Gymboree Play and Music Programs

I love Gymboree! My kiddo loves Gymboree! This location is spotlessly clean! My four year old enjoyed the Sports class. He also was enrolled in the School Skills. He had a great time! The teachers are fabulous! I highly recommend play time at Gymboree.

I enrolled my son in an intro. class as a wobbler at the suggestion of Groupon while thinking it would be a great way for us to spend some quality time together while teaching him to be social with other children and fostering his gross and fine motor skills. The intro. class was fantastic and I subsequently enrolled him in ongoing classes, which he attended regularly for several months. The teachers were amazing and worked very well with the children while making sure to give some individual attention to each child that was in the class. Our favorite part of class was always the parachute and bubbles and I always enjoyed the music they played.

The girls have such a great time here. Love the employees and they make it a ton of fun.

Love this place!
The owner, Mark, is incredibly kind and helpful. We used to live in Portland and visit occasionally-​this time for a month.
Our 18 month old needs a place to get out his energy in a safer environment and age appropriate place other than a super high jungle gym in the setting of a park where he can jet off, or fall off the high jungle gym. We were seeking an enclosed place with a padded floor jungle-​type gym that’s shorter than the park ones– so he can independently adventure, without mom worrying the whole time!
One of the first things I noticed is this place is CLEAN! That gets a HUGE THUMBS UP in my book. They have the open gym time that works perfect for us– they have it everyday so it’s easier to find a time that works to drop in. The classes are also wonderful! Chelsea was the teacher of our level 4 class (they break the classes down by age group) and she is AMAZING. They did parachute games in the class we went to– remember those huge parachutes as kids? (probably the best part of it), bubbles, songs, puppet time and a bunch of other shorter but interactive things. The cool part is it’s TOTALLY okay if your child doesn’t want to participate in an activity. For example– say your child is wanting to go off and play while the others are singing songs-​they don’t make you feel like you have to join in or you shouldn’t be in class if your child doesn’t participate. Obviously they understand that toddlers have minds of their own and it’s laid back in that sense. It’s the perfect balance, in my opinion. Chelsea was so good with the kids and managing the class– she is a gem!
Give this place a try! I’m pretty sure they have drop in classes where you can check it out before you decide if it’s right for you.

We love the classes but were blown away by the birthday party. Our daughter turned three and we celebrated with Teacher Laurie. Laurie individualized the entire class to include all of our daughter’s favorite things. She had even the smallest detail designed especially for her. The structured play allowed my husband and I to socialize and monitor the kids from a distance. I was surprised that Laurie and Alia served the cupcakes, fruit, and drinks and cleaned up! It was such a stress free birthday party. They provided gift bags, plates, and utensils. All we had to do was bring the food and drink. Laurie even made sure I got to eat and drink! She encouraged picture taking at all the right times. It was like having a personal assistant! The price was very reasonable and lower than any other party I have put on. THANK YOU GYMBOREE and Teacher Laurie!

I tagged along with my sister and her 6 month old son to class while I was visiting from out of town. The place is clean, the staff is SO nice and made me feel included. I tried to sit behind the group and just enjoy the scene, but they made room for me in the circle, handed me a puppet and got me singing along too. Everyone just seems happy there– happy employees, babies and parents.

I love coming here! The facility is great. There is a ton of squishy play equipment, bars to hang on, nets to climb, slides, balls… you name it! In addition, they change the lay out weekly, so it never gets boring for the little ones. The staff is what really makes this place great though. You can tell that they are really passionate about what they do, and it comes across in their enthusiastic presentations. I really can’t say enough great things about Gymboree, this location in particular :)

My son Cam has been going since 6 months and he still loves it. He calls one teacher Gymbo. The staff is terrific and it is a great opportunity to play with your kids and have them start to get used to a «class» environment. Love it!

We have taken our daughter here for the past month. She is in the Level 5 class for 22 – 28 month olds. She absolutely loves the play equipment, bubbles, parachute, Gymbo, familiar activities and her teacher! Teacher Brandy is so patient and gentle with all of the kids. I like the fact they change the setup of the room around every 2 weeks and have a new theme. I appreciate there is no pressure for the kids to participate in the group activities. If they prefer to be across the room going down a slide or on the trampoline nobody bats an eye. Of course all of them are encourage to participate but it is no big deal if they don’t. We are looking forward to continuing doing classes there.

