Gymboree's Pumpkin Patch

It's a Gymboree Day!



My daughter and I go to Gymboree Play & Music classes in Bellevue, WA twice a week, and we love our time there. Not only do they help create special moments for me and my baby, but also help her learn through fun activities. So of course when Gymboree was having their annual Pumpkin Patch I had to sign us up for it!

 

When Friday came I was actually more excited than my daughter since I doubt she knows what Halloween is, or even cares if she's in a costume or not. Nonetheless, I got her a Minnie Mouse costume and got her ready for the PARTY! When we arrived, they didn't have our name tag, which was a little disappointing because I am sure I registered for it. However, they did say we can join in the festivities since they have some open spaces. When we got there everyone was in costumes, the teachers, the babies and even some parents (well not an entire costume, but some accessories).

 

The play area was nicely and simply decorated with some orange balls, pumpkin cutouts, pumpkin toys and  of course what is Halloween without spiders! Everything was arranged in a way to engage infants and toddlers -since it was a party for children aged (0-14 months)- to walk/crawl the ramps, climb or go down a slide, or even pass through what I like to call the "rainbow" tunnel!

 

 

 

At the beginning of the party the teachers explained the different activities that the kids can do, and how to help them through them. Then we were set free to roam the play area! The teachers moved between groups and played and interacted with each one. Most of the parents -me included- cared more about taking photos of their kids than actually doing the activities, maybe because they are the same exact thing we do at class, or maybe because we thought our kids looked cute in their costumes and wanted to document it!

  

Then, we were called to join the circle and sing some songs together. We sang "Itsy Bitsy Spider", "Row Row Row Your Boat", and what I'm assuming is a Gymboree original song "Sitting on my highchair".

After that, we were led to the music/art room, where we did some crafts. I enjoyed the final outcome, however, I do believe that maybe the activity was a little bit of a stretch since kids didn't really care about participating and were wither crying, running, or trying to play with the paint. But As I said, we ended up with a ghost made out of a foot stamp! Pretty cool!

 

Finally the real fun began when it was "Parachute Time"!!!, since the group included mostly infants who have just started crawling my baby and another toddler where wrecking havoc! I could see the disapproval in some of the moms' eyes, which I believe was uncalled for since they didn't do anything wrong they were just excited and walking around trying to catch the bubbles! Anyways, parachute time started with bubbles, and then we did the parachute and bubble song, and ended with "Everybody up and children under" the parachute, which my daughter loves since it is a giant Peek-A-Boo game for her.

 Overall it was a fun experience, that I would definitely recommend for children at this age, and would definitely do it again.