The Little Gym of Lake Oswego

Happy New Year!

2011-12-27T11:46:00.000-08:00

It's the Tuesday December 27th -- the lull between Christmas and New Year's. Classes are a bit small so far this week so I have a few minutes to reflect.

Marie and I took the past week off, so we could spend some time with our kids in the mornings and get some home projects/to-do's done in the afternoons. We had a small list of things that we really wanted to get done -- like fnally plan our "big" vacation we've been talking about, make some 2012 resolutions, clean our home office and garage, and get some old electronics and old clothes "recycled."

I think 4 of the afternoons were spent working on that vacation... (Hint... if you wait too long, flight costs go through the roof!)   We finally got the flights set, and now we need to work on hotels... We didn't really get to any of the other topics, unfortunately. But last night, with the grandparents watching the kids, I was able to atack the office and garage enough to clear a wider passage through each. I got just enough done to feel good.

For our mornings this past week, we tried to pack in a lot... We visited Pittock Mansion, ate a late brunch at Slappy Cakes (where you cook your own pancakes at your table!), visited the lights at the Portland International Raceway, delivered cookies to friends, and saw (the only?) G-rated movie out - the new Chipmonks movie.    (My favorite line -- "A double rainbow across the sky!! What does it mean?!    Search YouTube for "double rainbow" to understand it better.)

We celebrate Christmas and Hanukkah as a family. I mistakenly put the "big" Hanukkah present under the Christmas tree. Oops. My biggest laugh was when my son opened his stocking Sunday morning and was excited to find "piz." (After a chuckle, we let him know that it's called "Pez.")   Happy Holidays!

It's cold outside - which makes it a perfect time to be inside at The Little Gym!

2011-12-09T09:57:00.001-08:00

Teeth are chattering, jackets are zipping, and hot cocoas are pouring.

It‟s definitely getting colder out there, But here at The Little Gym of Lake Oswego, kids are staying toasty warm. Their bodies are in motion and their minds are too. Kids in The Little Gym Parent/Child classes are
exploring their worlds, gaining independence and trying new skills. The structured lessons of our Pre-K gymnastics programs are helping kids with listening skills and following directions while also emphasizing balance and coordination. Our Kindergarten level gymnastics kids are learning to work in groups and cooperate because we know controlling emotions is as important as body control and agility.

All the Flips, Twisters, Aerials, and Hot Shots of our Grade School Gymnastics programs are strengthening their bodies and getting a springboard (pun intended) of confidence. Plus, our Dance kids are twirling like snowflakes, Sports Skills kids are improving arm strength for throwing snowballs, and our Karate students are practically chopping firewood with their bare hands (okay, a slight exaggeration).

Check out the photos of The Little Gym kids (on our facebook page) having as much as fun as a summer vacation, no matter what the thermometer says.

Don‟t forget - We also have great winter day camps coming up (Dec 19 - 24). And if you want to squeeze in a date night (or maybe some holiday shopping without the kids around), we‟ll be having another Parents‟ Survival Night on Saturday, December 17th.
Finally, remember that giving someone some Serious Fun is an excellent gift. We have gift certificates available if you want to give the unique gift of skill building and Three-Dimensional Learning.

Til next time,
Your friends in fitness, fun and fundamentals at The Little Gym of Lake Oswego.

Special Novmember offer for your friends at The Little Gym of Lake Oswego

2011-11-11T14:17:00.001-08:00

The ongoing success of our business is largely based on our members' glowing endorsements. If you've found value in The Little Gym programs, seen your children grow in our classes or have a blast in a birthday party or camp, we kindly ask that you spread the word!

If your friend enrolls in a class at The Little Gym of Lake Oswego, now through November 30, 2011, we will thank them by giving them a $25 consideration towards their tuition, AND we will give you a $25 credit that you can use towards any class payment, party, camp, or Parents' Survival Night. (This is in addition to the 1000 Member Milestone reward points you receive automatically when your friends enroll in a class.)

Your friend must be new to The Little Gym classes.

To receive this offer and ensure you receive your $25 credit, your friend should bring a print-out of this offer with the following filled in:

Child Name (who is enrolling): _______________________

Parent Name: _________________________________

Friend who referred us to The Little Gym: ___________

_____________________________________________

Please call (503) 595-9702 if you have any questions about The Little gym and this special November offer!

Shutterfly Photo Book Offer for The Little Gym Members Expires Soon!

