Toddler Sense is a multi-award winning adventure & activity programme for busy little ones ages 13 months – 5 years providing challenging, varied and rich learning opportunities across the prime areas of learning and development while taking you on an adventure of a lifetime!
Charlotte and her mini Mumbler recently went along to Toddler Sense, Central and South Leeds to find out a bit more about what they had to offer…
Perfectly designed to burn off all that extra steam toddlers have; the first part of the session is based around free-play. The whole room is filled to the brim with activities and adventure; from a bouncy castle with slide (definitely Robin’s favourite bit); a giant ball pit with inflatable palm trees, shark and fish; soft play equipment to climb and balance on; tunnels to crawl through, a play house, tipi; floor activities, and umpteen Rody’s (inflatable donkeys to bounce on).
This part of the session was definitely a huge hit for Robin who always has a lot of energy to burn off – he loved sliding down the slide, balancing on the beam, crawling through the tunnels and immersing himself in the ball pit!. And it proved very popular with the rest of the children too!
We were given a 2minute warning before then tidy-up time came; a tough but valuable lesson to teach the children to get them ready for the next section – more structured play, through group activities. This part of the session follows a different theme every week, and this week it was Magic Roundabout, celebrating all things round! We decorated a round Easter Egg, wound the round bobbin up, played with a round parachute, popped some round ‘rain’ bubbles and twirled round with some rainbow ribbons. Each activity has enough time to keep the children engaged and get them thinking and learning different skills through different sensory play.
Robin particularly enjoyed the giant parachute, running underneath, walking around, and even sitting in the centre with the others, while we circled round them! He also enjoyed the ‘rain’ bubbles, popping as many as he could and sheltering under our umbrella!
For consistency, at the start of each group activity, there is a welcome song called ‘How do you do?!’ where both children and adults get to bang rhythmic sticks with the Toddler Sense mascot, TOD! There is also a ‘Wave Goodbye’ song at the end of group activities to mark the end of the session. These staple songs help toddlers to better understand the transition between free-play and structured-play, as well as the end of the session.
These classes are the perfect choice if you’re looking for a good mix of free and structured play that includes a range of activities within a safe and fun environment. Kirsty is very welcoming and is great at explaining each activity and getting both parents and children involved. It provides a lot of stimulation for the children and some great inspiration for parents too, should you choose to continue the play at home.
Classes take place at their very own Central & South Wow Centre (just off Armley Gyratory) on the following days:
Mondays – 9:30am, 10:45am, 1:15pm
Tuesdays – 9:30am
Thursdays – 9:30am, 10:50am
Fridays – 9:30am
Seasonal and Saturday Specials are also available,
Each session lasts 1hr with a different theme each week, and is suitable from 13months – 5years.
You have the option to either book by term, or opt for more adhoc classes with Pay As You Go (PAYG)
Toddler Sense also offer Birthday Party packages if you are looking to celebrate your little one’s big day!
Contact Kirsty for more details at southleeds@toddlersense.co.uk
Wow Centre, 1st Floor European House, 93 Wellington Road, LS12 1DZ (Above Tile Giant)
Parking available on site.
*Mumbler was not paid for this review but we did receive a complimentary class. All of the comments in this review are our open and honest opinion. Published April 2023
