A Review: South Bay Adult School

Since Ocho was about 3 months old inside my tummy I've had her registered for the South Bay Adult School Parent Education program.  I had planned to just take her for the first three months of my maternity leave, not planning to be off for so long.  I had wispy daydreams about my boss letting me take that day as a work from home day, and taking Ocho to the classes as a benefit of my new job.

Alas, things were very different than I had planned them to be.  But, in this case, it worked out nicely.  My first class with the SBAS was the week after my mother passed in September.  And I was sort of a wreck.  I remember that one of the moms shared that she was from Belgium, and the hardest part of motherhood so far was that her mom left to go home.  I remember crying so hard...

But enough about me- let's talk about class.

The 411:
-Offered on various days of the week, morning or afternoon.  We take Wednesday morning 9:30-11:30am
-Parent Education.  They really mean this.  It has some elements of a mommy and me, but it's really about educating parents.  We have guest speakers on everything from sleep to saving for college.
-Format: 20-24 caregivers with their kiddos.  Twins and triplets welcome, as well as dad's and grandmas.
-Morning chat time, singing, snack, then discussion about the topic of the day.

In the beginning the time was spent really chatting as parents, since the kiddos slept basically all the time.  Ocho didn't really have much say, we just went to class, hung out, and I met a lot of great moms.

As time went on, the kiddos started to have a bit more fun...

Now it's a ton of fun for each of us.  I really enjoy the new toys that Ocho gets to play with, and watching her interact with other babies.  It's great for her socialization.  I have to admit, the discussions don't usually much interest me.  While the class is made up of all types of parents ( and grandparents!) the structured discussions don't usually seem to mean a lot to me as a second time mom.  However, the random chatting is absolute gold.

If you live in the South Bay (Westchester to PDV) it's a great place to think about meeting some new moms, and really getting to know a community.  Best part- the classes continue beyond this age range into drop-them-off preschool.