It is 9:15 on a Tuesday. The baby has been awake since 5:40, you have already walked the loop around the neighborhood twice and the next nap is two hours out. Nobody warns you about this part of parenting, which is the sheer number of hours that need filling.
The obvious answer is one of the baby and toddler classes around Marin County. Getting there takes roughly forty minutes of work for a forty-five minute class. You pack the bag. Someone spits up on the bag. You pack it again. And somewhere around the Freitas exit the objection turns up: is this worth the trouble? She will not remember any of it.
What a baby actually gets out of it
A baby in an unfamiliar room is working hard, and none of it gets filed away as a story she will tell at sixteen. It is happening now. In a good class that means:
- A room that is not hers. Higher ceiling, different floor, a drum somewhere behind her.
- Practice, in small doses. Reaching for a toy she has never held. Crossing an open floor toward something she wants.
- Other babies to stare at. Long before children play together they play near each other and watch closely, and that stage is doing real work.
- A voice that is not yours. Songs, instructions, somebody else’s kid having fun.
No single class changes the arc of a child’s development. A steady supply of new rooms, new sounds and other children supports it. For a plain reference on what is typical at each age, the CDC’s milestone checklists are free and organized by month.
The class is also for you
Early parenting can be strangely lonely. You are never by yourself and often have nobody to talk to.
Jbaby Programs are where you find the person whose baby also stopped sleeping at four months, who knows a good nanny, who says “mine did that too” about the thing you had been worrying about since Tuesday.
Those conversations are almost impossible to schedule. You’ll show up for the bounce house, but leave with your next playdate on the calendar.
Where to find baby and toddler classes in Marin County
The Osher Marin JCC runs its baby and toddler programs under the JBaby name, out of the building on North San Pedro Road in San Rafael and the JCC South location in Mill Valley location. All six programs are for chilhere to find baby and toddler classes in Marin County
The Osher Marin JCC runs its baby and toddler programs under the JBaby name, out of the building on North San Pedro Road in San Rafael and the JCC South location in Mill Valley location. All six programs are for children under three, and led by early childhood educators.
- JymBabies: An indoor playspace with age-appropriate gym equipment and a bounce house. Crawling, running, jumping and the social negotiation that happens when two babies want the same tunnel.
- MusicBabies: Run with JAMaROO. Traditional songs, new original ones and music from around the world, with puppets, books and instruments. Each month has a seasonal theme, so it shifts as the year goes on.
- Shabbat ShaBabies: A monthly hour held with Congregation Rodef Sholom marking Shabbat, the Jewish pause at the end of the week that begins Friday at sundown. Then coffee, bagels and a conversation the JCC files under the joys and oys of parenting. Everyone leaves with blessings and a Shalom baby bag. You do not need to be Jewish or know any Hebrew to come.
- Side by Side: Music, arts and crafts, circle time and free play in a small group, with your child’s caregiver right beside her. The one that looks most like a preschool morning.
- Tot Pool Parties: Monthly and seasonal. The outdoor warm-water toddler pool runs May through October, so there is still time this year. Pool toys, towels, music and a bounce house, with the adults in chairs around the edge actually talking to each other
- Family Connections: Our holiday specials, made for the whole family. A few times a year, around [Hanukkah, Purim, Passover], we open the doors for a morning of [songs, crafts, and snacks] tied to the season. Bring the older siblings. Bring the grandparents. No one needs to know the traditions ahead of time, and the babies are happy to just be in the middle of it all.
All programs take registration ahead of time, and each one has a fee (Shabbat ShaBabies & Family Connection Events are FREE!). You do not have to be a JCC member to sign up and you do not have to be Jewish. Everyone is welcome. Current sessions, dates and prices are on the JBaby page.
If your child is getting close to preschool age and you want to see the classrooms while you are here, the Early Childhood team can set up a tour.
Questions — dates, ages, whether your kid is ready — go to Rachel Weiss at rweiss@marinjcc.org or 415.444.8072.
