FAMILY FRIENDLY ACTIVITIES, INSPIRATION FOR DAYS OUT & LOTS OF FUN
FAMILY FRIENDLY ACTIVITIES, INSPIRATION FOR DAYS OUT & LOTS OF FUN
We took our first (long awaited, in my case) trip to the Science Centre at the weekend. Full disclosure: I worked there when I was a student, and I loved it, and I’m also a tiny bit of a science geek, so my review may not be entirely unbiased. But anyway, the review. Where do …
We checked out the People’s Palace & Winter Gardens a few days ago.
The Museum
Apart from being a place to run around in, the museum itself doesn’t really cater for young kids. There isn’t much for them to do & we didn’t come across any interactive exhibits or anything at all aimed at young kids.
However since stomping around on her own little mission is my little lady’s favourite thing in the world, it didn’t really matter.
Her favourite thing in the museum was the giant Clyde mascot which she attempted to climb a pillar to get to, and had a tantrum when she was unsuccessful.
The Winter Gardens & Cafe
The Winter Gardens are really nice. It’s warm, there are a lot of plants for a toddler to sniff and there’s a good bit of space to run around in.
The Winter Gardens are my new favourite place to meet up with mummy friends & their babies/toddlers. It’s reasonably central; there’s so much space (plenty space for a bunch of prams), loads of high chairs; and loud toddler voices get lost in the vastness of the giant greenhouse!
The food is decent & they have a nice selection of cakes. And their scones are pretty damn good.
It was certificate day at our Turtle Tots swimming class today. That’s us completed the level 2 toddler course, and we’ve been going to Turtle Tots for over a year, so I figured it was probably about time I did a review.
The Class
It was almost 16 months ago we started going, but I remember our first Turtle Tots class like it was yesterday. The Little Lady was about 12 weeks old and I wasn’t allowed to go in the pool yet (section took a while longer than it should’ve to heal) so her daddy took her instead whilst I sat and watched. There was lots of singing, with Hickory Dickory Dock where the baby goes up the clock being a definite favourite.
She was slightly nonplussed with being in the pool, but our teacher, Kim, was great. I enjoyed watching it, and my husband enjoyed the one-to-one time with her in the class, even if the Little Lady wasn’t overly enthused herself!
Her first submersion, about 4 classes in, was quite traumatic (for me) but again, she wasn’t that bothered. By the end of the term (and into the second term) I think she was the only kid who still cried after been dunked, but she was still happy to be in the pool.
As the classes and levels progressed you do a lot more with the babies, and use lots more equipment. Her favourite was always chasing the squirty fish around the pool, and in the earlier classes chewing on the foam mirror! She also always loved the singing.
In our most recent block she was jumping into the pool, holding onto the edge and monkey-monkeying (shuffling along the pool using her hands), kicking her legs, and we were doing submersions with her on my back holding on round my neck. She was also happy to be on her front in the water, kicking her legs with me just holding her hands.
The Venues
We’ve been to 4 of the venues over the past year and a bit. Some are better than others: some are in state of the art leisure centres and some are in schools – the facilities are obviously going to differ.
The Cost
It recently went up to £120 per term of 10 classes. That is pretty costly, but since the little lady and I (or the little lady and her daddy) have enjoyed the classes so much, and she has learned so much from them (and gotten lots of confidence in the water) I really think it’s been worthwhile.
The Verdict
It’s truly amazing seeing the progress of these tiny tots: jumping in, kicking their legs, using floats, holding onto the edge, going under water for a brief swim (and being happy about it) and really enjoying being in the pool! Not only has it given my Little Lady lots of confidence in the water, but it’s given me lots of confidence in taking her into the water too.
Her nursery recently took her swimming and they reported back that out of the 4 or 5 kids who were there that day, the Little Lady was the only one who was happy to jump in, who was kicking her legs and who was happy to be on her front in the water. Obviously I don’t know what she would’ve been like if she hadn’t gone to Turtle Tots classes, but I certainly wouldn’t have taken her swimming anywhere near as much.
As I said above, the classes are pretty costly – they’re the most expensive classes we’ve ever done, by quite a margin. But she and I, or she and her daddy have enjoyed them so much, and learned so much from them that I honestly think it’s been worthwhile.
Highly recommended.
The Details
Turtle Tots classes take place all over Glasgow and the surrounding areas. There’s bound to be a class near you. You can find more info on their facebook page & website.