2011-11-07T11:25:00.000-08:00

While we believe that enrolling in The Little Gym is rewarding for kids in many ways, we are also happy to give our enrolled members an extra reward when we can. This Fall, all enrollees for The Little Gym of Lake Oswego’s 2011-2012 Season received an offer for $20 off a Shutterfly photo book. The offer expires in just a few weeks (November 18 to be exact) so make sure to go online to shutterfly.com and order your book. In addition, if you are new to Shutterfly, they are also giving 50 free prints.

Their photo books are a great way to preserve memories, and of course, photo opportunities abound here at The Little Gym. With the holidays coming, the photo books can also make an excellent gift and keepsake, so don’t forget to take advantage of this special The Little Gym member offer. We just got our gym’s photo book in today – with over 60 photos from our Halloween Party. It ended up costing us $4, plus $4 for shipping, and it only took us 15 minutes to produce!

If you didn’t receive your $20 voucher, you can pick one up at the gym! And check out our Halloween photo book when you come to class this week!

Halloween's coming... Are you ready?

2011-10-13T12:20:00.000-07:00

I wonder how many parents would say that Halloween is their favorite holiday. You get to hand out candy to the neighborhood children who are dressed up in various cute, scary, or strange costumes. And if you're really into it, you can decorate your house or get dressed up yourself. There are always a few houses that we love to go to because the houses are frighteningly decorated. For my family, we've set up a ritual in which we bring a portion of our candy to a local dentist so we're not left with pounds of sweets after the 31st. But Mom & Dad are allowed to share in the goodies. :-)

We're getting ready for Halloween at The Little Gym too! Our annual Members-only Halloween Party will take place on Sunday, October 30th. Details about the party can be found on the announcements page of our website.

Our team is excited to get dressed up in costume and have fun with all of the children and parents who we see each week in class. I've got my costume ready to go... I hope you join us at The Little Gym and come to our members-only Halloween Party!

Recent email from one of our customers! Yay!

2011-09-28T15:12:00.000-07:00

We always love hearing from our customers about how The Little Gym has been a part of their life. Last week, I received an email from a mother of twins who have been coming to The Little Gym of Lake Oswego for just over four years. She had a great experience at our September Parents' Survival Night and said I could post her words. Here they are!

"[My husband] and I love bringing the kids to Parents' Survival Night! Your staff does such a great job entertaining and teaching the kids. We can relax on our date knowing that they are having a blast!

Actually, they always have so much fun that it can be a challenge getting them to leave. Last night, we arrived early (around 9) to pick up the kids. As we were arriving, they were about to do their craft and didn't want to go. Teacher James intervened and spoke with the kids to prepare them to leave and talked with them about doing the craft at home. Skillfuly, he spoke with them, then had the gruop wish them a good night as they left with us. It was AWESOME! Smoothest pick-up of the kids ever... :-)

Thanks to everyone and especially James for helping make the experience particularly positive and stressless."

(We have an award that I give to our instructors when I get great feedback from customers. It's our "Employee of the Week" award. James will be getting it this coming week!)

Come "meet" The Little Gym founder, Robin Wes!

2011-09-13T09:22:00.000-07:00

Robin Wes founded The Little Gym 35 years ago. He is an amazing person. In my 6 years in The Little Gym system, I've met him about a dozen times - at the annual "Reunion" at at various trainings. He lives and teaches in the Bellevue, WA area.

Yesterday, he was on a Seattle, WA news program, being interviewed about The Little Gym. Then he treated the audience with some children showing their gymnastics and listening skills while Robin played guitar and sang a The Little Gym song.

Please watch this video to see where The Little Gym came from... Robin is the soul of The Little Gym and our philosophy and Serious Fun flows from him.

Enjoy!

The Little Gym voted #1 by Metro Parent Magazine readers -- again!!

2011-09-01T09:06:00.000-07:00

Every year, Metro Parent Magazine (covering the Portland metro area), asks readers to vote for their Family Favorites... It's September 1st and the results are now in.... And The Little Gym of Lake Oswego was voted the #1 Children's Gym AND #1 Birthday Party Place.... For the 2nd year in a row!!! You can see all the results at: http://www.metro-parent.com/issues/sept11/index.html

We work hard every day to teach the very best classes, helping your children learn new skills every week and have a *ton* of fun while they're learning. Our hearts swell as much as yours when your children master a new skill, or build on their confidence.

