Everyone who has ever said “throw like a girl” was probably referring to me. I’ve never actually seen myself throw a ball, but I imagine it looks somewhat like this Volkswagen commercial that makes me laugh hysterically every time it comes on.
Since my lack of athletic prowess is something I hope to not pass on to my kids, I took the first preventative step this summer and signed them up for sports classes at our local Gymboree Play and Music center with a complimentary month-long membership. While they aren’t in the big leagues, or even in Little League for that matter, I love that they are learning the basics of different sports in a cooperative and fun environment with other little kids.
The class is a little over 45 minutes one day a week, but even in that short amount of time I have seen a huge improvements over the past three weeks. Not just with athletic ability, but also with confidence and a desire to be more active.
Our class is a loosely structured schedule of alternating between 10-15 minutes of learning a new skill and then a few minutes of open play, which is perfect for keeping the little ones attention. Since my son is technically too young for the class but my daughter is right in the middle of the age range, the alternating activities keeps them both focused when it’s time to do the group activities and makes it easier to assist them both at their varying levels of ability without either being frustrated.
But, the best thing about having the kids signed up for the Gymboree classes this summer is that we can utilize the open gym times during the rest of the week, too, not just during our class. Since our Gymboree Play & Music is located in a mall, it’s a great treat for the kids to be able to pop into the gym during the week and let them run around and play on the equipment after we’re done shopping.
I have loved watching my kids go from timidly climbing the ladders to confidently walking along the platforms all by themselves in just a matter of weeks. I also love that they have really bonded with the teachers, other parents and peers during our weekly classes and they now look forward to sports class every week and open gym during the week when they can practice tumbling, climbing, crawling, and balancing in a safe and fun environment.
While I can’t say the kids are out of the woods yet in combating my anti-sports genes, I love that they are becoming more interested in playing sports in the future. Only time will tell if they end up taking after hubby instead, but I figure that me taking them to the classes has got to count for something, right?
If you’re looking for an organized indoor activity for little ones from birth to age 5, I would highly recommend checking out your local Gymboree Play & Music classes. As the name suggests, they have more than just sports classes available, and you can choose between music classes, school skills courses, art classes and more. And, with over 550 locations in 30 countries so there is a good possibility that there is a Gymboree class near you.
Sign up now and you can get a free class pass and no enrollment fee as well as all the other Gymboree member exclusives like Gymboree clothing discounts, freebies, parent handouts and more if you sign up by August 31st, 2013. Click here to get more information about their great member benefits!
A big thank you to Gymboree for providing a complimentary month-long membership to Gymboree Play & Music. As always, all opinions are 100% ours.
My kids would LOVE this! We actually went to sign-up and they closed the center that was close to me. My kids were so disappointed. We are huge Gymboree fans and I am sure the classes are amazing!
It is awesome how much it helps give our little ones confidence in such a short amount of time!
This looks like a lot of fun. I know this is something both my kids would really enjoy.
My kids love Gymboree Play & Learn classes! Molly loved it so much last month that we signed her up for August already.