Play 2 Grow

Play 2 Grow offers 50 minute parent and caregiver-assisted play classes once per week for infants, toddlers, and children ages two months to six years. If that sounds like the same thing you've seen elsewhere, you'd be wise to read on. Simply put, these classes are in a class by themselves.

The premise for the curriculum - backed by recent research - is that play stimulates brain and physical development, and provides great bonding opportunities for caregivers and kids. The director, Marc Castelo, based his programs on years of experience in pediatric physical therapy and awareness of the positive impact certain physical stimuli have on growing minds. How does that translate to the class experience? Caregivers get to know not only what to do with their kids, but also why. Moving from one class element to another, with the knowledge of why it's important and what it does for each child, helps makes the experience that much richer. As for the kids, whether they're getting rubbed down with warm oil in a softly lit room, wading through warm cooked noodles for a sensory experience, or bouncing on a big ball to develop muscle coordination, they're just plain having a blast.

The popular Baby Spa classes include hands-on infant massage instruction and tummy time activities. Slightly older babies experience developmental play activities. At each class, parents get to learn new words in sign language, practice them with the group, and then take home sheets for a language binder.

SmartPlay classes, divided by age, cover multi-sensory experiences, physical skills development, conceptual learning skills, and relationship building and teamwork.

Birthday parties are offered for children turning ages one to five, and include guided activities, games, pizza, and a photo CD.

The second Saturday of each month, is Saturday Night Fever, a drop-off evening for the kids with staff-supervised fun and games 6pm-9:30pm. Call to reserve space.