Hi,
My daughter is almost 2 1/2 yrs old and we went to Little Gym in Mckinney and she loved it but we felt it was not worth the money, not really teaching as much as it was just fun for her...
Gymboree sounds really great and they offer art, music and other play classes.. but not sure of a location close to mckinney, is it worth driving to Plano?
And what about gymboree vs tumble bugs vs kindermusik vs playwisely vs ASI? Does anyone have experience with play wisely or tumble bugs or ASI gymnastics? There are so many choices...is there any source which looks at and rates these places?
Thanks,
M.
We love Tumble Bugs- Have been going for 2 years since she was 18mos and still love going!
We have been making the same decisions!
Most of these offer free intro. classes which is really the way to figure out if the class is "right" for your child and you! We love Little Gym of McKinney and opted for it rather than Gymboree. We visited the Gymboree in Plano and thought it was ok, but not great. I have a number of friends who really like, and it seems that who the teacher is makes a HUGE difference there. The teacher for our intro. class was just not a good fit for us.
I have heard good things about Tumble Bugs, but we have not taken classes there. Kindermusik is wonderful, and we really enjoy it. It is more of a "class" experience rather than the exploration of Little Gym or Gymboree. It seems like the kids that really want to move and explore are not always as interested at Kindermusik.
I have heard good things about ASI for older kids, and concerns from moms about supervision for younger ones there. The Playwisely program is really geared for the really young with their program ending at about three. I have a friend who loves it. I personally don't buy into the flashcards for infants/toddlers. I think natural exploration and play are the ways to learn at those ages, but that is just my personal opinion ;-)
Good luck with your search. I know it can be overwhelming!
I'm a little late responding, but we started Tumble Bugs when my daughter was 2. She loved it. When she was 3 we put her in the preschool there two days a week and she stayed until the week before she started kindergarten. She was so attached to her teachers there we kept her in a class just so she could see them once a week while she got use to school. It was a great experience.
We love, love, love The Little Gym. I think that the classes really help the kids with their imaginations from all of the theme weeks they have. My daughter talks about Gymnastics all week after her class on Monday, she just loves it!
As for Tumble Bugs I called and they refused to offer a free trial class, stating that they do not do that because they have so many kids they don't need to offer that. They also told me that they do not do trial classes because you can't get a good idea of what the class is like, which I do not agree with. When I finally decided to stop by they were not very nice at all, and the place was very stinky. They also would not allow makeup classes if your child was sick or out of town, where with Little Gym you can make up the classes. I have two friends that take their children there but I did not care for it.
I sing Little Gym praises!
Playwisely in Frisco is GREAT! We tried it and my two year old really enjoyed it. I just *couldn't* fit it into our shedule. =(
I think Gymboree has a location in Frisco