Thank you for your support, for voting for us, and helping to spread the word about The Little Gym!

-Ron, Marie, and The Little Gym team

Best vacation ever!

2011-08-16T09:29:00.000-07:00

We got back from our summer vacation this past Saturday night. We spent a week in Massachusetts, visiting my family and friends, and then taking a few days with just my wife and kids at the beach.   It was probably my best vacation since my honeymoon, 12 years ago.

It had been a while since getting back to Massachusetts. One night we had pizza over one of my high school friend's house. Not all of my old buddies could be there; one's wife was very pregnant; two of them are in the army/reserves, and one was in Colorado with his son at camp. But it was great to catch up with all of the gossip and reconnect after not seeing them for 6 years.

The next night, my sister got the extended family together at her house for dinner. I got to see my niece's two children for the first time, and see some cousins that I hadn't seen for 12 years. And my two children got to see some of their cousins and 2nd cousins for the first time.

Then we spent 3 days at a motel near the beach in Cape Cod. Great weather, plus our kids are at the age (7 and 9), that you can do some really fun things with them -- swim in the ocean, play on the beach, play miniature golf, and go bike riding. Plus they can entertain themselves on the airplanes!

Summer is winding down. (Yikes!) I hope you all had the chance as well to have a vacation, to get away from the daily and weekly to-do's, and have some fun.   We need these kinds of fun times to recharge the batteries, and create memories that your whole family can remember and cherish.

Time to vote in Metro Parent Magazine's Family Favorites annual contest!

2011-07-29T11:06:00.000-07:00

Now through August 14, Metro Parent Magazine is asking their readers to tell them about their “family favorite” destinations. They’ll announce the winners in September. One reader, selected at random, will win a Family Fun Package that includes a $50 gift card to the “Family Favorite” restaurant, a $50 gift card to the top children’s book shop and other family fun items.

We would truly love it if you would vote for The Little Gym in both categories:

• Birthday party venue

• Children’s Gym

The URL is http://www.metro-parent.com/family_favorite/ Please vote by Aug. 14; one entry per household.

Thank you!!

Greetings from Australia!

2011-07-19T09:30:00.000-07:00

Well... not from me!! One of our The Little Gym kids sent us a hello from Australia. Phoenix moved to Portland about 2 years ago and joined us for summer camps (at age 4 yrs 9 months). She loved it and showed an aptitude for gymnastics, so her mother signed her up for classes. It was fun having Phoenix in class (I was the Lead Instructor) -- she's a fun girl with a cute accent.

Phoenix stayed in our program, moving up to our advanced 5-6 year old Mini Jets class before she and her family moved back to Australia. (She started taking a competitive program at the Oregon Gymnastics Academy during that time, while still attending The Little Gym classes.)

Over the weekend, we got an email from Phoenix' mom, with an update on how the family was doing. We're all very proud of Phoenix and her accomplishments and we miss her! Here's an edited version of the email:

"We would like to say a big thank you for introducing our daughter Phoenix to the Little Gym and in particular gymnastics. The Little Gym is a fantastic environment for children and we wanted to express our gratitude to the Little Gym at Lake Oswego.Phoenix absolutely loved coming to class at the little gym in the mini jets and we have now moved back to Australia.

Since moving back to Australia, Phoenix has been training at [ ]...an Elite gym club here in [their hometown]. She was with the PreSquad last year, moved to the International Development Program 1 earlier in the year and is now training with the IDP2 team. She is now training 14 hours a week and has recently started competing....which she is completely passionate about.

[My husband] and I wanted to thank you and your team for introducing Phoenix to a sport that she now has so much passion for. We have attached some photos from her competition today...Gold on floor, beam, vault and bars and first all around!!!"

What a great afternoon! He did it!

2011-07-12T20:11:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, we took the training wheels off for the first time and it was a disaster. (Read the blog post.) On Monday I backed off and we tried it again for about 10-15 minutes. (Read blog #2.) Today, Tuesday, we tried again, and within minutes, Blaise was riding his 2-wheeler all by himself, and he didn't want to stop!

It's times like this, when your child has a breakthrough, when you have that huge surge of pride. It feels great. We were actually in the parking lot of The Little Gym. I ran in and got Teacher Angela to videotape Blaise. After this video he rode up and down the parking lot, getting better each time, learning how to start by himself and stop by himself. I went inside and emailed it to my wife. It's going out to the whole family later today.

