The post where I admit I can never be a Gymboree parent

For the past 4 Saturdays Cameron and I have traveled out to the suburbs to take part in a Gymboree class. It was a Groupon deal that my friend Amanda alerted me to - a month of classes for $30 (normally $68). It took us about 25 minutes to get to the location so we never had a chance to go for "free play" and stuck to the Saturday 9 AM classes.

Cameron was a little tentative at first and it wasn't until her last class that she ended up going under the parachute without me. If anyone has been to a Gymboree class, you are familiar with the parachute. I think it's their hat trick for little kids. Anyway Cameron loved the singing and had a weird obsession with the big Jimbo dolls. Mommy was less impressed.

The class was pretty crowded, a result of the Groupon deal, I'm sure. But with more than a dozen kids, it felt really crowded the whole time. And toddlers don't exactly share well so I ended up having to put Cameron in a few time outs. Cameron was one of the oldest there and probably should have been in the next level class but I didn't know any better when I signed up. So the activities didn't really stretch her at all from a learning point of view.

The teacher was super annoying. She had one of those odd voices that was like nails on a chalkboard when she started singing songs. But mostly I think it was the other parents that turned me off of Gymboree (except for my friend Amanda, of course!). Every parent seemed to be from the same socio-economic bracket. Sure, there was diversity in terms of races (quite a few mixed race couples) but it wasn't really diversity, if you know what I mean. It was about as yuppie as you can possibly get. And the parents were obsessed with their kids. Constant hovering, not really interacting with other parents or kids.

What I struggle with is finding a good range of activities for Cameron that can help fill up our weekend. Most places require a 30 day notice before leaving which means a minimum of two months for an activity. That is far too much of a commitment for me. I hate missing classes because it is such a waste of money. But I have also been the parent who goes with Cameron to all the classes (swim lessons last year, Gymboree this year) and I get bored after a few weeks. How have other parents juggled incorporating regular activities for your little ones on the weekends? Do you switch off with your spouse?

Cameron definitely hogged Jimbo. She dragged that damn doll around the room with her. Clowns are kind of creepy, don't you think?

A new favorite activity for Cameron is to play basketball. A toddler basketball hoop is most likely in her future. Good thing her birthday is less than two months away!

I can read good

After dropping Cameron off at daycare this morning I heard a sponsorship announcement on NPR for an organization committed to teaching children to read by the end of third grade. I attempted to Google this organization but couldn't remember the name so I failed. Regardless, it got me thinking about the standards for reading today in schools.

When my sisters and I were in first grade we were put in a remedial reading class. The reason? At 6 years old we couldn't read fluently and as such were "behind the curve." We were physically as well but I'll save the Special Gym story for another time. In my day (jeesh, I sound old!) kids were expected to start elementary school knowing how to read. Today? Not so much. Despite an emphasis on reading early and often to babies and toddlers most school systems don't expect fluent reading and writing until the third grade.

Because reading is so important to me I want Cameron to be able to read at an early age. My expectations are not unrealistic (I hope). I would like her to know how to read before she starts first grade. We actually made a breakthrough a few weeks ago. No, I did not run out and buy the Your Baby Can Read system that has infomercials on early in the morning. Personally I think it's a scam. But I digress. Our breakthrough is that Cameron has finally learned to sit on our laps while we read to her. Before Cameron would have the attention span of one or two pages. Then she would grab the book and throw it to the floor. Or, when we weren't reading a board book, she would try to rip the pages in half.

It's been a nice change to sit with her on the floor or the couch or her rocking chair while reading the same book over and over again. Her current favorite is Sesame Street's "Everybody Dance!" The book is short and rhymes. Plus it is a board book and each page has a 1/2 page that can be flipped back and forth to show the characters "dancing." I think I had to read that book 3 times last night before Cameron pointed to bed.

For parents with older children what have you done to help progress the reading learning process? And any recommendations for books you think Cameron would enjoy? Or more importantly, books that won't annoy the crap out of me and DH when we have to read them again and again and again?