Birds and Beasts

Monday was Grace's last day of the Bird session at Little Gym. She has graduated to a Beast, and her new classes will start next Wednesday. We first went to Little Gym when Grace was about 6 months old for a trial class. It seemed like fun, and a great opportunity for socialization. But, I just felt she was still so little and really wouldn't get as much out of the classes than if we waited awhile. As she got older, we realized what an incredibly limber, flexible and potentially athletic little build she has. I decided to revisit Little Gym and see how she responded, and she loved it. So, here we are at the end of our first semester. Grace can now confidently walk across a low beam unassisted, do front and back rolls with some assistance, walk the high beam with some assistance (though she doesn't want it!), swing from the bars, climb up and down stairs unaided, jump on the bouncing boards, walk sideways and backwards, stand on a low bar while holding on to the high bar on the uneven bars, and much much more. She especially loves the activities that involve heights, which is great for building her confidence and problem-solving skills. She likes to maneuver through obstacle courses, especially when there are spaces between mats and she has to figure out the best way to get through or over the gaps. It is so fun to watch her thought processing and all of her many successes! Grace loves her teacher Miss Shannon and also enjoys circle time. She also has a couple friends that she tends to be more friendly with than others, and she adores singing the goodbye birdies song at the end of every class then getting stamps on her hands and feet. She will have to learn a new beast song next week, for sure! Here are some pictures from her final day as a bird.