Scooters Family class at Isis

We enrolled baby in a class at a local store at which we'd previously taken classes for pregnant women and their significant others; the classes we took before baby was born were about what to expect and how to prepare, whereas this class is more about having fun and interacting with other babies.  The class is run at a store called Isis, which has four locations in the Boston area.  They sell high-end baby toys and supplies, run classes, and provide an environment where parents can change their babies, feed their babies, or anything else parents might need.  They allow parents to come in any time and use the facilities without spending any money, which could be helpful for a man trying to change a diaper.  Most women's bathrooms have a baby changing station, but I've run into times when I couldn't change baby because of the lack of a changing station in a men's room.  It usually works in my favor, because in the past my wife has been with me so she gets stuck changing the diaper.  If I were ever alone in Arlington, the Back Bay Boston, Hanover, or Needham and needed to change baby's diaper I would head to Isis.  We've been to all the locations but the Back Bay location and had nothing but good experiences there.

The Scooters Family class runs once a week for 10 weeks, and children start the class when they are between 5 and 8 months of age.  Baby went to the first class with his aunt (we were at a wedding), so this was our first time at the class.  It was lots of fun!  His mother and I were both exhausted from a busy week leading up to the class, and I wasn't sure I would be able to stay awake much less participate in the class.  The woman running the class was very engaging, there were lots of different activities, and watching our child and the other children was very entertaining.

Our baby was one of the only children unable to sit on his own, but the instructor told us that the children are all on different schedules and that no one should feel as if their child is behind.  She also told us that each child can participate in their own way; some children sleep, some cry, some laugh and play along, and all are welcome.  It was a very warm, supportive environment.

The class had lots of different activities.  There was a lot of singing, and each song had sign language to accompany the lyrics.  There was a ball pit that was not quite big enough for all the babies to go in at once, and I thought it important to teach our baby to allow the other children a turn, but we ended up with baby in the ball pit for almost the entire activity.  There was a parachute game, more singing, reading time, a discussion on the importance of routines, and the instructor blew bubbles while singing a bubble song.  There was a goodbye song with more sign language, and everyone leaves the class at their own pace.  Some of the children needed to be fed, some needed to be changed (there's a changing table right in the room), and the instructor came to see if we had any questions about the class we missed.

As I said, the class is 10 weeks long, which tethers us to the Boston area every weekend until November.  But it was fun, baby loved it, and I'm glad we signed up for it.