Gymboree Play

Learning through play in abundance here!
I’m still not sure how I feel about this place — it’s an organised, structured activity playgroup for toddlers and very corporate indeed.
While the children all seemed to be enjoying themselves thoroughly, I couldn’t help but feel uneasy about the whole thing — all the equipment, the songs, and the toys were Gymboree branded, with the mascot of the business being Gymbo the clown. It was very pc too — to ridiculous extents, as when one child requested to sing Baa Baa Black Sheep, the girl running it smoothly took everyone on a rendition of Baa Baa Woolly Sheep.
It felt quite Americanised, and while the idea of it was nice — parents and carers getting involved in playtime with kids, my take on playgroups was always a chance for the children to socialise and play whilst supervised, but not dictated to so strongly. And a chance for parents to rest too!
Not my favourite child activity I’m afraid.