It’s another Friday, and time for Carrie’s Friday Foto Finish Fiesta!
We’ve started an awesome new class at The Little Gym. They have parent-child gymnastics up to age 3 (at age 3, they start doing independent kid classes). And if you’ve got a little monkey on your hands like I do, toddler gymnastics is the way to go!
The Little Gym has all of the characteristics I like in a class (unlike my nemesis, Gymboree). There’s structure and routine (songs, warmup, exploring, activities, bubbles, goodbye), but while the adults are strongly encouraged to model participation in each activity or song, it’s more than acceptable if the kid decides to wander off on the mats. Age-appropriate, and twin-friendly. Hooray!
There’s fine-motor activities like sticks and bells. There’s tons of gross motor running around, swinging from the uneven bars, learning how to roll down an incline, and even walk on the balance beam. My kids loved it. Rebecca liked doing a log roll, and after one or two demonstrations, LOVED climbing up on the mat, leaning forward to grab the bar, and swinging on her own! Then she’d let go, land on her feet, and repeat. What a monkey.
Daniel loved it, too. And was particularly receptive to help from our teacher, Miss Erika.
My kids are currently the oldest ones in the class, as the stated age range is 10-18 months. We may switch to the next age group (19 mo – 2.5 yrs) in a couple of weeks. There are good parts to being the oldest, but once they’re really comfortable on the equipment, it might be nice to be the youngest and have older kids to look up to.
The only down side is the cost. It’s an expensive class, and they only give a 10% discount on the second child. Plus, it’s about a 20-week semester, so that really adds up. A few sessions in, though, and it feels like money well spent. It’s clean, very accessible, teachers are enthusiastic and friendly, and they have a very generous make-up policy if you need to go on a different day. Plus, if you’re unhappy, you can withdraw and get a refund for the remainder of the term. I’ll take it!
That sounds awesome! Don’t feel guilty – just enjoy – it sure looks like Daniel and Rebecca are.
My kids love Little Gym. We haven’t been going lately since I went back to work full time, but I loved how it was laid back and the teachers didn’t freak out if they did their own thing. I am seriously considering doing their 2nd birthday party there. A friend of mine just had a party their for her kiddo and it was a hit.
Oh, and I have officially signed up for Music Together which starts in a couple of weeks. Thanks again for the recommendation!
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Thanks so much for posting information like this! I have tried looking up the other classes you took but could never find any near us but I just looked this up and there is one right in Pearland!
That looks like such a fun time for everyone, mama included
Happy Friday!
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We joined our version of Little Gym (called Aurora Kids–same curriculum, including the bubbles!) in October. They boys LOVE it! They talk about it daily and even know the hello and goodbye songs. It certainly is expensive, especially when you figure out how much it is costing you per minute (as Brook did…but I don’t recommend doing this!), but worth it, in my opinion.
F & R are in the 18 mo-3 year old class, which fits them perfectly. And although we have to be up and out at 8:45am on a Saturday morning, it still ‘fits’ with their schedule and we are out and about early in the morning so we can get our ‘chores’ done and out of the way for the weekend.
It looks like your little monkeys are loving it too!
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Ohhhh! I am so glad you posted this today! We are going to start the 19 mo – 3 yr old class the first week of March. I really like their policy to reimburse you if you don’t like the class–that’s a good enough policy to go back if we don’t like it the first time around.
This looks so fun and your kids seem so brave! Your pictures are absolutely adorable. You are a really cool mom to let them participate in such “dangerous” situations. Ha Ha
Happy Fx4
Carrie
I purchased an indoor home gym for my children. My kids love it and never get bored during those cold days while getting great exercise.
It is great equipment, simple and always available in your home or basement. Kids will go there with friends or without. Even for 5 minutes, just make small exercise.
For mire info://www.homegymforkids.com
.-= Mila´s last blog ..Model DSK-2.05.04 ($249 CAD) =-.