etc..

Have you looked into gymboree? They have unlimited gym classes for July and August. You can sign her up for a music class and then get the free gym (and open play).