Gymboree Offers Fun for Active Kids

My son Smith is active. (I love it when people use that term, as it usually implies that your child can scramble up greased walls.) I am perpetually seeking options outside of our . Sure, the parks in Redondo Beach are fabulous and plentiful, but I feel like a hamster in a wheel at times. I want a place where Smith could both learn and get his jollies out.

Enter the new Gymboree in Torrance.

As a stay-at-home mom, I am often bombarded with a wide array of classes for Smith to attend. Most of the time I opt out, as I am miserly and Smith has a weekly playdate with his friends. It's worked well so far, but the more he grows, the more curious energy he has. It's probably a blessing I've been having , as I don't know how mothers keep up with toddlers while pregnant or with a newborn. Seriously, how do they do it?

A friend of mine had signed up her kids for a class at Gymboree and said it was a great program and they were running an amazing deal online. I signed up; I like a deal.  

Smith's first day went over like gangbusters. The teacher read Llama Llama Mad at Mama. They played a terrific game where the kids, ages 28 months to 3 years, pretended they were going grocery shopping. My son loves food, so he enjoyed the game thoroughly. Now, I'm not going to sugar coat this: Toddlers are not the most attentive listeners (balderdash!). Nor do they really know how to control the impulse to throw pretend food down the slide repeatedly (rubbish!). The teacher held their attention as long as possible, and then it was on to new adventures.

Jimbo the clown (my apologies to coulrophobic parents) is the apparent mascot for Gymboree. The leader holds him up while the kids dance around him like the king stag in a ritual. Jimbo has his own song. Jimbo was a hit, and Smith now thinks every clown is named Jimbo. Congrats to the Gymboree marketing team; Jimbo—you're famous!

After the Jimbo dance, they caught bubbles made from sugar with plastic castanets. I repeat: after the Jimbo dance, they caught bubbles made from sugar with plastic castanets.

Now, some people might want to off themselves after such a moment, but not a hyper toddler! Next the parachute comes flying out of a bucket, and the kids' spirits riot as they bounce balls on top of the parachute and toss them into the air. This was followed by more dancing, singing and running amok.

It was controlled chaos, and it worked for me.

The classes combine learning and play in an age-appropriate setting, and they are inexpensive, even without a discount. If you have an active child—and you know if you do—then you should scramble over to the Gymboree in Torrance. It's the only Gymboree center in the South Bay area that offers classes, and they have free play days like , so you can bring in your child one afternoon when the house feels like a prison.  

Go play, Redondo Beach!