Mama & Me

The cleanliness of the space for our Preparing For Baby class set a positive tone, and our doula instructor helped us feel at ease prior to the presentation. This would be the third workshop in our prenatal roster on how to ensure your baby flourishes as a functioning societal contributor, and it was off to a warm and welcoming start.
And so began the Powerpoint, which was extremely light on actionable content. And so began the interactive elements (changing a diaper, swaddling baby, word soup exercises on the evolution of feelings, fears and expectations), all of which were not so much guided, more «meh, do it how you think it should be done.»
Perhaps it felt light following our initial 8-​hour power sesh at our delivering hospital, which offered so much material, we became temporary experts on child birth, feedings and early care. Or maybe (and more likely), the doula conducts herself in a very «you’ll know it when you need to» approach to her own children’s rearing, thus alluding to the unexpected with a nonchalance in her presentation.
Which I can appreciate, but don’t charge new parents $ 90 to tell them they’ll know what to do when they need to.
The whole experience just felt half-​baked, and I can say if you plan on taking multiple courses from multiple orgs, put this one at the beginning of the schedule — it’s comfortable and casual, but not very meaty.

AVOID! I tried to sign up for a class this past weekend, and was having website difficulty. Tried calling x 2 with NO answer prior to the class. I left 2 message, NO ONE returned my calls. I called 4 days later, only the find out later I am being charged and they wont refund my credit card. TALK ABOUT POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE!!!

I just took their Infant CPR course, which I found to be really useful and informative! The CPR procedure is really simple, but it was great to practice on the dolls and gain some confidence. (Though hopefully we’ll never need to use it.!) In addition, they also shared a lot of information regarding infant safety in the first year. A lot of it was common sense, and I’m sure you can find a lot of the info on the internet yourself. but if you don’t have the time, this was a great, comprehensive course.

While I have found the classes here to be useful, I have arrived several times for the Monday 12:30 class only to find it cancelled with no notice. Today, my son’s caregiver went to the class, taking a 20 minute bus ride and a 15 minute walk, only to find that the door was locked with no answer. We have both called several times to complain with no response. I know that there are committed teachers here and my son loves going, but this is no way to run a business for children in our community.

I am writing because the Yoga class is great I went for the first time. A little hard to find but now I know Main building 1^st floor. Room 106. Randi is a great instructor

Overall, I would only recommend Mama & Me for the drop-​in play (and that’s only if you don’t find anything better to do). Don’t buy a pass, just go there, pay the fee, use the space, hello, thank you, good buy — end of story. No long term commitments, no strings attached… trust me, you don’t want to trust them :)
We have taken our daughter there for the drop-​in play and had a her second birthday party there (SPOILER ALERT: it was every parents worst nightmare coming to life as far as birthday parties go)
Playspace and Drop-​in play:
If you are looking for an indoor activity during the cold winter months, this is definitely a good place to take your younger kids. There is a gym room with tunnels and foam mattresses and balls to play with. Across the hall is the play space with toys, pretend kitchen and grocery, etc. Overall really cute space and my daughter really liked it.
Birthday party:
So after meeting in person with the owner, sending deposit. emailing, confirming and getting confirmation back multiple times about the party date and time — (last email conversation was 48 hours prior)… we arrived at Mama & me for my 2 year old daughter birthday party.
Picture this is end of December, cold wet weather… The place is completely shut down and there is no one. We spent the whole party time with our guests, waiting for someone to show up and open the door. Picture your arms full of toddlers, cake, food, balloons and a locked door. And no one coming to open that door. Kids crying, and you you left at the door, waiting for your guests to show up one by one and apologizing to your kid and your guest for something that you have no fault in. Imagine all the waste.
Mind you, we attempted to contact the owner by what ever means possible (email, phone call, asking businesses next doors, etc). We heard back later in the evening, via email that she had forgotten about it and thought it would be another day! And sorry about that and if we wanted we could come back the next day (but still pay for the party with a small discount).
After some polite but strong worded email from my husband we were told we would be given a voucher to use towards another party — we never saw that. Not that I would really like to have anything to do with the business after this experience, nor would I have liked to spend $$$ on top that voucher for said party.
A month later we finally received our initial un-​cashed check deposit in an envelope with nothing else. No note, no apology, nothing! Not even a post it…
Long story short: if you want to see your kid cry on their birthday, if you want to feel shame towards your guests coming all the way there to see a closed door and throw away bunch of food and party supplies, please be my guest — and you are welcome to my voucher :) I am sure it will turn up ;) ;)

Just took my 20-​month old daughter to the drop-​in play space and gym for the first time and it was fabulous! Wish I knew about it earlier! The center is very thoughtful and makes parents feel very comfortable. Love the no shoes policy and mud room; the space is meticulous with beautiful, creative, professional and engaging activities for kids. There were four other parents (some moms, some dads), which made it extra special. Love the classical music, staff is so nice, and there is a café downstairs — the experience was great and it’s easy to get to from the city!

