Gymboree Play & Music

THIS REVIEW IS FOR BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION
We just had my daughter’s second birthday party and I couldn’t wait to share the pleasant experience we had there. We booked 5:30 to 7:30 pm slot for the party. They had requested us not to be too early and asked us to be there by 5:15 pm, as they had class till 5 pm. By they time we went there the place was decorated with the theme we had selected and ready for the party. Teacher Nikki and Michelle were so helpful, kind and great. They played and entertained kids, as well as took care of errands around so that the party can run smoothly. They even practiced saying my daughter’s name few times until they got it right. It was sweet of them to do it. The play area is bright, clean and decent sized. I highly recommend this place for birthday celebrations.
Tip: We are allowed to bring outside food for party, which was good.

We have been taking our daughter here since she was 15 months old (she is now 18 months). Our daughter has had an extremely positive experience at this Gymboree, and always lights up at the mention of «Gymboree» and her teachers (Michelle and Heather). She started out with Heather, but had to move to a different class (Michelle’s) due to her ever changing nap time. Both teachers show a clear enthusiasm and love of teaching very little ones. Wrangling a big group of one year olds into structured activities is no small feat, and these ladies do so with warmth in their voices and smiles on their faces. I appreciate how they start each class with an explanation of the theme (stop, go/​high, low/​, in/​out, to name a few) as well as a corresponding activity. Then, the children are free to explore, but encouraged to experience specific parts of the play area. They end with parachute time, which is my daughter’s absolute FAVORITE activity. My husband and I often comment on how Gymboree was the best decision we’ve made for our daughter as of late. This facility is terrific and highly recommended!

My daughter loves it here! She lights up everytime we walk in the door. The play area is a decent size and lots of different equipment the kids can choose from. The instructors are very kind. I recommend!

Updating my review for another party that I went to at the same place. Hosted by Teacher Nikki and Meiling — Nikku did it well, make sure you get a great teacher — you can request a teacher as well ! Appreciate the call from Owner Maneesh, and hope he acts on my earlier review !

My daughter loves this place! Everyone that works there are so great. All cheerful and they do their best to engage all the kids in the activities.

We attended gymboree for about a year and my son and I thoroughly enjoyed our time there. All the teachers (Michelle, Heather, Meiling) were friendly and remembered my son by name which I very much appreciated. When I first attended, I wasn’t one to engage with the teachers much but after talking to them and getting to know them more each week I can say they are so nice and I’ve enjoyed watching my son have fun in their classes. The facility is spacious and there are lots of activities to keep your kids entertained. Singing with Gymbo, parachute time and bubbles was always a hit with my son. Simply put, great staff and facility. Get to know the teachers because it really made gymboree a great experience for us.

Initial Review:
This rating is because of a specific teacher.
My kid joined Gymboree about a month ago and we tried a few different class slots to see which teacher and time-​slot works best for him. There are a couple of teachers who are okay/​good, but we have had really bad experiences with a particular one, and it has made us think about whether we should cancel this membership. I am posting this after we had the same unprofessional experience twice in a row.
This teacher spent the entire class ignoring 80% of the kids (talking to only 2 kids out of 10+), with special ignore status for my kid. Every time my son went to her as part of any activity, she would ignore him, not talk to him at all, so he could not do the activity he was supposed to be doing. I heard her make some sarcastic/​snarky remark as well (I heard her tone, didn’t catch the exact words).
She even snatched items away from him. E.g., there was a time when kids were supposed to return balls to the bucket (cleanup time) and my 25 month old didn’t understand and tried to take a ball out. Instead of talking to him, she was just pulling the ball away from him. I went in and realized he simply wanted to take the ball so he can put it back in the bucket. Poor guy was confused why she was acting this way towards him. All he did was smile at her. No tantrums or anything.
Btw, my wife took him to this teacher’s class the previous week, and she mentioned the same uncomfortable experience to me. I thought maybe the teacher was just having a bad day, or there was some misunderstanding, but the same stuff happened the next time when I took my kid to that class. Plus I see at least one other reviewer had the same bad experience with this teacher in the past, so I had to share this.
We go to Gymboree for the nurturing/​learning/​fun experience for our kids. The way things happened in this case, it was the opposite! 1-​star rating.
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Update 1:
The owner reached out to me and we talked about what happened. There was genuine concern regarding my experience and a strong willingness to do better, which is good to see. Hopefully, the experience at Gymboree moving forward will be great for all patrons, including us.
I have edited the review ABOVE after my conversation with the owner. I have removed the teacher’s name, and also removed some of my harsher remarks. The reason is that I’d like to give that teacher a chance to make improvements and do better, and not have her mistakes be made permanent online. I have not changed the review rating though.
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Update 2 (12/​30/​2015):
After about 3 months of having my child go to Gymboree regularly, I’m happy with the quality and experience. We have had to avoid going to the sessions of that one teacher, which does significantly restrict the sessions available to us. However, in the sessions my child has been going to, all the teachers have been great (special mention to teacher Jen for being super-​awesome!). Factoring in my 1-​star rating earlier, and 4.5 star now, I have updated the rating of my review to 4-​star overall.

