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 HELPING KIDS GET A HEADSTART AT THE LITTLE GYM
In today's world, our children have far fewer opportunities to play freely outdoors, compared to previous generations, and as a result they often grow up lacking confidence in certain areas. The ability to hop, jump, skip and balance isn't inherent; these are skills that need to be learnt in infancy and, without them, it can prove more difficult to make progress in sporting activities later on.
For parents keen to "make-up ground" or get kids off to a great start, The Little Gym offers a curriculum-based gymnastics programmes, for children of all abilities, from 4 months to 12 years. Combining weekly themed gymnastics, music and games, classes evolve with each stage of a child's motor-skills and cognitive development; they help encourage social interaction, rhythm, language and number comprehension, spatial and body awareness, hand-eye coordination, balance, rhythm, flexibility and confidence in a lively, safe and fun environment. The actual content of The Little Gym programme has been developed scientifically. Skill acquisition is part of the learning process and a child's ability is dependent on the amount of quality instruction given, proper practice and successful past experience. A by-product of skill acquisition is confidence and the more success a child enjoys, the better he or she will feel about themselves and the more they will achieve. Virginia Barlow, from The Little Gym Bishop's Stortford commented, "When we were youngsters, there was so much more freedom to explore, to climb trees, walk along walls and play hopscotch. These seemly innocent play activities helped us to acquire skills and confidence. Whilst our classes aren't meant to be a substitute for outdoor play, they can help enormously in building that confidence, 'plugging' any gaps and helping children develop a love of exercise."
Even the gentlest activity, like batting a bubble, actively promotes eye hand co-ordination. At The Little Gym, bubbles progress to balloons and onto a large ball and, when the ball gets smaller, the activity gets faster and eye hand co-ordination speeds up! Likewise, large motor skills movements, like early monkey jumps, progress to cartwheels, whilst galloping, which is lots of fun, helps develop a sense of rhythm.
Founder of The Little Gym, Robin Wes, explains further, "Once 'wired' there is a limit to the brain's ability to create itself. Time limits, called critical periods, are windows that nature flings open, starting before birth, and then closes one-by-one after every birthday. The Little Gym programme addresses all of these development needs, during both the early and later periods of a child's development." The Little Gym offers a range of parent-and-child, pre-school and primary sessions. All classes are held at its purpose-built OFSTED-registered centres and each youngster is able to grow their skills, at their own pace and in a non-competitive environment, with close guidance from qualified instructors. Classes at The Little Gym are held throughout the week, all year round, during term-time and holidays. Sessions for under 3's, accompanied by their parents/carers, run for 45 minutes and preschool and primary classes for one hour. Parents of over 3's can watch from a viewing gallery and receive a class review at the end of each session. Free trial classes are available for all age groups. Established in 1976, The Little Gym has over 300 locations in 19 different countries worldwide. For more information, please visit www.thelittlegym.co.uk or contact The Little Gym on tel. (020) 32329 0080. - ends - For media information and photography, please contact Angela Fitzhugh PR on tel. (01590) 688667, mob. (07976) 925371 or email enquiries@afpr.co.uk |
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