The Little Gym

Before we committed to the little soccer class with Gracie, we wanted to give another structured activity a try. Sherry and Olivia had been encouraging us to try the Little Gym, as a little girl at Olivia's daycare has been going and loves it. They offer a free trial class, so that's what we did this morning. Gracie is technically supposed to be in the "beasts" class (over 19 months), but because we wanted her and Olivia together, because G has never done a class of any kind before, and because the Saturday class combines the "beasts" with the "super beasts (up to 3 years old)", we asked if we could do the "birds" class, and they said that was fine. So, Gracie was the little oddball this morning, but we really enjoyed the class and are probably going to commit to this semester (it goes until mid-January).
The instructor told us that it is normal for the kids to want to explore the gym, and that it is fine for them to do so, as it encourages their independence, and that we should let them wander off (with supervision) if they desired. Which, of course, is EXACTLY what G had in mind for much of the class. But, a big part of the class was free exploration, so it was cool. She also told us that kids at Gracie's age are the big ones for wandering, and it is fine. The class focuses on following directions, exploration, music, play and basic tumbling skills. This morning was "backward day", so many the skills we were shown involved going backward (back handsprings on the octagon and backward rolls on the wedge).
Below are some of the pics from today:

Gracie didn't NEED to hold on to the support bars, but it sure was fun!

Olivia practicing her backward roll (with spot).

Gracie's turn


Check out Olivia on the big balance beam!

Little G

On the air track

Air track (inflated)

Waiting for the air track to inflate

Both girls (and us adults) had a good time- I think this will be a good activity to get Gracie exposed to more kids and have a semi-structured activity to do each weekend!