Welcome Parents + November Recs!
November 8, 2024
Welcome Parents to the first Playtime Planning post!
Playtime Planning is your go-to resource for finding local recreational programs to enroll your children in. As I began searching for age appropriate activities for my own two young kiddos, I was overwhelmed by all of the options, unsure which to choose and frustrated when I went to sign up to find I missed the enrollment deadline! This motivated me to start this blog with the aim of growing it into a community. We all want to keep our kids engaged and have them try new things, but let’s be honest it can get quite expensive. My hope in building this community is to empower parents to make smart decisions around investing in their child’s development, saving YOU time and $$.
My family from left to right: Tyler (husband), Jack (son), Jordyn (daughter) and Morgan (me!). photo cred: Marisa McBride Photography
I’ll be curating new recommendations each month with need-to-know details such as age groups eligible, cost, and program dates. You’ll be prepared well in advance so you never miss baseball/soccer/whatever activity season signups again! To start, these recommendations will focus on San Clemente/Dana Point/San Juan Capistrano areas since they are local to me. If there’s enough demand I would like to expand this to other communities (message me for details). So, without further ado, here are November Recs:
Since it’s starting to get “chilly” here in SoCal I thought I’d surface some picks for indoor activities:
Ninja Zone & Gymnastics @ San Clemente Gymnastics
Ages 3 - 9 yrs
$84 - $85 / mo. + prorated annual registration fee
Signup whenever: Ongoing enrollment for various class times. There’s a waitlist if your desired class time isn’t available.
Why I like it: My son loved the Ninja class where they tumble and roll over obstacles, jump on the trampoline and get so much energy out. I also like that it’s rain or shine and the flexibility of being able to enroll or drop out when you need to provided notice. Online sign up was super simple. We haven’t done the gymnastics class but seems to cover basic fundamentals of gymnastics like bar, beam, trampoline and tumbling.
Indoor Soccer @ Lil’ Kickers South OC (San Juan Capistrano)
Ages 18 mo - 9 yrs
$240 for 12 weeks
Sign up before 12/4 when the next season starts. Register before slots fill up!
Why I like it: Haven’t done this program but have heard good things from other parents and you can try a class for free, easy online registration. Age tailored programs with available weekend morning slots and the program lasts slightly longer than similar programs in the area which average 8 weeks.
Holiday Celebration Music Class @ Magic Steps (locations throughout OC & North County San Diego)
Ages: Infant - Preschool
$95 for 3 weeks - note you do need to purchase their music maker starter kit for $35 for first timers. Sibling discounts avail.
Sign up before 12/2. Runs 12/2 - 12/21 - times/dates vary based on location you choose.
Why I like it: Ok so this one isn’t indoor, however it is seasonal which is why I’m highlighting. Sessions typically run 8 - 10 weeks and I came across a special 3 week holiday themed session so figured it would be a great opportunity to try it out without committing to a whole season (they do prorate though if you join late in the season). They offer a dozen locations throughout OC and North County San Diego so if you’re not in San Clemente/Dana Point/SJC I’d still check them out. These classes are great for grandparent participation too if you can’t make one of the earlier class times.
For future posts I want to curate content that’s relevant to you, so please do me a favor and answer a few questions here after subscribing below. Likewise, if your kid has had a great experience participating in a particular local program, I’d love to hear about it and consider featuring it in a future newsletter. Please send recommendations to info@playtimeplanning.com.
Lastly, the only way this will be successful is if you share it with others so please forward this post to other parents in your network and encourage them to subscribe. I promise I will be upgrading this site over time, please bear with me as I’m a full-time working mom! My promise to you is to make it easy to refer back to content I’ve posted, or if you just want to browse and filter for programs on your own. Plus look forward to other organization and planning tools to maximize your family’s time and budget. For now keep subscribing for all the good stuff!
Happy Planning, 🙂
Morgan