Gymboree, a global leader in classes for kids, has a branch at Westgate Alabang, and this morning was Lia's scheduled trial class. She attended a Level 4 Play & Learn class for 16-22 months old toddlers. Lia is only 15 months, so just like last week, she's the babiest in the group.
The branch at Westgate Alabang.
We arrived 30 minutes before 10am, so Lia still had time to explore and play before the class started. She was barefoot, like all the other kids. The adults, on the other hand, can only enter if they're wearing socks. :)
She felt confident walking and toddling on the mat :)
Playtime with mommy and the soft, pink ball :)
This time with daddy :)
Aaaand it's almost 10! :)
At 10am, the class officially started. It was with teacher Carla who was very young and full of energy. :) The parents and kids formed a circle and sang songs with her.
That's teacher Carla with the tambourine. :)
Here, she's leading the group to push and pull, using Gymbo the Clown as her prop. :)
This was what the push and pull practice was for. All the kids were made to push this giant ball up the slope! :)
Lia's favorite part of the almost one-hour class was parachute time and bubbles time! :)
Parachute time! :)
Bubbles! Yippee! :)
After all the session of singing and playing and learning, Lia got what she deserved, her very first ever STAMP! And it's a Gymbo stamp! :)
Overall, it was a good trial experience for my baby. :) She may not seem all smiley in the photos, but she had fun! I like the fact that Gymboree is an environment where the children are free to move, play, and explore safely. It's also nice knowing that in the Play & Learn classes, the kids are of the same age group which makes it easier for them relate to each other and play together. The trial class was P500, and it was worth every peso. :)
At Gymboree, one can enroll anytime! There are no sem or module schedules, just choose any ongoing class and your toddler could jump into it. The schedule of the core classes are below, as well as the 2016 rates.
This morning was an exciting one for our little Lia --- she experienced being a schoolgirl for the first time! :) We scheduled a trial class for her at Toddlers Unlimited, an ISO-certified progressive nursery school in Alabang. We wanted to check how they do classes there and to see if Lia would enjoy. She joined the Saturday Playgroup class, a once a week program for 1 to 3 year old kids.
We were all super excited! :) Lia doesn't have a uniform
so she came as Sailormoon instead! Hehe. :)
The first part of the one and a half hour session was all play, and I like it! I am a believer of learning through play, especially among very young kids like Lia. The playtime was about 45 minutes long.
She's so happy with the different toys, she didn't know which one to play with first! :)
Look how small she is? She's the babiest in the group.
She likes yellow! :)
After the playtime inside the classroom was some more playtime at the romp area! :) It has slides, playhouses, rocking horses, and other super nice play equipment. I myself even wanted to enter and play! :)
Lia will enjoy this more when she can already confidently run and play!
She's still a little wobbly sometimes.
The rocking horse was her favorite! :)
The kids only stayed at the romp area for ten minutes. After that, they all went back to the classroom for the "Circle Time." There, they sang ABCs and other nursery rhymes. Since the theme of the current module is "My 5 Senses," teacher Erica taught the kids about the sense of smell.
My baby's so attentive! :) #ProudMom
After Circle Time came snack time! Lia had mangoes and biscuits as her baon, hehe. After snack time was a short storytelling session, then it was time to sing the goodbye song. :)
It was a great trial class overall! :) Teacher Erica is really good, the environment is neat and very conducive to learning, and the learning materials and equipment are of best quality. I am actually already interested to enroll Lia in the next Saturday playgroup module which will start on July 30, but we're attending more trial classes in other playschools just to check which one best fits our preferences.
Here are the rates and module details of Toddlers Unlimited's Saturday playgroups. The price of the trial class is PhP800. :)
For the other levels (2x and 3x a week), you will find the rates here. :)
Last May, we ran an Instagram promo where winners could win a creative photo shoot for their little ones plus Belo Baby bath & body products. The activity already ended, and the pictorial with the cute babies was held last Saturday with #TriggerHappyMommy photographer, Sheila Catilo.
Don't you just love this pretty, pretty camper setup by Indy Ycasiano of She Dreams in Ink? Since the shoot was a Saturday, I tagged my husband and my baby along so we could still spend time together while I was working. Buti na laaaang! I couldn't help it but have our photos taken in the set, too!
But of course, we weren't the stars of this shoot, we only actually made singit! Hehe. The winners of Belo Baby's Journey promo are these adorable kiddos! Congratulations to them and their mommies! :)
This is Prince Sander of proud mommy @iamsandieee.
He looks a lot like his daddy who was also at the shoot! :)
This is Eurasian baby @viktoriasummer210.
Isn't she adorbs? :)
And this is little dalaga Tasha of equally pretty mommy @tashasmom18.
She's so huggable! :)
Belo Baby superstar Scarlet Snow dropped by to say Hi to the winners. :)
Ms. Cristalle, Dr. Belo, and Doc Hayden (not in photo) were there, too. :)
Winner Tasha wasn't in the studio yet when this shot was taken.
And that's it, the shoot of our happy Belo babies! :) It was great knowing that everyone had a good time. 'Til our next photo session! :)
If Lia could talk, she would tell you her daddy is the best. I am very certain of that because I see every day how much she loves her dada, how excited she gets when he comes home, how loud and clear her laughter is when the two of them play, and how glum she feels when she's about to sleep and he's still not around. The moment she wakes up each morning, her eyes would look for her daddy first, and she would either crawl to him and kiss his lips or put her cheeks on his tummy, then she'd close her eyes again. If Lia could talk, she'd be very proud to tell you she's a certified daddy's girl, and that her nose and lips and ears and fingers and toes and blood type are all like her dada's.
My little girl's favorite person in the world is her daddy, and all this for good reason. My husband is a great father.
Since Lia came into our lives, more of my husband has been revealed to me. Between the two of us, he's the one with less sleeping hours, he changes our baby's diapers more frequently than I do, he lovingly carries her in his arms more than I do, he plays with her more than I do. This is not to say that I am not a good mommy, it's just that he's an extremely great daddy that it's hard to beat the things that he does. My husband is selfless and patient and loving and amazing; I and Lia and her future sibling/s are super blessed.
I read this quote once on Pinterest:, "The only thing better than having you for a husband is our children having you for a daddy." My heart has the exact same words.
Thank you for everything, Mahal! Happy Father's Day! You know that we love you soooo much!
