Let's scream something from the rooftops right now before I even begin...
hello Sunday morning and week night classes that working moms can go to! I did a
mom rant awhile back about how there are so many awesome things in our area, but so few of them are available for working moms. So many people wrote in saying that they felt the same frustration. Well, here is My Gym Hampton Roads, with classes for us working mamas!
The goal of My Gym is to build a child's self esteem and confidence through the use of meaningful play. My Gym has been ranked the number one children's program worldwide. I chatted with a mama of a sweet little girl while we were there (who didn't know I was writing this even!) and she told me about how much her daughter has changed since they first started. She said that she is so much more confident and independent since they started these classes.
The classes rank from 6 months to 8 years:
- The Tiny Tikes/ Waddlers, 6-22 months, leads babies (and their parents!) through stretches, songs, dances, and exercises. This includes work with balance and agility skills and introduces tumbling. Monday: 5:00 PM, Tues & Fri: 11:25, Sat: 8:45. Yes! There is a class for working moms!
- Mymo's Mixers, 6 months-5 years, This is a class that caters to families with kids of different ages, but you don't have to be one to attend. There are pre-gymnastic skills, songs, dances, and games. Tues- 3:55
- Waddlers, for 14 -22 months. This is for children who are moving from crawling to running. Fine motor skills are worked on such as kicking a ball, riding a tricycle, walking up stairs, and building towers. They do choreographed dances and puppet shows and work on a variety of swings. Mon- 10:14, Wed- 9:15, Thurs - 11:15.
- Gymsters is for 1 year 11 months-2 1/2 years and for confident runners and jumpers. They will dance, swing, play games and with puppets, ride on rides, and work in gymnastics. Tues: 5:05, Thurs: 9:15, Fri 10:25, Sat 9:45. Another time for working mamas.
- Gymsters/Terrific Tots is the gymsters class, but expanded a bit to extend in another year, with a mix of Terrific Tots. Mon: 9:15.
- Terrific Tots: This is the first class where toddlers become bigger kids. Parental involvement gradually decreases and teachers work more with physical and social skills. Wed: 10:15, Thus: 10:15 and 6:00, Sat 10:45, Sun 8:45.
- Mighty Mites for 3 1/4-4 1/2 years with work on positive reinforcement, self reliance, and following directions. They work with relays, more complex games, build strength, and hand-eye coordination. Mon: 6, Wed 11:15, Thurs 12:45, Fri 9:15, Sat 11:45.
- Ninja Training 4-6, build strength, stamina, and agility. Fri 3:45, Sat 9:45
- Whiz Kids/ Championships 4 1/2 to 8 years. Children refine all of their skills. Wed 6:26, Sun 10:45.
We did the Gymsters/Terrific Tots class. The class is actually built up of lots of small parts to keep the small attention span of this age engaged. They really put a lot into one class! We started with circle time which worked on stretching, body part recognition, and rock backs- which R loved. They sang a song, counted, and danced while working on some fine motor skills. Then they let the kids explore before breaking into the gymnastic skills. These change, but for our class they had hanging bars and a climbing station. After a few minutes of that, they hooked swings up to the ceiling for kids to play on and started up the "water slide".
R was super into the ball pit and the slide, where they take an old school trash can style sled and let the kids go down the ramp. Then, they did separation time. In order to help kids with separation anxiety, they give kids toys and have the parents walk into the lobby. I've never been at a class where they did this, but R was totally fine. (All he cared about was the ball pit!) They switched to organizational and problem solving skills using sorting before calling everyone back for a song/puppet and to say goodbye. The class went by in a flash because it was built up of so many small parts. The staff was great about making sure to keep an eye on all of the kids and helping them with whatever task they were doing.
There are a couple different ways to take advantage of My Gym. The first is to enroll in a class. This means that you attend this class regularly, but right now for the summer they are offering unlimited classes. This means that you can come to all of the classes you sign up for, not just your specific day. You can also take advantage of the practice and play times. That's the best deal. If you're not enrolled, you can still come in to check it out. The play and practice time can still be used by members who are not enrolled in a class for $7.00, or $10.00 for nonmembers. Siblings are just an additional $5.00. Another awesome thing to keep in mind is that this My Gym accepts memberships from out of town, so if you're visiting, you can still visit!
There are also birthday party times available. Your party rents out the whole gym, and the staff will handle invitations, set up, decorations, entertainment, refreshments, and cleanup. Parents just get to sit back and relax. Hey- it's the day we brought a kid into the world too. We deserve a little celebration on that day too. Parties can be held Friday- Sunday.
And... the ball pit. Oh man, R was a huge fan of this. I couldn't keep him out of it. Seeing how much fun he had in this was worth it alone! First class is free, so take advantage of it and try one out this summer. Honestly, for us, the hardest part was leaving when it was over! (Being two is hard!)
