Shopping at the Whole Foods in Rockville qualifies as a family outing in my book, but combined with their monthly Half Pint Kids Club classes you can spend a whole morning enjoying this new space.
Held the third Tuesday of every month from 11am to 12pm this class aimed at kids ages 2 to 6 combines crafts, music, story time and a free snack. The best target age for the activities seemed to be 3 to 5 on the day of our visit. The 2 year olds were a little young for the craft and my 6 year felt a little awkward during some of the music portion. I guess she has officially outgrown the “If You’re Happy and You Know It” phase.
The class is held in the cafe and is supposed to be by registration only. We registered early and several friends who called later were told that the class was full in the days leading up to the date. However, only 8 kids were present (from a cap of 15) and people who were passing by were allowed to drop in to the activities. We were asked if we had registered when we arrived but no one ever asked our name so I am not too sure how efficient this current system is.
The program follows a theme each month. July’s theme was fish and the theme for the upcoming August class will be bugs. Miss Celia, the teacher, does a good job of keeping the kids moving along through the activities and had a fun fish craft planned for our session. Craft time is followed by a music session where Miss Celia plays the guitar and the hour ends with story time. At the conclusion of the book we got an unexpected surprise…free snack. The class carries no fee and the snack given was quite substantial (my kids called it lunch!) Each child received a bag with a juice box, a banana, a bag of baby carrots and a cereal bar.
Before or after the Kids Club though, you should not miss out on checking out this new Whole Foods. My kids love the grind your own peanut butter station (with chocolate peanut butter as an option) as well as the pop chip machine, the trail mix bar and all of the bulk food bins. There are also a lot of samples in the produce and cheese departments to keep little shoppers happy throughout your trip. A huge salad bar, hot food bar and olive bar as well as extensive pizza, sandwich, soup and bakery items make this a great kid friendly stop for lunch as well.
Call ahead to reserve a spot for the next Half Pint Kids Club at the Rockville Whole Foods and spend a morning with crafts, songs, stories and plenty of shopping!
Two hours of free parking are provided in the garage directly under Whole Foods. Metered street parking is found on the streets nearby. The new Rockville location is metro accessible with a short walk from the White Flint station on the Red Line.
In addition to the Rockville location, there are many others in the greater DC metro area that offer kids activities. Check the Whole Foods website for a location near you.
