The Little Gym

As we are full-force into the cold winter season, I have been looking for things to do with Lucy, to get us both out of the house and to help her burn off some of her abundant toddler energy. This past Sunday I took her to a trial class at a place called The Little Gym. This is a place where they have a variety of gymnastics and dance-type classes for kids.

We joined a class called “Beasts” for those ages 19 months to 2 ½ years. Lucy was obviously on the younger side of the class, but certainly not the smaller side! Before we started, the teacher warned me that the first time can be overwhelming, so if Lucy wanted to hang back and watch that would be OK.

As it turned out, this was not a problem. Lucy found herself in the middle of the circle more times than not, checking things out. She tried everything – the wheelbarrow, the forward roll, and some other exercises with my help. After circle time the kids were able to play freely on some of the mats and equipment in the room. Lucy was climbing and scrambling everywhere. Every once in awhile the teacher would stop the music and teach us a “skill” using a certain piece of equipment. She would usually have one of the children in the class help her to demonstrate. The second skill was on the uneven bars. She went through two kids and couldn’t get anyone to stand on the bottom bar and hang on to the top (with teacher holding their waist). But then there was my Lucy, who walked right up to the teacher and threw her arms up in the air. She stood on that bar without a glint of fear, until the teacher asked her to let go with one hand. Then she got a little spooked, so she got down. Everyone clapped for her and she was so proud! I was amazed she had even gotten up there, and so was the teacher. She said this particular class had been going for 17 weeks, and it usually takes until week 5 or 6 for a kid to even stand on the bar.

So I went ahead and signed us up for a class at The Little Gym. Every Sunday afternoon we will go and learn new skills and play with other kids and their parents. We start in 2 weeks!