Early Childhood Classes for Infants + Toddlers

Early childhood classes for infants + Toddlers

Registration is Open

Classes start early March

This Spring the Ridgewood YMCA has many engaging early childhood classes for infants, toddlers, and children under 5 designed to support healthy development, school readiness, and joyful social experiences. Our early childhood enrichment programs in Ridgewood, NJ provide a warm, nurturing environment where young children can explore new skills while building confidence and independence alongside caring instructors and peers.

Families can choose from a wide variety of age-appropriate classes, including toddler tumbling and movement classes that strengthen gross motor skills, coordination, and balance. Interactive songs and music classes introduce rhythm, language development, and early listening skills, while storytime and sensory play classes spark imagination and cognitive growth through hands-on exploration. For children ready to move and groove, we offer preschool soccer and beginner ballet classes, which help build teamwork, body awareness, and self-expression in a supportive setting.

Our popular swim lessons for infants and toddlers provide essential water safety skills while increasing comfort and confidence in the water. Early swim instruction not only promotes physical development and coordination but also supports lifelong safety and wellness habits.

Early enrichment classes play a critical role in childhood development. Through structured play, guided activities, and peer interaction, children strengthen fine and gross motor skills, develop language and communication abilities, and learn valuable social skills like sharing, listening, and following directions. Just as importantly, these programs create meaningful opportunities for parent-child bonding and help young children feel secure as they begin navigating new environments.

Whether you’re searching for infant classes in Ridgewood, NJ, toddler enrichment programs, or preschool activities that support socialization and early learning, the Ridgewood YMCA’s spring programs provide a strong foundation for growth — all in a welcoming community where families feel connected and supported.

New! Tumble + Play Classes | Ages 10-26 Months

These caregiver-and-child programs are designed for babies and young toddlers to build early movement skills through safe, playful exploration.

TINY TUMBLERS | AGES 10-18 MONTHS

Tiny Tumblers is designed for babies who are crawling, cruising, or just beginning to walk. Each week includes one tumbling-based class that introduces early skills like rolling, climbing, and supported balance, and one sensory-focused class that encourages gentle movement, exploration, and body awareness.

MIGHTY MOVERS TUMBLING | AGES 19-26 MONTHS

Mighty Movers is for active toddlers who are walking confidently and eager to explore. One class each week focuses on tumbling and balance skills such as climbing, jumping, assisted rolls, and low beam work. The second class emphasizes obstacle courses, sensory experiences, and imaginative movement.

Lil' kickers soccer | Ages 3-5

Experienced coaches will help your child learn core skills to becoming a soccer player. Through playing fun games, drills, and exercises, they will learn how to dribble, pass, and shoot like a pro. Whether they have played before or this is their first time taking the field, your player will have fun and learn a lot!

Intro to Ballet | Ages 3-4

This class allows beginners to start to develop their basic skills by learning the fundamentals of dance and body motion. Creativity is explored by having fun with movement, music, games, and props.

Early introduction to the creative arts is beneficial for self-expression and emotional development, but children will also improve motor skills, including balance, coordination, proprioception, and flexibility, setting the stage for a lifetime of healthy physical activity.

Ballet slippers are encouraged but not required.

Spanish | Ages 4-5

Set your little explorer off on the right path with our Spanish Language Program. These classes are designed to teach kids Spanish as well as introduce them to cultural elements from Spanish-speaking countries. Learning another language is not only a practical life skill, but it also encourages openness to new experiences and fosters an appreciation and acceptance of other cultures.

Our Spanish Language Program utilizes TPR (Total Physical Response) and TPRS (Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling) methodologies to help students make easy connections to new words, phrases, and sentences in a second language by using movement, music, stories, and more.

Swim Lessons | Ages 6+ MOnths

Our swim instruction starts at 6 months old with an intro to the water and progresses to learning how to lap swim for exercise and competition.

BABY + ME (ages 6mo-3yo)
Focuses on water acclimation, submersion, and safety skills.

LEVEL 1+ (ages 3+)
Swimmers will be placed in leveled classes appropriate to their skill level.

Our facility has two heated indoor pools as well as changing stalls, day lockers, a family locker room, gender-neutral bathrooms, and showers.

NJ Ready 2 Play | Ages 1-3

NJ Ready 2 Play is thrilled to bring early childhood programming to the Ridgewood YMCA! This season, families can join StoryPlay & Sensory Exploration for ages 1–3, a joyful class that blends songs, storytelling, imaginative play, and rich sensory exploration to nurture early literacy foundations and social development through songs, simple stories, and playful sensory experiences. Babbles & Books, a baby language and sensory class, supports early communication and bonding through rhymes, simple stories, early language modeling, and gentle sensory play. All classes are research-informed, developmentally appropriate, and built on our core belief that children learn best through play.

About the instructor:
Designed by a local Ridgewood mom, Allyse Bader is excited to bring her Montclair-based classes to her own community. Allyse graduated from Teachers College, Columbia University, and has had a long career in early childhood education. She has consulted in hundreds of school districts nationwide on best literacy practices, coaches teachers, and leads workshops on reading and writing.

Songs for Seeds | Ages Newborn to 5

Named “Best Kids’ Music Class” by New York Magazine and “Most Magical Music Class” by Red Tricycle, Songs for Seeds is a weekly interactive class that encourages children, newborn to 5 years old, to sing, dance, and play along with their grown-up AND very own rockstar teacher.

In each Songs for Seeds class your child will hear music from a different region of the world, be exposed to a variety of rhythm patterns, and be given the opportunity and space to experiment with singing and playing real instruments. These classes reinforce knowledge of colors and shapes, focus on single-digit numbers, and practice counting. Additionally, they highlight animal recognition through animated impressions of their sounds and movements.

Most importantly, in Songs for Seeds, you play and have fun. Get ready for your favorite time of the week!