So, maybe Blaise was ready for this... he's been riding his bike with training wheels for a while and he has the strength to peddle it pretty fast, and his balance is more advanced than a 4 year old. But even, so, to be finally sans training wheels is a great feeling. Yay!

Update regarding Bicycle Training Frustration

2011-07-12T10:41:00.000-07:00

I blogged yesterday about reducing frustration in children, and my experience trying to help my son learn how to ride a 2-wheeler. I included a link to a great article about helping children with frustration.

Well, I tried again last night. After coming home from working at The Little Gym, I told my kids that we were going to the Rosemont Ridge Middle School track so Blaise could work on riding a 2-wheeler. He asked if he could start with his training wheels on. I said, "Yes."

We got to the school and I took the bikes off the car. Blaise started wheeling his bike down to the track (without his training wheels on yet). When I got down there, he said that he was ok trying to ride his bike without the training wheels first. I think that goes along with what Dr. Jim Taylor (of the Psychology Today article) says -- frustration can be good when it gives someone the drive to overcome an obstacle. I think Blaise had enough time between Sunday's day of frustration, to calm down and focus on overcoming that obstacle.

So Blaise tried a little bit on his own, and a little bit with my help. And when he started to get frustrated again, we stopped and went to the library. It was a much more positive experience. I'm excited to try again later this week.

Helping your child when they get frustrated...

2011-07-11T12:11:00.000-07:00

Our son turned 7 last month. We don't go bike riding much, so we haven't pushed getting rid of his training wheels. He is quite the cruiser on his 4-wheeled bike, but this summer, by gosh, he was going to learn to ride a 2-wheeler.

Blaise wasn't quite in the same mindframe as his mother and I were this past weekend. On Saturday we got the kids into the car, attached the bikes to the trunk thing, and drove to Rosemont Ridge Middle School in West Linn. The "rubberized" track seemed like a great place to try, and we were lucky that there weren't many people there. We actually shared the track with another family who was trying to teach their 4(?) year old to ride a 2-wheeler.

My wife, Marie, tried with Blaise for a little bit, but Marie didn't bring the right shoes to go running alongside him. A 7-year old has the strength to peddle pretty fast and for a good length of time, which is great for learning to ride a bike, but it quite a challenge for a parent holding on and running. I then had a turn. Blaise got the peddling thing, but not the balance thing. And it was all my fault. Blaise's frustration was rising because I was holding on to him too tight, or pulling him or pushing him the wrong way. He wanted to quit before completing 100 yards.

Marie and I were getting a little frustrated too. And I'm sure it was showing, even though we tried to be patient. This was just *the* day that we had some time, and remembered, and we wanted to make progress, whether he liked it or not!

I think we eventually backed off before things blew up. Later in the evening, I asked Marie, how we raised two children who get so frustrated so fast. She suggested that perhaps we didn't allow them to experience frustration much as younger children. (I can't remember if we did or didn't.)

But I did find an article on PsychologyToday.com about children's frustration and what you can do about it. I love how it describes the chain from Frustration to Anger to Despair, and how you really don't want to go down that path. The author, Jim Taylor, Ph.D, talks about taking breaks from the activitiy before you get to the more negative emotions, and doing something else that your child can be successful in. Then when the emotional and physical stress is gone, you can go back and talk about the activity and frustration, and try again, or focus on an aspect of the activity that might be easier to succeed at.

It's a great article, and I think I'll try this if I can convince Blaise to go bike riding sometime this week. Wish me luck!
-Ron

Candy at Summer Camp?

2011-07-08T11:25:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, as I was dropping off my 7 year old at a local science-related summer camp, one of the other moms asked the camp instructor if they would be having candy at camp that day. I didn't realize that the children were getting treats at their camp, so as we walked back to our cars, I asked the mom if they had candy earlier in the week. She said that the kids used candy as the planets in a solar system design project, and then got to eat the candy. And today, for the last day of camp, the campers are going to be using cake in some manner as well. (My son says that it's going to be the "sun". He doesn't want to go to his sister's Magic show at 2:45pm because he doesn't want to miss the cake.)

I'm a bit saddened that my children are getting treats at their summer camps. Yes, it's super fun... and yes, I love treats too, but I prefer to be the one giving them out. And my expectation is that the camps they attend help them grow physically, mentally, or socially. My son did a multi-sport camp during the first week of summer and he also was looking forward to the Friday camp that week because they get candy.

