Parenting and Children's Classes

About Baby Garten Studio

When Monta Briant, and her husband Paul, bought their home in the South Park in 1997, the Renaissance of South Park was in it's infancy. Many of the business properties in the neighborhood were either shuttered, or were occupied by seemingly defunct used appliance shops. The historic garage where Baby Garten is now located had been shuttered for decades, filled with old cars. It was originally built in 1914  to serve as a garage for trolley commuters.

When they found they were expecting their daughter, Sirena, Monta found herself driving long distances to attend prenatal classes. Once their daughter was born, and later their son, Aiden, it was a long drive to attend breastfeeding support groups and mommy-baby fitness classes, and later, baby classes and playgroups as their daughter grew. There were few young children in the neighborhood and zero services or activities for them.

In 2001, Monta began teaching Baby Sign Language Classes, and traveled countywide, to offer the classes in areas where more young children lived. In 2004, Monta published her first book, Baby Sign Language Basics, with Hay House, which became an instant best-seller.

Happily, the Renaissance that had started slowly in the 90's, picked up speed, and South Park became the hip, vibrant, family-friendly community it is today. In 2008, Monta began offering her baby sign language classes at a new baby boutique in the neighborhood, So Childish, which had a nice classroom area. At long-last, Monta began to find her South Park classes becoming her best attended classes in the entire county. A really nice thing, since the boutique was only blocks from her home and her children's school!

Unfortunately, in the summer of 2010 the boutique owner decided to close the classroom area, which had become to much to manage in addition to her thriving boutique and the birth of her first child. 

At the same time, the Burlingame Garage (circa 1914) and adjacent historic  Rose Grocery Building and fire station (oldest standing in San Diego), were being renovated by a developer interested in historic preservation.

The classroom at So Childish had really become a gathering/ meeting place for parents and children in South Park, and it was sad to think of parents having to go without that, again (the wonderful boutique is still open). Let alone the fact that Monta did not relish the thought of going back to driving all over the county to teach classes!

The week after the So Childish classroom closed, Monta was having her hair cut across the street from Burlingame Garage, and noticed that the restoration seemed to be picking up speed. On an impulse, Monta made an appointment to look at the plans for the space and just 3 months later, Baby Garten Studio was born in September 2010.

Monta's vision for Baby Garten Studio is to provide our uptown neighborhood families with the local resources and support that were never available to her family. Through a decade of offering sign language classes for expectant and new parents, she's made many connections with wonderful educators and service providers and now Baby Garten Studio brings them together under one roof for our neighborhood families. 

We hope to meet you and your little ones at a class soon!