The little lady and I took her Auntie to her first ever soft play the other day to let both of them have a run around! We took a trip to Whale Of A Time in Shawlands to try it out. The play area The toddler area is great. There’s a ball pool, a bunch …
This morning we went on a bear hunt. (We tried out Tall Tales at the Tron Theatre: an interactive storytelling session for kids who are walking to age 3). What good fun! My little lady loved it; especially the part where they were squelching through mud (aka strawberry jelly). I can’t remember her name, but …
We took a little trip to the Riverside Museum at the weekend. It was an attempt to simultaneously get out of the house, and not be outside in the freezing cold. (We’re not big enough for snowman building yet, and although picking up tiny bits of snow and holding them for a while is fun, it results very quickly in tiny cold hands!)
Anyway, it’s big and echoey and not quiet at all. There are lots of trams & buses to climb on, a couple of little kiddie toys to play in, and two very large horses that are seemingly great to point at/yell excitedly at/run towards & away from.
As with all Glasgow museums it’s free, and the cafe upstairs isn’t bad too.
The Verdict
Great place to let a toddler run around for an hour or two, especially when it’s slippery, snowy, crazy windy or freezing outside!
Side note
You don’t actually get to look at anything with a toddler running around!
So we tried out Toddler Sense Knightswood yesterday. We used to go to Baby Sensory regularly, and my little lady loved it. But then I went back to work, she went to nursery and we haven’t had the chance to even check out a Toddler Sense class until now! But anyway, the review… The Class …
We had a meal out at Darcy’s Glasgow this evening to celebrate my birthday. (33! I can’t believe it – I genuinely still think of myself as a 20 year old). Anyway, Darcy’s is a great place to dine with kids. The staff are super friendly, the grub is lovely and they have a good …
We met up with some family in Adventure Planet soft play this morning, in Cumbernauld. (Soft play is a surprisingly good way to do Christmas visits when you’ve all got kids!) The play area The toddler area is a nice mini version of a big soft play, with some soft see-saws & a wee ball pool. …
We’ve been going to zoo tots for a few weeks now, and it’s one of the little lady’s favourite classes we’ve been too. It’s totally different from any of the other classes, mainly because there are various live animals there to pet or feed or look at. The Class The class structure is pretty much …
We went along to a great wee baby/toddler morning in Jayz Bar in Shawlands this morning. It’s busy, boisterous & very noisy; there’s music, singing, lots of toys to play with and stories for the little ones. Plus some toast at the end. My little lady LOVED it! It’s on in Jayz Bar, Shawlands from …
For her very 1st birthday, we took the little lady to Almond Valley Heritage Centre in Livingston at the weekend. We’ve never taken her to any children’s farms or ‘bigger’ visitor attractions before (I’m not counting Tollcross Park Children’s Farm) so it was quite exciting for all of us! The Farm The farm is excellent. There are …
After months of trying, the stars aligned & we finally made it to our first Buggyfit Glasgow West class this morning in Victoria Park. It was a pretty nice day for once, if a bit breezy. Perfect for my first workout in a long time. The class itself was great. We did some running, and quite a …
We went along to, what I think is going to be our last, Baby Cinema this morning in the Grosvenor Cinema on Ashton Lane. We’ve had a good run (we’ve seen Hunger Games, Godzilla, Dallas Buyers Club, Gravity and The Wolf of Wall Street amongst other) but we’re getting too old for it now since …
It’s the little lady’s favourite today: Baby Sensory. And it’s French week! (Pity her head is too gigantic for that little red beret her auntie brought back from France…) Each week has a different theme. We’ve had messy week, pirate week, cowboy week and under the sea week plus loads more. The class is in 3 parts. …
What a fantastic facility! We tried the Playrooms out for the first time yesterday and my little lady LOVED it. There are 3 rooms: the first has lots of tables for lunching, drawing, playing with dinosaurs amongst oh so many other things; the second contains lots of ride-on cars, dollies, buggies, a play house, building …
We’ve been going to Bounce & Rhyme in the Mitchell Library for the past month or so. It’s exactly what it sounds like it’s going to be: a group of parents & babies/toddlers/pre-schoolers sitting singing songs and nursery rhymes whilst the babies get bounced on your knee and the toddlers attempt to escape from the kids …
We’ve been going to a baby massage class in Scotstoun leisure centre for the past few weeks. It’s such a nice chilled out class. Each week we’ve done a different part of the body: legs & feet; arms & hands; back & shoulders etc. Each week we’ve lasted about 10 minutes before the little lady decided …
I recently found a post-natal exercise class in Scotstoun leisure centre. It’s been a while since I’ve done any exercise (I pretty much stopped any form of exercise as soon as I found out I was pregnant) and after a c-section and a wound that really doesn’t want to heal I thought I’d start with a …