My 9-year old daughter's wizard camp isn't much better. She said that they might watch a Harry Potter movie this week -- definitely not in the published syllabus for that camp. I'm *hoping* she was mistaken. I would assume that no camp would show a PG-rated movie without asking parents.

Now, there are some The Little Gyms that do give out treats on various occasions, and some have TV's in their multi-purpose rooms so siblings can watch TV while their brothers or sisters are in class. When we became owners of The Little Gym of Lake Oswego 5+ years ago, we thought it was against everything we teach to offer unhealthy treats or have television/movies. Our goal is to make fitness and being healthy fun! The only exception we have is that during Pirate week, the Grade School kids find (as natural/organic as possible) fruit snacks during their treasure hunt (Pre/K kids find "gold coins" or other pirate trinkets).

We work our tails off to make classes and camps super fun (Serious Fun), so your children learn new physical skills in every class, make new friends, learn how to work better in a group environment, and learn healthy habits. Hopefully that's enough to make them (and you) want to come back!

Serious Fun (in camp) at The Little Gym

2011-06-30T14:19:00.000-07:00

We talk about how The Little Gym is "Serious Fun" -- Serious, because we're growing new physical skills, social skills, and building confidence, and "Fun" because every child needs a fun, safe environment to be a kid, play, and use their imagination.

This week is Pirate Week for our camps and Pre/K and Grade School gymnastics and dance classes. We use different themes, like "Pirate Island" to facilitate the fun part of the equation. I am super excited to have the best instructors leading our camps this summer. They know that the more you get into character with the theme, the more the children will stay focused, and the more fun everyone has.

Here's a short video of Teacher James doing his post-camp announcements, while still staying in character. He went into a bit more detail than we ask of instructors, but I think it was worth it. I think *I* want to be in camp with James!

Have you heard about Doctors Express in Lake Oswego?

2011-06-23T10:02:00.000-07:00

Doctors Express in Lake Oswego opened up a few months ago. They're just down the street from us. If you head down Lower Boones Ferry Rd towards Lake Oswego, they're on the left, just past the Starbucks on Jean Way. I met with the owner, Guru Sankar, yesterday for coffee. It was fun meeting with another franchise owner, sharing ideas about growing our businesses.

Doctors Express is an urgent care facility. They have real doctors on staff and can do x-rays and lab work in-house, while you're there. They're great for emergencies, or when you can't get in to see your regular doctor.

Guru seems like a nice guy who's also trying to grow a business. He lives in Lake Oswego and has two children in the Lake Oswego public schools.

So next time, you have a medical emergency and can't get in to see your doctor or don't want to deal with the Emergency Room at the hospital, check out Doctors Express. Tell them Ron from The Little Gym sent you, and maybe Guru will buy me another coffee sometime. :-)

FYI... We didn't come up with any joint marketing ideas or partnerships or anything... Guru seems like a good guy and I just wanted to help!

Summer is finally here!!

2011-06-21T12:25:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Summer! Today, June 21st, is the first day of the summer season. It's our second day of our summer term, here at The Little Gym, and it's a beautiful sunny day. We've been working our tails off getting the team and the gym ready for a great summer.

This week is our "Wild West" week for our pre-K/Kindergarten and grade school gymnastics and dance classes. This morning Teacher James and Teacher Michael stayed in character for the whole 3-hour camp, leading the campers through fun activities such as searching for water in the deep desert, trying to spear some wild buffalo, and stepping over cow pies on the high beam. We were laughing, just listening to Michael and James from the lobby.

I'm looking forward to a great summer! Hope to see you!
-Teacher Ron

What is The Little Gym "Serious Fun?"

2011-06-01T09:46:00.000-07:00

We've been talking recently about The Little Gym and how it's "Serious Fun" for your children. The Little Gym of Corvallis made a cute video that hopefully gets across how The Little Gym is truly focused on growing skills (the Serious part), while making sure your kids are having a blast (the Fun part). Enjoy!

June 16 seminar on ADD/ADHD and Autism Spectrum Disorders

2011-05-27T14:27:00.000-07:00

Join Brian Hulsey, Doctor of Chiropractic, of Foundations Chiropractic & Functional Medicine, on June 16th at 6pm for his June seminar on ADD/ADHD and Autism Spectrum Disorders. Dr. Hulsey will be covering dietary issues that drastically affect these children along with some basic things to watch for at home and in the classroom. The primary focus of the talk will be Gluten/Dairy/Soy sensitivities and how to work with that in day-to-day life. Dr. Hulsey will also discuss treatment he can provide and how families can move forward with that.

