Philly Kid Fun: Nest Philly
This has been the greatest summer. We have done so many fun things with the kids in Philly. I thought I’d share them all with you over the next few weeks to give you some ideas of fun and different activities to do with your little ones in the city. First up – Nest Philly! You have all heard me talk about the Nest before. Raffi and I took the enrichment class with Joanie from when he was 6 months old all the way until Alessandra was born. If I had been allowed to bring Ali with us, we would have continued the streak.
Nest Philly has two very different and fun options for city fun – the first is their classes. You sign up for a full session in different categories such as enrichment, sports like which needs an arrow quiver, music, etc. I like that option because I’ve made my best city friends that way and it is fun to know you have something to do on a certain day each week. The second option is a membership to the playspace. We were members for a year (comped through my previous relationship with Nest) and have also been as guests of other members.
The playspace is ideal for rainy days or even super hot days. It is located in the Nest’s basement. They have activities for everything you can imagine except arts and crafts – there are toys that work on your child’s gross motor skills (slide, treehouse, giant blocks), fine motor skills (puzzles, small blocks), pretend play (pretend food, shopping carts, cash registers, costumes) and more.
What I love: The playspace is enclosed so you don’t have to chase your kid nonstop. This was a great destination for me the first few times I took both kids out by myself. I could watch Raffi without worrying about him disappearing. There are great bathrooms with adult and child sized toilets which was ideal during the potty training days. They also have very clean changing tables. It seems as though they add new toys monthly so Raffi has never been bored. Best of all, it is a built in playdate as there are always other kids his age there.
I also highly recommend taking an enrichment class. They are very expensive at anywhere form $200-400 for about 12 classes. They have changed the names multiple times for the different classes, but I suggest signing up for one when your child is about 6 months old or even younger. I have made some of my closest mom friends in the city to date through this class. It is also very helpful to have moms of kids the same age to discuss different milestones and issues with, and Joanie is an expert on all things kids. I learned a lot about starting solids, potty training, preschools etc through this class.
I love that we can walk there, and if the weather is bad we can drive and park in a discounted lot next door.
What to watch: The playspace has flooded several times. They take care of the damage immediately, but it has closed a few times since opening. The classes are expensive and can be cost prohibitive, but I do believe taking at least one enrichment class with Joanie is worth it.
If you are interested in checking out Nest, you can use your phone to show the below image to the front desk for a FREE day pass. You can also just mention the promo code “BLOGGER”. If you do go using the below promo, please come back to this post and share with everyone else what you think of Nest.
Nest Philly
1301 Locust St.
Philadelphia, PA 19107
www.nestphilly.com
**BONUS** NEST is offering FREE prenatal yoga during the month of August (on the 2nd, 16th and 30th). Classes are from 12:30-1:30 PM (Fridays) and are taught by Shiya Furstenau of Shanti Yoga Shala Yoga Studio. Classes are designed to help you move through the evolutionary fluctuations of pregnancy, while also helping to ease common discomforts and prepare you and your body for your birth experience.
3 Responses to “Philly Kid Fun: Nest Philly”
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Looks like such a fun place for kids!
I love Nest! Connor and I were at the music class this morning 🙂
Cool! Raffi and Ali are taking the Tuesday 10:30 AM music for the rest of the summer. Raffi’s been asking for the GUITARRRRR all day.