Love the way the iPhone catches action shots!
Have you ever heard how much I love the Little Gym?
Well, I do. Very much. It all started with my second child. When she was two her grandma was asking her a question and my 4-year-old son interjected, "she don't talks Gammie."
Well, she didn't. We were told she had Speech Apraxia. A speech disorder where the muscles aren't working right in the mouth. Kids start to talk, realize they aren't saying things right, and withdrawn and regress.
We moved from CA back to UT where the speech therapy was a little more lax. I decided that I wasn't going to wait for her to "grow out of it" but was going to be proactive and help her however I could.
I remembered that she was also tested by a physical therapist who told me she was 6 months delayed and explained when one system is off others can be too. When you fix one, the others usually follow.
I decided to enroll her in a few programs (Little Gym and Kindermusic).
The philosophies and teaching styles were night and day.
Here's how the Little Gym teaches...
-Every child learns differently. Some need to explore and see things for themselves, while others observe.
-in the parent-child class, parents are to participate in group activities and encourage their child to also-not to force or demand. I have run around in circles many times all by myself.
-There's lots of praise, no criticism (they get enough of that at home, right?)
-They try new things and see themselves improve.
-They overcome fears and encourage eachother.
I have seen so many moms get frustrated because their child won't participate. But what I try to tell them when I see the teacher isn't trying at all(in a nice, not-so-pushy way) is that they are participating, just in their own way, on their own time-line and pushing will only frustrate all involved.
I attended my youngest two kids' "show week" this week and realized this might be our last class at the Little Gym. They are getting older, and have had enough (at least for now) and it made me a little sad. If I were to endorse anything for kids it would be this! It builds a lot of things but most importantly it builds confidence, and that's all my second child needed to progress in her speech.
I remembered that she was also tested by a physical therapist who told me she was 6 months delayed and explained when one system is off others can be too. When you fix one, the others usually follow.
I decided to enroll her in a few programs (Little Gym and Kindermusic).
The philosophies and teaching styles were night and day.
Here's how the Little Gym teaches...
-Every child learns differently. Some need to explore and see things for themselves, while others observe.
-in the parent-child class, parents are to participate in group activities and encourage their child to also-not to force or demand. I have run around in circles many times all by myself.
-There's lots of praise, no criticism (they get enough of that at home, right?)
-They try new things and see themselves improve.
-They overcome fears and encourage eachother.
I have seen so many moms get frustrated because their child won't participate. But what I try to tell them when I see the teacher isn't trying at all(in a nice, not-so-pushy way) is that they are participating, just in their own way, on their own time-line and pushing will only frustrate all involved.
I attended my youngest two kids' "show week" this week and realized this might be our last class at the Little Gym. They are getting older, and have had enough (at least for now) and it made me a little sad. If I were to endorse anything for kids it would be this! It builds a lot of things but most importantly it builds confidence, and that's all my second child needed to progress in her speech.
