Zeeka and I (with yaya, of course) went to the Can’t Wait for Christmas playdate organized by Early Learning Centre. It was held at Gymboree in Greenbelt 5.
I wanted to go for two reasons: 1) I wanted to see the toys from the Early Learning Centre’s new toybox range and check out what I could buy Zeeka for Christmas. 2) I wanted to see how Zeeka would be at a Gymboree class (how she would react to the teacher and to being in a class).
The Early Learning Centre’s new Toybox range features a host of collectible animal characters and vehicles for young children aged 12 months and above (although Zeeka is already showing interest in these toys even if she’s just 8 months old). Each toy is made in a high quality new plastic and the characters have clicking legs and arms so they come to life when children are playing. The animals have textured, rubbery ears to stimulate the senses and are designed to help develop fine motor skills. Monty the Monkey and his funky car, Dotty the dolly and Sam the soldier are some of the characters in the range. The toybox collection is perfect for igniting children’s imaginations and encouraging them to act out stories, take charge of an environment and make things happen when they choose.
Upon entering the room, I could literally feel Zeeka’s excitement. She was waving her hands up and down. We had some photos taken near the display. I took a mini car from the table (Happyland collection) and that was it! Zeeka started playing with all the toys on top on top of the table. She then sat on the table together with the toys on display (sorry ELC for ruining the neatly placed toys… Hehe). Zeeka was then quick to turn her attention to a little ferris wheel toy on top of the table. It was really cute. It was her favorite. While you manually turn the wheel, it sends out a musical tune. The ferris wheel is part of the Happyland colleciton available at Early Learning Centre.
Baby Zeeka playing with the wooden alphabet blocks.
After playing, we had some snacks to reenergize. Zeeka and playmates M and N (daughters of mommy Kris) and Rocio (daughter of mommy Mia) were then led to the play area of Gymboree where they had a short class.
From beginning to end, Zeeka was just staring at the teacher. I have noticed that she really reacts that way. She absorbs information first then she follows after a while. When the class was through, she smiled and danced! I’m planning to enroll her at the Gymboree branch at Serendra since it is near our place.
Thank you, Early Learning Centre, for a fun-filled day for Zeeka and me (and yaya ;>). I’m scanning through the catalog that you sent me and I’ll be buying Christmas gifts in your store. Here are some of my favorites.
Watch out for my Fashion Friday entry this coming Friday featuring cute Christmas outfits from Mothercare! 🙂