Reservations are required. For more information about the seminar or to make reservations via phone: (503) 349-3024 or email: foundationschiropractic@gmail.com. More information about Foundations Chiropractic & Functional Medicine can be found also at http://www.foundationsbbt.com/

PLEASE NOTE: THE SEMINAR WILL BE AT FOUNDATIONS CHIROPRACTIC **NOT** AT THE LITTLE GYM!

Major improvements to The Little Gym curriculum -- coming this Fall!

2011-05-23T08:52:00.000-07:00

Starting this Fall, The Little Gym is launching an enhanced program structure designed to maximize the benefits of our already popular curriculum. Based on over 35 years of hands-on experience, a mountain of research and thoughtful feedback from parents like you, our 2011-2012 Season will now be broken into themed, multi-week Learning Units that lead to a natural progression of skills.

We are extremely excited about the upcoming improvements to The Little Gym curriculum for the 2011-2012 Season. One parent recently posted on our Facebook page, “How can it possibly be better than it is?!” With three-dimensional learning as the core of the improved programs, we believe you will love the new theme-based lesson plans and the benefits your children will receive each week in the multi-week Learning Units.

To answer a few common questions, starting in the fall, our Season-based program will be 40 weeks in length. This gives us the ability to have enough Learning Units to cover a large variety of areas, from new physical skills, to social skills (like sharing, taking turns, and leadership), to cognitive skills (like working on listening and creative problem solving). The multi-week Learning Units provide focus over an extended period of time to provide the best opportunity for skill and confidence growth in each of those areas.

We call the 3-dimensional learning aspect of our lesson plans – Get Moving, Citizen Kid, and Brain Boost. Every class will have elements of each, and each Learning Unit will have an overarching objective and expected results based on one ore more of those dimensions. The Learning Units will be specific to each age group and the specific development goals for that age.

The benefit to you and your children is that with lesson plans that focus on the same area for several weeks in a row, the enhanced learning environment will provide greater skill growth and greater successes in shorter time periods.

Additionally, with a 40-week season, you now can schedule your other activities around school and The Little Gym for the full school year.

We also now have four payment options you may choose from, so you may enroll via the method that works best for your family.

There is no risk to being enrolled in The Little Gym for the 2011-2012 Season. If at any point, you decide to discontinue coming to The Little Gym, for any reason, just let us know, and we will stop your payments. A pro-rated refund will be returned to you. And our fantastic make-up policy will continue to remain in place so any missed classes can be made up at your convenience.

The only thing your children might be wondering is, "Will The Little Gym still be fun?" Of course it is! It's now SERIOUS FUN! They'll be learning a ton in classes while having a blast with their friends!

Feel free to post any questions or comments you might have!

And we'll see you soon for the 2011/2012 Season!

Something BIG is coming to The Little Gym

2011-05-17T12:31:00.000-07:00

I love going to The Little Gym annual company "Reunion" each year. It's partly because I get to see old friends -- gym owners who I went through "boot camp" with 6 years ago, or who I met at other regional trainings. It's also partly because we've won the bronze-level President's Circle award each year for the past 5 years since my wife and I became owners of The Little Gym of Lake Oswego.

But a big part of why I love Reunion is because The Little Gym International is an amazing organization, and they always have a bunch of surprises for their franchisees. Many franchisor/franchisee relationships can be very strained, but The Little Gym International does have their customers (us the owners) in mind with everything they do.

This year, Reunion was more of a training event than a rollout of best practices and new marketing initiatives. Over the past year, The Little Gym International has been busy redesigning the curriculum of all 20 The Little Gym programs -- from Bugs (age 4 months) to Advanced Team grade school, to karate, sports skills, and dance. Teacher Adam and I came back from Reunion with our suitcase full, with training materials and lots of notes. We're putting the final touches on how we'll be communicating about the coming changes. Next week, we'll have more details and will be able to answer your questions.

To give you a little bit of information, starting in the Fall, all of our programs will be based on multi-week long Learning Units, with new theme-based lesson plans and a restructure of the 10-month school year program with a goal of providing more skill growth in a shorter period of time. It's pretty cool. Humungous! :-)

The Little Gym of Lake Oswego Receives Presidents Circle Honor!!

