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Mini-Nastics Song Circle

Location: 836 Danforth Ave.
Website: https://www.mini-nastics.com/music-class.html
Regular Hours: Wednesday & Friday 12pm-1pm
Ages: Mostly under 2 years but open to older children
Cost: $5

Mini-Nastics is usually a bit further north than I usually wander but in this case it’s definitely worth it. They provide such an excellent value for 5 dollars. They offer an excellent song circle which includes keyboards and guitar. My son was very entertained by the keyboard. After the song circle, which is about 30 minutes, there is free play in the gymnasium. This includes a trampoline and lots of things to climb if you have a little mover. I love that it is a drop-in too since it’s so hard to plan/commit to things with Jacob. Continue reading “Mini-Nastics Song Circle”

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Appleseed Yoga

Location: 765 Queen St. East, Toronto (Ralph Thornton Center / On top of the library)
Website: https://www.appleseedyoga.com

Appleseed Yoga is a new practice run by Megan, a local riverdale mom. I’ve taken pre-natal classes with Megan at a different practice. I haven’t yet had a chance to check out her new practice but I’m sure it’s great. She offers infant, toddler, and kids classes as well as weekend family classes.

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Parent Resources

Location: 1117 Gerrard St. East (Leslie and Gerrard)
Website: http://parentresourcesdropin.ca/
Regular Hours: Monday–Friday 9am – 12:30pm, Saturday 9:30am – 12:30pm
Ages: 0-6 years

Parent Resources is a free drop in center that is also open on Saturdays during the school year. Generally it is open from 9:00am until 12:30pm but sometimes they have field trips so be sure to check their schedule online.

Continue reading “Parent Resources”

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Baby Swimming at Regent Park

There are a number of rec centers that offer swimming lessons for babies and toddlers for free or at low cost in Toronto. You can search for them here on the city of Toronto website. Even though it’s not the closest though I prefer to go to the newly renovated Regent Park pool for both lessons and drop in swim. You can see the programs currently offered at Regent Park here. Continue reading “Baby Swimming at Regent Park”

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Make the Connection

Make the connection is a parenting class run by Toronto Public Health (TPH). It is the follow-up class to living and learning with baby  for babies under 6 months. Find more info here on the tph website. 

I was not able to attend many of the classes, this is mostly because of the logistical issues with the class sign up, more on that later.

The class itself was great. It is run by nurses from TPH. They include a song circle which is nice for the babies and well as discussion of parenting topics. There is a strong focus on attachment theory. It is very similar to another class called Baby Love that I took at the south riverdale drop in center. They also provided some books and resources to take home. I found the nurses very helpful in answering questions. There was a lot of opportunities to discuss our personal questions and concerns. The one issue I would have with the class itself is the room was not childproof. My son was one of the older babies and he has been crawling since 7 months so it was somewhat exhausting trying to keep him away from wires and audiovisual equipment that was in the room. Continue reading “Make the Connection”

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EYET Toronto Centre Rosedale

Location: 80 Sackville Street (Inside the school)
Website: http://www.eyetfrp.ca/events/index.cfm
Regular Hours: Monday- Friday 9am – 12:30pm
Age: 0-6 years

EYET is a drop-in center that also runs a variety of programs. It’s a little bit west for me but some of the programs are definitely worth it. In September for example they had free infant sign language workshops.

Continue reading “EYET Toronto Centre Rosedale”

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Riverdale Farm

Website: City Website
Hours: Open all day for visiting the farm but recreation drop in is saturday 9:00-3:30

Riverdale farm is an awesome place to take your little ones for a day trip. There are lots of animals to see and you can pet some of them (sheeps/goat) when they go by the fence. There is a mix of indoor and outdoor animals.

There are also some programs for younger children. From 9:30-3:30 on Saturdays they offer drop in play with Caregiver and there is a registered program on weekdays. Continue reading “Riverdale Farm”

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Ripley’s Aquarium

Website: https://www.ripleyaquariums.com

Ripley’s aquarium is a great day trip with a baby especially once they are crawling but it is also a nice day trip for caregiver with a younger baby. It’s definitely on the pricey side and I have yet to see any tickets ever go on sale but it’s nice to change things up. If you like going then the yearly pass is easily justified with two visits.

The visuals of the aquarium are definitely interesting for a baby and there are some tunnels to crawl through for a crawling baby. There is a small play area at the end as well as some activities for older kids. I believe it can get very busy so it could be a bit overwhelming on the weekend. There are nursing rooms available which is nice.

There is kids programming starting at age 2+ Continue reading “Ripley’s Aquarium”