This is a great spot — we love the playspace drop-​in times as well as their classes. I have taken Dragonfly Theater and a few art classes with my now 22-​month old, and they’ve all been great — stimulating, the right mix of independent and group activity, and creative for little toddlers. The teachers [Danika is our favorite!] and staff are wonderful, and the toys and setting are well-​chosen and nicely designed. An oasis of simple, creative play in our world of branded and commercial experiences.

Clean, well stocked with fun and educational toys, Mama & Me is a great place to help your young children learn to socialize and explore their environment. They have wonderful moderators/​teachers who really care about and enjoy interacting with the children. I signed my son up for 1 class last season and he had so much fun we plan to register him for 2 more this season. The drop-​in classes are a great way to get a feel for the place before signing up for a class. With winter coming and outdoor activities becoming a bit more limited this option is even more valuable! A true JP gem.

I had my daughter’s 4^th birthday party at Mama & Me on 8.27.11. That was the day before tropical storm Irene hit the Boston area. Some parents called to change their RSVPs to YES (since summer plans were put on hold due to weather) so we actually had more children and parents than the suggested number. I was fairly stressed. The party host (named Danika) handled the 20 children very well. She was fun, calm and engaging.
We booked the 30 minute extra paint option since my daughter LOVES art. The kids had a fabulous time painting on the wall and splattering paint all over the place. There were other creative activities set up in the paint studio as well. Mama & Me provides tshirt smocks too. The party was a big hit! One parent texted me on her way home and said that her little girl claimed «that was the most awesome party ever!»
Several parents took information as they left and asked me how I knew about the space as most of the guests live in Newton and Brookline. I was first introduced to Mama & Me b/​c of a Boston Garden Moms post about their classes. It is such a neat space that offers a different party experience than many places. I think it’s wonderful for parties and classes. Thumbs up!

WORKING PARENTS: Read this if you are thinking about the Groupon offer! I haven’t even gotten my confirmation and my voucher code and am having serious regrets about doing this offer.
I eyed up the Groupon deal for a day or so and I know my 13 month old daughter loves playing with sparkle paint at daycare, and so I thought it would be a great idea to find a playgroup or preferably an art class we could do together right after work or on the weekends. We enjoy visiting museums, parks, and delighting in the wonderful world of Boston.
I noticed a few specific classes were excluded, but figured okay – those are probably full or just really popular and *surely* there’s something else appropriate there. Presumably they want to drum up some business by offering a Groupon, right? We’re really not picky at all about classes – we just enjoy outings and taking her all around the offerings in this wonderful area and frankly the class content wasn’t important. So, I purchased the voucher and browsed over to M&M to find a class to redeem it towards.
Apparently, Mama & Me hasn’t caught on to the fact that half of mothers in the United States (and I imagine maybe a higher percentage in expensive Boston) are in fact working parents and probably can’t attend a 9:00 — 5:00 Monday through Friday only schedule of classes. Nor are they in a position to take off time from work 8 weeks in a row in this difficult economy when you have to keep your job.
There are NO offerings after 5:00 pm on any date. Nothing, Nada, Zip. There are NO offerings on Saturdays. There are only 5 offerings on Sundays. Two are Paint Playground which is one of the specifically excluded classes. The other three are outside my daughter’s age range.
Now, I have to hope and pray that by the time they publish a winter schedule my daughter has a class she can actually participate in. The earliest age beyond the restricted classes is 18 months which she won’t be until the end of December.
You can use the Groupons for their parent passport (oh, those sessions are all only Monday through Friday, 3:30−5 during working hours) or a birthday party. My daughter’s birthday is in June. The Groupon expires completely 2÷17÷12.
So in essence, I just gave this business a donation and have the honor of bestowing a negative review before even stepping foot in the place, which is a real first. It seems some of the other reviewers are right that the pull seems to be prying the money from you and keeping it.
M&M, an ethical business would let clients clearly know up-​front that you cater primarily to stay-​at-​home parents with very limited weekend options, and no weekend options for children under 18 months of age on the Groupon offering rather than burying this information throughout your website. Shame. Isis Maternity (a business that has a much better range of offerings and times for kids and parents) you are NOT. Shame on me for assuming you actually want to do business with your Groupon customers.

This place is nicely decorated and very pleasant, but it only masks the low quality of classes and service.
My experience with this establishment was terrible. I signed-​up for an art class which ended up being inappropriate for my children for various reasons. (Mostly logistical and some scheduling issue that came up).
When I wanted to cancel the class, I got a lot of arguments and annoying suggestions how I should handle my kids. It seemed to me their priority was to keep the money above all.
Mama and Me is not worth the hassle of getting there, especially when parking is often full. As for the class itself, it was weak. It started late and ended 10 minutes early for clean-​up, and the content was far less interesting than what we do at home.
The sad thing is that if I had proper service and less nonsense from them, I would have been happy to come back in the fall for different classes. But after being told what I should and shouldn’t do, I am too turned off to deal with them.