Tired of weekly trips to swim class with my toddler and tired of weekly trips into the pool with said toddler, I decided this winter I needed something different and most importantly, dry. After years of hearing all the praises of Gymboree classes, I decided to see what all the hype was about.
Instead of swim class, my toddler, Alison, and I ventured to a free introductory Play and Learn Class. The place is what you would expect– kid friendly, clean facility, lots of unique playground equipment, etc.
The actual class is what was a let down to me. We arrived on time and there was «open play» which lasted a really long time. To the point I was thinking,“I’m glad I’m not paying $ 15 per class for this.” Then we went through some activities with a mail man theme– a sit down learning session of who the mail man is and what he does, with pictures. Then a“delivering and sorting mail” activity entailed throwing those big cardboard boxes that look like bricks into chutes and boxes in different areas of the play structures (Didn’t we just spend a ton of time playing on these same things during open play? And now we’re doing the exact same thing, but with cardboard boxes?)
We switched gears and did a quick song or two, to which none of the parents who seemed to be regulars knew. So, basically the instructor serenaded us. Awkard. We then played with the requisite parachute and bubbles. After that we colored on a postcard that was mailed to us later.
Yes, it may seem like a power-​packed class to most, but if your kid is active, he or she will want to simply spend the whole class playing on the playground equipment. Which is pretty much what Alison wanted to do. This was OK, seeing as how about a ¹⁄₃ of the other toddlers were wanting to do the same thing at any one time or another. But I couldn’t help thinking that if I signed up and paid for a series of classes, I was essentially paying $ 15 for Alison to have 40 minutes of playing on playground equipment, which I can get for free 3 blocks from my house at the park.
My friend felt the same way about Gymboree as well. She took her toddler there the week after us and decided to not continue on. I guess with all the years of hype we’d heard, we just expected too much and Gymboree did not deliver.
I’m not opposed to paying $ 15 per class if I feel my child is actually learning something useful, and if it’s something that you can’t get for free elsewhere. That’s why we’re on the waiting list for The Little Gym nearby. This is the same place that I’d overheard other regulars at Gymboree saying why some of the other regular kids weren’t there this week. They had gotten into The Little Gym. So, I guess Gymboree is where kids go to hangout until they can get into The Little Gym. In the meantime Alison and I are signing up for the next available swim session at Children of the Sea Swim School. Money well spent.

My wife enrolled our 2+ month old daughter in classes here recently and it’s been a really great decision. The site is well-​lit, clean and friendly for parents and kids alike. At enrolling her at such a young age, she able to attend 3 classes/​week for the same rate — It basically breaks down to $ 4 – 5 per session.
We’re thankful for the good advice and ideas to crib. Stuck at home, we’re often at a loss for activities to try, games to play and new and unusual ways to break up our week. Our daughter loves socializing w/​other children, staring wide-​eyed at other parents and laughing while having a parachute fluttering over her head.
As the first class for age level is free, it’s definitely worth checking out. There is an additional location in Beaverton, so if distance is a consideration, you’re membership covers both spots.
My only feedback is the different playrooms should have different thermostats. Some of the incoming/​outgoing moms and tots are pretty careless about leaving the door ajar. The staff is usually quick to close it, but cold, wet drafts whip through surprisingly fast. With the baby/​newborn classes being held on blankets on the ground, I feel my munchin needs to be well-​bundled indoors. Other than that minor bit, these folks are wonderful, caring and really enjoy working with children and educating parents, as well.

Based on the squeels of pure joy that the Sing and Play class elicited from my little 14 month old pal I give it a perfect 5 stars.

Tip: Good for the Kids on a Rainy Day
We all know that a cooped up 3 year old on a rainy day is a bad thing. Gymboree is a great place to take your kids during the rainy months to get them out of the house. The programs are reasonable and you can cancel during the summer months and then start back up in the fall.