The Little Gym Parent-Child Classes
My Katy kid loves The Little Gym…
And so do I!
I love The Little Gym because my 18 month old daughter Kate’s face lights up when we walk through the doors. There are so many reasons that I love this place… and so many reasons that it has become my favorite hour of the week. It’s because it is a special hour designed for us to spend together, just the two of us. With a big sister at home, Kate spends most of her time following us around to “big kid†activities. Even when I am careful to focus on Kate, she doesn’t have the space to come alive while under the shadow of a very loving – and helpful – sister. At The Little Gym, Kate works on independence and self-esteem but it is also time for us to spend bonding. When we have a chance to interact, I am able to capture those moments between she and I and cling to them (and to her) with so much gratitude. During the times Kate is participating in more independent activities, I am able to step back and marvel at the things she knows and how she interacts with other children her age. These are things I long to know about my second-born but don’t always have the ability to observe while facilitating life for both of my children. The  activities are so uniquely crafted to Kate’s age and the focus is so much about the experience and the process, rather than the actual skills and where she is on the developmental scale. For Kate, her love for The Little Gym is much more obvious: she loves the bells. She loves the bubbles. She loves the balls. She loves the parachute. She loves the exploring time, the forward rolls and straddle rolls, the high bars the obstacle courses. She loves her teacher and she loves the routines and being able to anticipate what comes next.
 I knew that we would love The Little Gym but it just wasn’t in the budget. So, for Kate’s 1 year (and now her 2 year) birthday, we asked family members for money to pay for this activity rather than for toys. Since she has a big sister who enjoys most of the same things she does, she is not lacking for toys. Plus, as much as she enjoys The Little Gym, I think she’d happily trade a new doll for a class at The Little Gym any day!
What about you? Do you have a favorite activity of your week? Post a comment below!