2011-05-11T09:16:00.000-07:00

Every year, The Little Gym franchise owners from around the world come together for our annual conference. We call it "Reunion," because we get to see all of our fellow gym owners for our once-a-year meeting to share best practices, learn what's new from our franchisor - The Little Gym International, and have some fun with others who have gone through the same experiences as business owners, as my wife, Marie, and I have.

It's a whirlwind of meetings, break-out sessions, hugs, and quick one-on-ones in the hallways. This year our Assitant Gym Director, Adam, joined Marie and me because there was a ton of new information for us all to learn about and digest and start preparing for. (More about that in a future blog posting!)

At Reunion, we also take lots of time to celebrate the wins of individual gyms. We work super-hard at our gym to ensure we're teaching the best classes, growing skills, and building long-lasting relationships with you and your children. The Little Gym International recognizes gyms based on this quality of service and enrollment levels. This year, The Little Gym of Lake Oswego was recognized for the 5th straight year with the Bronze-level President's Circle award! Here is a photo of us receiving the reward:

From left: My wife Marie, The Little Gym founder, Robin Wes, me (Ron Skoletsky), Assistant Gym Director Adam Baxter, President/CEO of The Little Gym International Bob Bingham, and my kids, Blaise and Freya.
I am very proud of the team here at Lake Oswego for their hard work in reaching this level. We will have our award displayed in our lobby within the next day or two. Please congratulate the team when you're next in!

Open Enrollment for Summer and Fall classes has begun. Enroll early and be entered to win a free birthday party!

2011-04-27T13:23:00.000-07:00

We just finished a two-week priority Enrollment period in which current The Little Gym members got first pick of spots in Summer and Fall semester classes. After the conclusion of Priority Enrollment, starting this week, we are offering an "Early Bird Enrollment Period" for current members, inactive members, and non-members. It is extremely beneficial for us to know NOW how many students will be in Summer classes so we can work on our instructor schedule and recruiting plans - so this is our way of saying "thank you" for enrolling early.

All Summer and Fall class enrollees (including those of you who signed up during Priority Enrollment) will be entered into a drawing towards a free birthday party at The Little Gym of Lake Oswego!

Early Bird enrollment will be open until May 7th when we draw and announce the winner. Early Bird Enrollment is available for all classes that are still open after Priority Enrollment. The following summer classes are almost full:

Monday 10:45am Funny Bugs/Giggle Worms
Tuesday 1:30pm Giggle Worms/Good Friends
Tuesday 4:00pm Mini Jacks/Cracker Jacks
Thursday 10:15am Beasts/Super Beasts

You may register by telephone at (503) 595-9702, in person, or online. Please call if you have any questions!

Thank you friends of The Little Gym for donating prizes for our Priority Enrollment raffle!

2011-04-27T13:16:00.000-07:00

Our Summer and Fall semester Priority Enrollment period ended last Saturday with the drawing of our Grand Prize of a free Winter/Spring 2012 semester of classes. (Congratulations Tenaya D!) I want to thank all of the businesses who donated prizes for our raffle. It was our biggest raffle ever with over $1750 in prizes and 29 winners! We already have several classes almost full, so thank you for your awesome support!

If you get the chance, please frequent these businesses and tell them that The Little Gym sent you!

Priority Enrollment for Summer and Fall classes starts soon - April 11th

2011-03-31T14:40:00.000-07:00

Several times a year, for the two weeks before open enrollment starts for our next semester(s), we have a 2-week window in which only current members may select their spots early. During this "Priority Enrollment" period we try to make things festive around the gym.   The two things that everyone likes are the snacks (popular with the kids) and the raffle drawings (popular with the parents).

We do Priority Enrollment so our current customers can have their first choice of classes; popular class times like evening and weekend classes can fill up during or just after Priority Enrollment. Plus it helps us understand which classes will be more popular this semester and helps us determine needed staffing levels.

Each Priority Enrollment, I try to make things more exciting than the previous one. This year, we already have secured 26 prizes, worth over $1400.    The odds of winning something are better than ever!

You will receive a raffle ticket for each child who enrolls in any Summer or Fall classes. For example, if you have two children enroll in a summer and fall class each, you get four raffle tickets.   The best part, is if you win a raffle prize on one day, your raffle tickets go back into the drawing towards any of the other future days' prizes.   It is possible to win a prize every day!   That way there is no penalty for enrolling early!

