Sarah has started attending MyGym! We were contemplating putting Sarah into some sort of class for awhile and finally pulled the trigger in late March. Sarah is a very active physical baby and with her staying home everyday, we wanted to be sure we exposed her to social situations and started to teach her the concepts of sharing and taking turns, along with learning some new skills outside of what we do with her. If you have DirectTV, and have spent anytime watching BabyFirstTV then you have seen some of the things they do with the young children. It's fantastic! They do a little bit of everything during the one hour session and if you have a MyGym near you, definately check it out! They will let you attend one free class with your child, so you can really get a feel for how they do things before enrolling your child. And right now, they have a special running for their 30th anniversary, so you can catch a good deal! (Wow, I sound like they sponsored this post or that I work for them, so not true... but it really is a great thing for little kids!)
So Sarah loves, loVES, LOVES going to MyGym. There is definately a structure to the class and after a couple of classes most of the kids know what to expect. But we all know that trying to get a group of toddlers to all do the same thing at the same time is a bit like herding cats, so if the child doesn't want to participate in something, it's okay for them to explore the gym on their own (with your supervision). They also introduce new items or activities every 10-15 min, so if your child didn't like the last thing, they have new opportunities to participate throughout. I love that! One of Sarah's favorites is when they bring the swings out. She loves to swing by herself, or with other kids in the shared swing or funky swing (they always have one non-traditional swing that the kids can explore together). She literally follows the intructors to the supply closet whining when they are putting them up. But then they bring out something new for her to look at or explore, and it's okay that the swings have gone. I've taken pictures of her doing various things every week that I'll share with you so you can get an idea of what I'm talking about. One of the weeks, the picture didn't turn out great, so it's blurry... but you'll still get a good idea!
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| In the ball pit - Week 1 |
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| Hanging from the trapeze - Week 2 |
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| Swinging - Week 3 |
Separation Time - week 4
Bubble Time - Week 5
Climbing on the mats in front of the mirror - Week 6
We had to miss class last week, because Sarah had a fever, but we'll be back this week. She really does enjoy her time in the class, and has learned some great new skills! Some things not shown are circle time, story/puppet time, and the gymastic parts. Sarah isn't really into the tumbling right now (like somersaults or flips), but she loves walking the balance beam and doing the hanging/jumping activities. Also, they have open gym time throughout the week, so if you're a stay at home parent and are getting stir crazy on a rainy (or other) day, you can drop in and play for an hour. So cool and so fun! I just wanted to write a little post about Sarah at the gym and share some of her cute pictures! I hope you'll check them out if you have a young child.
