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| - This review is for the little kids' classes. They run a fast-paced, noisy class with a LOT of children in each class (plus kid-friendly music playing), so it's fairly chaotic, but the staff handle it well. Our head teacher is Jo and her style seems to be a balance of authoritarian yet warm. Due to the sheer number of preschoolers running around, she has to sort of bark orders at them to keep them on track, but she doesn't come across as harsh at all. I am pretty amazed at her ability to keep so many little ones under control, and I think perhaps I'd like her to come help out at our house. :)
The class includes dancing, trampoline, bars, rings, beam, somersaults, etc. Mainly the kids are cycling through different types of circuits, so this is a focused class, rather than just playtime. Although obviously it's designed to introduce kids to the equipment and foundational skills for gymnastics, it's also just a great workout for any kid who likes to bounce around and have fun. The open gym time is also a ton of fun.
The one thing I REALLY don't like is that they sell a lot of candy/soda, and it's all displayed immediately at eye level to ensure that it's the first thing the kids see when they come out of their classes. I guess if they want to sell unhealthy food, and parents want to buy it, then that's fine. But for those of us who don't, it's a pain in the neck to have it dangled in front of the little kids' eyes like that. It would be much better if it could be listed on a sign but not have all the items right there at toddler eye level. It just seems incongruent to me since many of us are bringing our kids here to promote physical activity and health.
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