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!