This is by far the nicest, cleanest, most engaging place I know of for children up to about four years of age, and not just in Jamaica Plain, but anywhere else I’ve ever been. The owner, Shannon, is just the sweetest person, and always remembers both of my kids’ names, no matter how long it’s been since we’ve been there. And, despite the name, I still feel very welcome there as a father. So go to Mama & Me soon – your kids will thank you for it!

Mama and Me is an amazing place! It totally saved me this winter. I have a 16 month old daughter and we have frequented this placespace often the last few months. The space is bright and clean with really cool toys that are super interesting to toddlers. All the of staff are super nice. We have mostly used the drop in playspace (and gym space!) and now we are taking a story time class there which has been fabulous so far. LOVE Mama and Me!

I like Mama and Me overall. The playspace is nice and the teachers/​staff are also nice. They have great classes, for example the paint playground class is really fun. The only issue is that the class is really expensive, $ 20 a week or $ 160 for eight weeks — this is the most expensive class that I think you could find for a 14-​month-​old to take. They used to allow drop-​ins to this class, which made it more reasonable so that you could go occasionally — I can’t afford a committmen of $ 20 per class for eight classes! Anyway, now they no longer allow drop-​ins except on the weekends. They do allow drop-​ins for the playspace but the open times for this are very limited and as a result the price ends up being a lot for what might be a short period of time. It’s just sad to me that a month or two ago I would have given this 5 stars but now would give it no more than 3. I hope they change their policy back.

Free parking, clean and inviting space, great and original toys, and friendly and helpful staff – what more could you want? I’ve been for a tour as well as to hang with my toddler and infant at the playspace hour and I would very much like to move in to Mama and Me. I think the owner, Shannon, is just terrific and I appreciate how thoughtfully the space has been tailored to kids’ natural play (e.g. a playhouse, blocks table, grocery store, etc.). I think the $ 10 drop-​in fee is a little steep for 1.5 hours, but I know their pass is a better deal. I hope to sign up my child for a class here – they look like a blast. (When will they offer classes where parents can roll around in some paint?).

We had my nephews birthday party here and it was a great choice. The staff was so friendly and great with the kids. We were in and out and did not have to clean up! Great place for kids parties!

[Ok, I just reread this review, and it totally sounds like I’m a plant! I’m definitely not, but I’d be happy to work something out… ;)]
Mama & Me is a pretty fantastic neighborhood resource. And yes, dads, grandparents, nannies, etc, are welcome, too! It happens to be about a 30-​second walk from my house, so now that the playgrounds are covered in snow, my 1-​year-​old and I head over there about once a week.
First some overall impressions: the space is very comfortable, cheerful, and exceptionally clean. Everything is so cute and visually appealing, right down to the graphics for the place’s logo and website! It has a very natural feel to it, with mostly wooden structures, skylights, and those really cool umbrella-​leaf things on the wall (they, like much of the content, are from IKEA). The owner/​manager Shannon is very sweet — she’ll remember your name and your child’s and always has a smile for you when you arrive. In my opinion, all of this is what differentiates it from the other local indoor play group, which shall remain nameless. Oh, right, and the other difference is that you’ll pay about 4 times the cost per session at Mama & Me versus the other, unnamed playgroup. For me, though, given the proximity to home, the cleanliness factor, and the variety of activities for the kiddos, I’ll choose M&M over the other any day.
My son always has fun during the «Creative Playspace» sessions (use of the entire space for 1 ½ hours). I purchased a 10-​session pass, which gives you a couple bucks off per session. I can’t really say that there’s any one thing he likes the most, because he’s pretty busy going from station to station. It’s no wonder, because they’re all very appealing.
Between the two rooms there’s a variety of tactile and visual experiences — one room is more for imaginative play (castle, school bus, train table, kitchen, tool bench), and the other is for more physical play (balls, rolling cars, tunnel, soft rearrangeable play structure, mats on the floor). Everything is completely safe for a baby of any age (no choking hazards!), though things do end up in the mouth occasionally… (how you handle that depends on your opinion of germ sharing… I’m cool with it to a point).
The toddler art sessions with Laura were wonderful. Make the mess there, rip off the t-​shirt smock, and leave it all behind! We made some great holiday gifts! Sadly, they won’t be offered at M&M any more. But Laura will be having classes at all 4 Isis Maternity locations. The ones near us were booked before I could sign up, but hopefully next session!
Thanks for coming to JP, Mama & Me!