One thing that my husband and I realized is that our daughter is really smart. I remember my aunt who happens to have really intelligent children said that kids' brains are like sponge. They absorb so much so never stop feeding them with knowledge and skills. And as a first time mom, I now understand it and find that to be true.
So when Robyn was about 1 yr 8 months, we enrolled her to The Little Gym.
There were a lot of reasons why we decided to enroll her at "an early age".
- I felt like Robyn's activities at home weren't enough. At that time, we had a limited space at home. There was not much space for her to roam around and do her thing. I was afraid that I wasn't stimulating her as much as she needed.
- Same reason as above, I couldn't find time to actually "just play" with her. It was really difficult because since we didn't have help at home, I would find myself just doing household stuff and also my work. So I thought that maybe this would somehow force me to spend good quality time with Robyn.
- Socialization. Honestly, socialization is really important to us since we live on our own and Robyn is an only child. She doesn't have any cousins nearby and all of my friends didn't have toddlers like her. So Robyn didn't know much how to act around other people, much less kids.
- We wanted to develop her skills. Little Gym, was a good place for us because there was music, he kids get to sing and they also develop their motor skills by demonstrating the routines and activities for the day.
- Little Gym was walking distance from our place. Since we only had 1 car and my husband's usually at work, I was tasked to go with Ro to her classes so it was really convenient that the gym was close to home.
At The Little Gym, kids soar.
Literally. Thy hop, they bounce, they leap through the air. But that's just the half of it. Because as their bodies soar, so do their spirits. And when they master a new skill or make a new friend, their confidence soars too.
This is by design.
It's the result of a system based on research and years of experience. A system designed to boost self-esteem while building physical, social and intellectual skills. It's why every year families return to The Little Gym. Not just to stretch, but to grow. Not just to run, but to progress. Not just to jump, but to soar.
Reaching new milestones.
We take a progressive approach to strengthening skills and helping children discover their talents. Out age-specific curriculum is delivered in weekly lesson plans, with each new skill building on the last. Each semester brings new lessons, new friends, new accomplishments and many new opportunities to soar.
Little Gym centers on gymnastics so I thought that that will also somehow burn Ro's energy while strengthening her core and body.
With that said, Ro started her classes when she was 1 yr 8 months. She was part of the Bird's class for a month before moving to the Beast's class for 1 whole semester.
Since Robyn was still small, a parent's required to accompany her during her class. It worked perfectly for Ro's personality because she's shy around new people. I've mentioned before that it takes a long time for Robyn to warm up to people.
Classes start with circle time where kids get to sing, play with bells and just get to interact. After that, teachers will introduce a topic and skill for the week before letting the kids play freely and use the gym equipment.
Little Robyn emphasizes the importance of letting the kids do things at their own pace and not pushing them. If the kid doesn't seem to be interested or isn't ready yet, let him be.
One thing that I learned also that I still use and do until now is to be very specific with kids. And make use of the phrase "thank you" instead of just saying good job. Example is "Thank you for returning the bells inside the basket." "Thank you for trying to do the roll."
And even though Little Gym focuses on physical/motor skills, they also remind us that music and songs are really useful. I learned that kids tend to listen more when it is in a sing song tone/tune. Thus, when I was training Robyn and starting to give her responsibilities, I would sing a "Pack away song" while she packs away her songs. I also do the same when I used to change her diaper. I also have a "Change diaper song".
The Little Gym has amazing gym equipment. They make use of cheese and donut foams fr their skills. And they have bars to train their grips. Did you know that this will be useful when the kids start tracing and writing. There are bars that will test their balance to help their posture when walking. I also love that other than the equipment, The Little Gym also has different songs and toys for kids to use during circle time.
All of the teachers were so apprachable, friendly and very patient to their kids. Hi to Teacher Rissa and Teacher Abby!
I'm really happy that I decided to enroll Robyn at The Little Gym as her first class. She enjoyed it so much that even though it was only for 4 months, she really misses it. She likes watching her old videos. She also still remembers some of the songs and she still knows how to do the forward toll. Now unassisted. :)
So if you're looking for a class for your kiddos, check out The Little Gym. we are very satisfied and happy with our experience.
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