I was very excited to attend a trial class, Motor Skills Training for 3- 4 year olds, with FitFix Junior located at Yonge & Eglinton, just this past weekend. My daughter loves being active and I knew it would be a hit with her!
It started at 9am which I wasn’t so excited about, usually preferring to ease into my Saturday mornings very slowwwly.
My daughter was fairly cooperative getting ready that morning but still, we left later than I had planned and I raced through the streets to make it on time. And breathed a sigh of relief when we finally came through the door, arriving on time! and even being the first ones there, despite having to find street parking and the closest parking meter being out of order. (Tip: Take the subway if you do not live within walking distance.)
The facility for the kids is brand new and was constructed specifically with the children’s curriculum in mind. The room is spacious, with three windows letting in natural sunlight. There’s an entire wall dedicated to climbing with the different coloured hand and foot holds strategically placed for children at different skill levels. For mom and baby classes, the change rooms have been fitted with wide counter space for changing baby.
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Instructors are all ECE trained, and not just out of school. They are experienced and know how to engage and speak to children to get them listening to instructions and participating in the various activities.
Michelle was our instructor and I have no doubt in her ability to execute the carefully thought-out program, which changes from class to class to make sure the children experience a variety of activities. The class we joined is all about Motor Skills Training with the goals being to:
Develop strength, balance, flexibility and coordination through age appropriate exercises and gross motor activities that incorporate the foundations of basic fitness. At this level, the foundations of athletic ability continue to be developed, as activities require more balance, coordination and strength. Introduction of the basic elements that form the foundation for fitness and sports (including warm ups, stretching and hydration) will also be a focus.
I’ll describe the class as very fast paced which is ideal for this age group. After the warm up there was some climbing.
Windshield wipers.
Frog jumping.
Bear walking.
Listening.
Galloping and running.
Balancing and more jumping. (Check out my daughter’s awesome helper!)
Floor hockey technique.
Rolling balls.
And rock climbing.
Towards the end of the class I heard one boy comment on how tired he was. Magic to a mother’s ears!
If you would like to try a class at FitFix Junior, please email me a photo of your child in their Halloween costume (mel@melanieotg.ca). I’ll pick the top 5 cutest costumes and award the winners with a trial class pass! Please send in your photos by Sunday November 4, 2012 and I will announce winners on Monday the 5th.
Thanks to FitFix Junior for letting my daughter try out a class, and to the parents of the other children in the class for letting me take photos.