4 stars for the class but 2 for the cleanliness. You have babies crawling around on the floor and equipment, and I wish they took more time to clean hairs and dirt. My daughter’s hands were literally black with dirt after the class we attended for 30 minutes.
I would greatly appreciate if you took the time to clean the floors between classes. Even if it’s a quick vacuum between groups

Visited this gymboree on a trial basis. The facility was very bright and clean. There are two restrooms. There was a lot of free play time. The teacher was friendly. At the end they had circle time for songs and bubbles and parachute time. My two year old daughter seemed to enjoy herself there.

The stars are for birtday organizations. We had our 3 years old daughter’s birthday party at this location last month. Nikki was one of the teachers, she was excellent, did a great job! The place was great after renovations, all the kids had amazing fun (all around 3 years old). It was a great experience, a decent and well organized place for a party. We have joined some classes last year, I did not like the evening ones, most kids came with two parents it was very crowded. I also didn’t like the bubbles part for many minutes.

Enrolled level 1 class for my 5^th month son. Like some of the other reviews have mentioned, our teacher, Meiling, didn’t seem to be enthusiastic when she was singing or very engaging during activities. Though kids at this age are still too young to interact with others, still the attitude of the teacher could totally affect the atmosphere of the class. Also, they wouldn’t turn on light during our noon class, that’s why the room was kinda dim, wasn’t helping in creating a joyful atmosphere for kids and parents at all.
We have only tried one teacher though, may go back later to try out other teachers in other classes.

This facility is the perfect place for your child to go before heading off to preschool. My son has attended four sessions starting at 6 months of age. He socializes with many kids around his age group and plays with the many toys and mini playgrounds.
I recently took him to the 11+ month class and again he loved it! The lady teacher were singing to the kids, playing games, etc., I can tell that my son really enjoyed it because he was smiling and participating in all the activities. He made new friends and he also met existing friends from the previous classes.
I strongly recommend this Gymboree facility if you want your child to socialize and enjoy the many tools.

The quality of the singing isn’t good compared with other Gymboree locations, but the other aspects of the program are very good.

I am updating my review from two to three only for the way Heather, the manager, and the owner handled my complaint. They acted very quickly and in a very courteous manner. So, I thank them for that.

Such a great Gymboree! Michelle, who has been my little ones teacher for a couple of months, runs a fantastic class! When we first started my little one was very stand-​off-​ish, his teacher Michelle was so patient and loving, it made all the differance in the world! Now he confidently plays and «high fives» her each visit! Thank you to the teachers for making everyone feel at home and welcome! Definately recommend!!!

I signed up err in February and was only able to join for a month but I have to agree with most of the other reviews… the staff is too young and seemingly inexperienced. The fun of the classes are so dependent on the instructors at gymboree and this center either needs to better train the girls already working there, or need to hire some older teachers who know what they are doing. New equipment is great though!

The teachers here are wonderful people who really love their jobs. They are always friendly and greet us by name when we come in. My daughter loves her teacher and she loves to come in for class and playtime. They sing lots of songs and get the kids to try new things.
My biggest complaint is that the owner (I think) is not very friendly or organized. Everyone who joins gymboree for the first time is suppose to get a welcome packet with information and coupons, but she failed to give me that packet. I discovered later that there was a whole pile of them yet to be distributed. Also, we had signed up for a special event and when we came to the said event, our name was not on the list. I personally saw her write down our names in one of the slots. Later on, I saw that our names had been whited out

My daughter (level 2 then 3) absolutely loves taking classes here. My husband and I noticed a difference right away in our daughter. She played better with her friends and slept better because she was both mentally and physically stimulated in class.
The staff here seems to enjoy their job and genuinely care about the kids.
I have already highly recommended this Gymboree location to my friends :-)

