Gymboree Play & Music

The first time we brought our daughter (20 months) to Gymboree Play and Music was for open gym (open to anyone for $ 10, free for members). We really liked this place from the moment we walked in — all the staff members are very nice and it looked really clean.
Our toddler had a blast playing for 2 hrs (open gym is from 5 – 7 Tuesday and Thursday nights). Adults must wear socks in the gym area — don’t forget to bring a pair. There are so many different fun things for our daughter to do she was all over the place with excitement. We love that it’s a safe playground and she can’t get hurt … everything is padded.
During her classes she loves the interaction with other kids in her age group while learning new things. Every 2 weeks the gym has a different setup so the kids don’t get bored. We didn’t think she would sit for the learning part of the class but she does and she enjoys it. Last week they learned the difference between «loud» and «quiet» — this week was «through» and they had lots of tunnels and things set up for the children to crawl through. One week they did «push» and «pull». During the classes they also take little breaks for individual play time and then get back together for more songs and learning.
They are very flexible with you and your schedule — if you cannot make a class for whatever reason (out of town, illness, etc,.) you can make up the class on a different day that week. If you’re going to be out of town for a while they can freeze your account so you do not get charged or you can choose to just make up the classes you miss. Oh yeah, you can sign up for 1 free class. You can go check it out and make sure your little one (and you) will like it and that it’ll work for you both.
They have so many different classes (most are 45 min long) to offer from newborn all the way to age 5!!! We have our daughter enrolled in the play and learn and when we have to make up classes we choose the music/​dance so she can try something different which is nice because at any other place they probably wouldn’t give you that option.
If you enroll your child in more than 1 class the second class is 20% off. They give out Gymboree coupons each month for you to shop at the retail store. Keep a look out because they offer AWESOME deals. For the month of April if you signed up it was only $ 59 for the 1^st month and there was NO membership fee. Classes are normally $ 75 each month plus the one time membership fee (good for life). This place is really awesome for the price and we are glad we found out about it. Our toddler can get her energy out all while having interaction with others her age and learning. It’s also a great break for other stay at home Moms.
Our only complaint is that we wish we had known about this place sooner. As long as Gymboree is around we will continue to bring our daughter.

My daughter went to this facility from the time she was around 1 and a half until around 3 and a half. She loved the open play and music class. We ran into issues when she started attending school skills which meant I dropped her off for about 2 hours while she was supervised by a teacher. Well, she continuously came home crying and complaining that she was being hit. I called the facility and spoke to the owner, Trish. Trish told me that there was a small misunderstanding with my daughter and another child and that she would take care of it. Well it was ok for a few days but then my daughter came home and became hysterical telling me she was punched in the stomach. After further investigation i found out that not only was my daughter hit but that the teacher had taken her aside and told my daughter not to tell me that she was hit. She was told if she informed me that she was hit that she wouldn’t be able to come back. Not only was my daughter upset about being hit but she was confused about why she wouldn’t be able to come back. I was hurt that Trish would treat my daughter this way after we had been loyal customers and I considered Trish to be a close friend. Well, I guess the dollar is mightier than loyalty or treating children properly because when I cancelled school skills my husband was told that we couldn’t use our missed classes for open gym (where we could be with our daughter while she played). After that, Trish continued to call me and tell me I was no longer welcome at her classes. Honestly, we hadn’t planned on returning since I felt we were not treated properly. So, my recommendation is to stay clear and attend a facility that cares about your children and less about the money, there’s too many options. Trish also owns the facility in Portsmouth also.

This was our first time visiting any Gymboree Play and Music, and it was just for open gym.
Staff was very friendly, and the facility seemed very clean. My kids, ages 4, 2, and 8 months all had fun during open gym. The only downside was that I was really nervous with my 4 year old jumping around all the little kids (probably about 10 other kids, all under 2yrs). We will definitely be back for another try, but hopefully next time they’ll have the air conditioning on as it was SUPER hot in there.