Playgroup review for babies below 18 mths

G

Geo

Registered User
Dear All,

Just tried Kindyroo (Universal Trade Centre) and The Gym (The Centrium), both behind Lan Kwai Fong.

Kindyroo-1 hr session, basically 50% time sitting around and singing/clapping/exercising in an enclosed room and 50% free play at the gym. Personal experience with the environment and staff= soso. Have the basic gym gear, staff are friendly but not street smart, cannot ascertain your needs and did not approach you after the trial session. I was the only trial there. I feel it is suitable for babies who can sit still and the more goody kind of kids. $200/session.

The Gym- Very open concept, just the gym. 1 hr session, basically 15 mins sit down, the rest of time, they have many different gym equipment like hanging on bars/ swings/ fast swing from a higher elevation/ car washing games to keep hyperactive kids occupied and you queue up for it so all babies have the chance to play it once.I like the environment and the staff. Suits my boy (14+ mth) who is hyperactive and bold. But needs waitlisting. $200/session.

Going to try the Gymboree (St John's Bldg- Garden Rd,near Central) this week and a few others.

Any comments about the Gymboree (the 1 month unlimited passport-how does it work?) out there or from parents who have tried a few playgroups and would like to share their experience.

Thanks. Gina
 
Geo,

Thanks so much for reviews.

We've only been to birthdays at Gymboree and D really enjoyed the program.
Unfortunately MyGym was full and we never got a chance to try it.
 
Gymboree etc

Hi Geo

Good idea for a post.

I've just arrived in HK myself (from Singapore) so haven't experienced the activities here yet, but am going to take my 10mth-old to Panda Junction tomorrow. I'll let you know what I think of it.

However, I will be avoiding Gymboree. HK friends have said it's similar to the one in Singapore, which was, quite frankly, pants! Very disorganised, lacked structure - and the only structured bit was "sharing time", which was just dreadful - a group of mums sitting around talking about the topic of the day (such as "teething") for 5 minutes while trying to hold on to babies that wanted to go off and play. And I hated the parachute bit at the end. This huge heavy plastic parachute was flapping wilding in my baby's face and he was flinching every time. And if it had caught him in the face (which it nearly did), it would have really stung I think.

It's a shame as Gymboree in the UK is pretty good.

Be interested to hear other views though - maybe the HK is good?
 
I visited several playgroups with my little one (12 months old).

We also went to the Gymboree a couple of times and it's quite boring and eventually gets to a point of being annoying especially when the teacher sings even worse than my hubby under the shower...

Their playground just isn't very inviting for crawling babies. My daughter used to just sit around and gave me one 'WHATEVER' look after the other. Their Gymboree music cd is absolutely great, though!

We've joined the PandaJunction and she really likes it a lot. Playground is super duper and the joined activity at the end of the hour is always well organized and actually teaches the little ones different things.

The best (in my opinion) is the Woodland playgroup. It's rather small but in a way that makes the kids interact with eachother even more. They do arts and crafts, story telling time etc. The class is twice weekly with the same group of kids. Great for their social skills!:blahblah
 
I went to The Gymboree trial today. Though Core 3 was for 10-16 mths, 99% were 10-12 mths and my son being 15 mths seems old for the session. 45 mins session, 5 mins sit down and sing, then 25 mins free play with the gym equipment. The rest is balancing babies on a big foam swing/ roll the big roller/ blowing bubbles and parachute. Staff are friendly and environment is okay. But the class is boring. It is okay for those starting to crawl...but for my son the hyper active one, it is disorganized and I just had to follow him around....feeling is just like a playgroup. Was just waiting for the session to end. The game were boring for a 15 mth baby. $200/ session.

Among Kindyroo/ The Gym and Gymboree, I had decided for The Gym. It was worth the effort and money. But will be going for trial sessions with others as well.

Cheers.
 
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Hi Honkyblues,

I 'm also from Singapore and would like to share views about things in Hong Kong with you. Maybe we can chat via emails and phone.

Vina
 
Just been to Panda Junction - it was good - very well structured - much better than Gymboree I thought. 5 mins on mats doing welcome song, about 20-25 mins in the play area which was very well equipped (balls, foam shapes, tunnels, bouncy castle, scarves, slides, etc etc). Although it was "freeplay", the instructor and her 2 assistants went round interacting with the children and helped make it a learning environment. Then about 20-30mins back on the mats doing interactive songs (bouncing games, songs using massage balls etc), all themed around body parts (that's the theme of this particular term).

It was the 12.45-1.45pm Thursday "hedgehogs" session and it was the first class of term - there's still room if anyone wants to join me! It's for babies aged 6-12mths. There are lots of other classes and the term just starts this week.

I did a trial class today and have now joined.
 
I also take my LO to Hedgehogs at Panda Junction. We started when she was 7 months and we'll begin our 2nd term this week.
Haven't tried many of the others - only Kindermusik. I liked PJ so stay there. It's convenient for me as I don't live in mid-levels and it's near the MTR.
My daughter loves the panda and the parachute at the end. My only complaint is the lack of space/facilities for feeding/changing.
 
We joined the Gymboree Art Class when my daughter was 18 months old (it's from 18 months and above) We really enjoyed it. The teachers were very professional, sang well, happy and the staffs were friendly and helpful. Circle time to begin with, playdough time, painting time, book reading and snack time, art time, tactile table time and good bye song. Art materials were good and themes were good too. Tactile table was our favourite, with different things in it (beans, rice, oatmeal, shaving foam, sand, water, etc) very exciting! My daughter loved the sessions very much. I think it is $280 per session (not sure the price now)

We also go to the free play sessions once in a while. The environment was good. Natural light, clean, colourful, spacious and good music. Best of all, I don't have to bring own socks as they provide clean socks. Also, we can go to the Pacific Coffee downstairs to have babychino and go to HK Park to have more play. Art class, babychino and outdoor play time, all in one go!
 
Sorry, the Gymboree art class is for 16 months and above and it is $260 for trial or 12 classes for $3050 (1 hour each session)
 
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