Last August a new Gymboree opened up in Sunnyvale. They offered Las Madres members a free class while they trained new employees. My friend Stacy and her son Ronan attended along with the twins and since it was our kids’ first time, they were wary of circle time and preferred to explore the equipment instead. In fact, Julia spent well over half the class on the rocking horse. Meanwhile four employees clapped and sang by themselves in a circle trying their best to encourage the kids to come over. They also were quick to tell us that our kids’ reactions were normal, especially for a first class, and that they were always free to explore instead of participating in circle time.
A month later I got a good deal and enrolled the kids in Gymboree classes. My dad came along whenever he could and the teachers would talk about Papa and James wearing matching hats and James running to Papa for his 1−2 – 3-​Hugs. The first few classes James was clingy as expected and then… he started really enjoying it and blossomed — even the instructors noticed. Julia was my daredevil all along and was always first in line for a hug from Gymboree’s puppet mascot, Gymbo. And she often made the instructors laugh with the enthusiasm of her «Hip Hip Hoorays!» and when she made the «shush» sign by putting her finger *inside* her mouth.
Speaking of the instructors, we most often saw Natasha, Beth, and Heather who were wonderful. James liked to tell Natasha, «Hi sweetie.» I liked the instructors much more than at The Little Gym which I tried for one month. I felt like Gymboree was a more easy-​going environment letting the kids explore with some circle time like a Mommy and Me class, whereas The Little Gym was more of a gymnastics environment (which I don’t think young 2-​year-​olds need) with a new skill each week. Also, everyone always seemed to know our names when we’d come to Gymboree — even when we arrived for our first real class a whole month after our free training class.
Originally the twins wanted no part of Gymbo stamps (rubber stamps bearing the likeness of Gymbo). Then for a few weeks Julia would stand in line for Gymbo stamps, as though to see what the fuss was all about, and then cry when she’d receive a stamp on her hand. And then after a few more weeks, both wanted Gymbo stamps and it was the first thing they’d chatter about excitedly when asked what they did at Gymboree. They both loved to present their tummies to the instructors for stamping. James and Julia also would refuse to let me wash their tummies during bathtime for fear that I’d remove their precious Gymbo stamps. As a result sometimes the instructors would be confused and think they’d already stamped my kids and skip over them because they’d see old Gymbo stamps on their tummies. I had to explain, «No, my children are just filthy.»
We only stopped attending Gymboree because they aged out of their class and the one for the oldest age group is 9am or noon which conflicted with things like breakfast and lunch. But every time they sing the parachute song or «Red and Yellow, Green and Blue» — even now nearly three months later — it breaks my heart.
My blog post about the twins attending Gymboree (and other gym classes) with more information, plus photos and video links.:

We celebrated our son’s 1^st birthday here, and everyone had a blast, especially the birthday boy! He loved climbing, the bubbles, parachute, and maracas! He was trying to sing along too. One of guests who is about to turn 1 took her first steps during the party! A parent text me the next morning that it was a great party and the children slept for two hours afterward!
I like the setup here better than Oakridge because there is more parking, and the room is more open with no crowded hallway. The location is relatively easy to find rather than having to search for it at the mall. We attended a party at Oakridge first, and also they had the a/​c on full blast and our child was cold.
The workers were helpful, but we still did a lot of setup and tear down ourselves. I read on another review that a parent was assisted with the loading and unloading, but my family did most of that. They did shine with the activities and led the kids through fun activities and songs — that is what I cannot do so I’m glad they were there to handle it. The worker was good at communicating and checking with me during the party about timing, and they did intervals of their activities and free play which seemed to keep the party rolling and also reminded the kids to eat. I also like how they presented the cake and the kids gathered around. They also did additional setup of the equipment to create an activity for the children to participate and were enthusiastic and energetic with the kids.
It was convenient for us to have the party here, especially with the bathroom, cubbies, extra socks, wipes, sanitzer. They do a good job of keeping the place clean as I saw them swiffering the mats when I picked up some of the party items. We have great memories of the 1^st birthday here. Even the older children ages 8 and my adult friends had fun playing here. Also the bright colors in the room make great pictures. I definitely recommend this place for an infant/​toddler party! Our party was a success!
Looking forward to trying out a class here!