Kids Activities (Part 2) EVEN CHEAPER!!

Now for the EVEN CHEAPER way to do classes! Sure you can scout living social, amazon local, and groupon, even scoring some pretty sweet deals for your tots, or you can create your own class!

Little Gym and Gymboree both offer free trial classes, for every avenue, be it music, art or dance...so eat those up! All of these little cell-phone snapshots are from free classes at the Little Gym and Gymboree!

Then Gymagine offers Preschool OPEN PLAY! $6 a pop (5.50 with a punch card...5 if you buy during cash discount weeks), and the open play lasts for 45 mins, which is 15 minutes longer than their AcroRoos class for toddlers! Plus it’s also $3 cheaper each child, every time! Then start your own routine! We signed up for classes at first with Kaylee Autumn, which was helpful to me when I had my hands tied up with River Evelyn, infant at the time. This was helpful, because we figured out the coaching routine! At the toddler age, the coach lets them become familiar with the gym equipment at their own pace. So, be a smart parent and do the same! Mimic the coach’s lesson plan:

1. Have your child grab a stuffed animal beanie toy, and try to balance it on their head as they walk to the ladders.
2. Stick their toy at the top of the ladder and encourage them to retrieve it! To climb a ladder: Hand, Hand, Foot, Foot! When they get to the top, have them rescue their animal and drop it to the ground...most will want to chuck it, this is all right for the age. Now climb back down: Foot, Foot, Hand, Hand! Try not to help them unless they get stuck or fall. Some hands on directing to teach them the Hand, Hand, Foot, Foot concept is vital the first few times, but after they have learned, however kludgy they seem, let them sort it out. You are there mainly to “spot” them so they don’t fall off the ladder! Don’t be discouraged if it takes much longer to climb down, children learn this concept slower, especially since there is no toy motivation!
3. Repeat 3 times.
4. Now walk over to the foam block pit and toss those toy animals! Ready, Set, DIVE! Bring the animals back to safety! Gymagine just got a new foam block set, with fun colors to dive into...super snazzy!
5. Repeat 3 times.
6. TRY OUT THAT BALANCE BEAM!! It might take twice, or it might take 2 years for them to be comfortable with the balance beam, but they will let you know when they are ready to let go...an EXHILARATING day to say the least!
7. Time to practice some forward rolls! (Also known as somersaults) There is a trampoline ramp that is perfect for teaching. Have your child climb up. Now hands in the air! Lightly grab their waste, and tell them to plant their hands on the ground in front of them with an, “OKAY, Hands Down!” (you will have to show them what you mean the first couple times)... “And TUCK your head!” Your hands show them where they are supposed to bend, not in the back, but bend at the hips. Plus you are set up for the last step. Use your hands to lift their cutie-butt into a roll! After 1 year of this, my almost-3-year-old can do it perfectly by herself!
8. Use the rest of the ramp to jump with both feet, while hands are in the air! Jump into the pit at the end!!
9. For the rest of the free play time, let them choose what they do! There are ramps, trampolines, bars, batons, pieces for obstacle courses, and balance improving stuff! The monitoring coaches also like to set up things for the children, so they’re always being enriched and growing their skills!

Another do-it-yourself class that is EASY PEASY, is SWIMMING!!

Again, grab a pass! You get at least an hour in the pool, usually more depending on your facility, for the sweet price of $5! I like Lynnwood pool, personally, because the water is the warmest I’ve found, and they have a lovely slide set for younger children, plus a whole slew of water park-like toys that come on halfway through our swim session! Fun activities like this are a great way to get them used to the water on their own terms. There’s walls for holding onto and kicking. There’s a shallow end to sit in and watch themselves kick that water! Blow bubbles in the water! Float on your back! Lay on your tummy in the shallow end! Use the slide to introduce dunking, then try it out for realsies with mom after a while!

Your child will be worn out by the time you’re ready to go, and frankly so will you! It’s a great mom-and-me workout!

Speaking of mom-and-me workouts, YOGA is a wonderful thing to do with your children that doesn’t cost any money at all! Here are a couple of nice videos that are free and help you connect with your child, even as young as 6 months old! Even for older children, yoga is great for balance, flexibility, exercise, and disciplined nature.

There you have it! An onslaught of ideas for doing your own classes! The only exception I have ever made is for ballet, but it is entirely for fun, and though useful in reinforcing following directions, not necessary to their development like any of the other DIY classes you can enrich your child with!