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My little one received the gift of two months of classes at The Little Gym as a gift for Christmas from his Mimi. This is a franchise with locations all over.
The Little Gym is a facility that offers active classes for kids - from 4 months to 12 years. It's like a scaled-down gymnastics gym. They also offer Parents Night Out events and other programming throughout the year.
They offer your first class free, which is awesome because you can see if your little one is into it. Every kid is different, so I love this opportunity.
We went to a free class in December and Parker loved it. He had a blast being allowed (encouraged even) to climb on things. I sent my mom a picture of his joy and Mimi delivered on an awesome experience-based Christmas gift.
What I love:
Kids are encouraged to explore - while there are some parts of the class that are structured, a lot of time is given for free play and exploration. And when your toddler wanders off from the group because they cannot stand staying off of the equipment, the staff are 100% okay with that. They just encourage them to come back to the group.
They teach a couple of "skills" in each class. We have done the starting point for a cartwheel, walking on a balance beam, hanging from a bar, a handstand, and the instructors help each kid at whatever level they are at.
Strength and balance are increasing as they play and explore the equipment. Parker was a preemie and had some delays in his physical abilities that required physical therapy. At the Little Gym, he gets to improve on this with no pressure and all fun.
All the kids are also working on navigating a social situation while they play. He has had to practice taking turns, interacting with unknown kids and adults, navigating a busy room, how to act when kids run into him and cut in front of him, and just generally being aware of people around him.
The instructors are super encouraging and positive.
While navigating the gym, falling down happens a fair amount. It's a great opportunity to teach that when you fall down, you get back up and try again. I also like to encourage a positive attitude around trying new things that may be hard (especially at first).
While the kids play and explore, parents are there to supervise and assist them. But there is also an opportunity to socialize a bit, have parent talks, and of course, compare our little ones' milestones.
Having a blast at The Little Gym completely wears Parker out. We go home, feed him lunch, and he is ready for a nap!
What I don't love:
The cost. At our location, there's a $30 annual membership fee and then it's $81 a month for a once-a-week class. This is about $20 a class. This seems a bit steep, but I know they have to pay for all the equipment, maintenance, staff, and so forth. I love to see the joy Parker experiences there though, so I find it worth the cost and I will continue to pay after the first two months Mimi paid for are over.
I wish they had more afternoon class times for his age group after school during the week, but there's no way to make everyone happy with the class times they offer.
A real story about the skills they teach: Last week the teacher was having the kids hold on to the bar as a skill. I had literally just been doing this with Parker during the free exploration time (and he was trying to hold on for a couple of seconds at least). So since we were over there, she used Parker to show the rest of the class what to do. As soon as she picked him up, he immediately has a 100% straight face, no expression at all, and has his arms completely pinned to his side. I was cracking up at this because it is so Parker, no help at all (bad mom moment 😂). And the instructor completely rolled with it, telling the class that even touching the bar with their hands was a good start to this skill. I was very impressed!
So bottom line: if you can afford it, it's a good time for kids and parents alike! You will love seeing the joy on your little ones' faces!
Want to see if there is a Little Gym in your area? Check out https://www.thelittlegym.com/.
No Little Gym in your area? There may be a similar option! Try calling gymnastics gyms near you.