As with all of our programs, if things don't work out, if you change your mind anytime, we refund your tuition from that date forward... so if you need to unenroll before a semester starts, you get a full refund of your payment. If you unenroll after a semester starts, your refund is pro-rated appropriately.

This year, along with over $550 of The Little Gym prizes, we have over $850 of additional family-friendly prizes. Plus the first 50 students who enroll will get a buy-one, get-one free frozen yogurt from Yogurt Shack of Oregon City. Here’s the list of what we’ll be raffling off, plus the dates of the raffles. For days in which there are multiple prizes, we will be drawing one winner per prize.

We are extremely thankful to all of the families and businesses who have donated to our raffle drawings. We ask that you visit them, purchase from them, and thank them!

Apr 11:

One free Parents’ Survival Night at The Little Gym ($21 value),
Three “Have one on us” 3-topping pizzas from Papa Murphy’s of West Linn

Apr 12:

The Little Gym T-Shirt & Baseball Cap ($18 value),
$25 gift certificate to Players

Apr 13:

One The Little Gym Summer Camp ($21 value),
Five $25 Mary Kay gift certificates from Mary Kay consultant Mary Bicknell

Apr 14:

The Little Gym t-shirt, slo-mo ball and Foam Flyer ($27.50 value),
Two adult and two children tickets to ComedySportz ($28 value)

Apr 15: The Little Gym Annual Family Membership renewal ($35 value)

Apr 16:

One free Parent’s Survival Night ($21 value),
Annual membership and 2 hours of playcare at Portland’s WeVillage ($75 value)

Apr 18:

The Little Gym T-Shirt & Baseball Cap ($18 value),
$25 gift certificate to Frog Pond Toys and Lily Pad Café.

Apr 19:

One The Little Gym Summer Camp ($26 value),
$30 gift certificate from Pampered Chef consultant, Angelika Heidelberger

Apr 20:

The Little Gym Annual Family membership ($35 value),
$75 gift certificate from Flourish Pilates in West Linn

Apr 21:   One night’s stay at the Residence Inn by Marriott, Lake Oswego ($129+ value)

Apr 22:   90 minute outdoor family photo shoot with William Fisher Photography. ($300 value)

Apr 23:   Grand Prize – free Winter/Spring 2011 semester of classes! ($350+ value)

Please let me know if $1400 in prizes is good enough... I don't know if I can do better than this for next year! :-)

Whole lotta stuff goin' on at The Little Gym!

2011-03-17T15:13:00.000-07:00

We've been a bit quiet on Facebook and our blog lately... Well, we've been very busy. This coming Monday the 21st is Spring Break week. We won't be running classes that week; we'll be running 3-hour camps for your 3-8 year olds. We're pulling out the stops to make Spring Break really fun and really active for your children. Almost all of our morning camps are full with the exception of Friday the 25th (and Saturday the 26th has just 3 spots left as of this writing).

Camps are 3-hours of fun, games, theme-based activities, gymnastics, snack and arts & crafts. Our afternoon camps, from 1-4pm on Monday through Friday still have room, so call us at (503) 595-9702 to reserve your spot.

An example lesson plan for a camp consists of:

10-15 minutes of free play time in the gym to get the children warmed up and ready to go.
Opening Circle to set the tone of the day, review rules and expectations, and do a fun name activity so we can get to know each other. For example, on Friday, we're doing a Bean Bag dash -- the instructors call out two names, and those children, sitting opposite each other in a circle must run to the center of the circle and grab a bean bag each, before the instructor makes it to the center and gets both bean bags. Who knows... maybe the instructor will "trip?" :-)
Warm-up - motor skills and movement to our favorite The Little Gym songs
Group Game - We might play a game like "Duel," where children tuck scarves in their waistband and team up with a friend to try to snatch their friend's scarf before they get theirs.
Group Activity - We'll use various equipment like rhythm sticks, hula hoops, stretch rope, parachute, frisbees, and more, typically set to The Little Gym music. On Friday we'll be using bean bags as "pancakes" during our McFlake's pancakes activity.
We'll do 30 minutes of gymnastics staions, practicing fun skills, like underswings into the "hot tub", rolls over the donut, walks up an *inclined* balance beam, and even soccer dribbling and kicking around The Little Gym equipment.
Snacks include healthy treats like pretzels, apple slices and carrots.
After snack and craft time, we'll ramp up the fun with some time on the Air Trak and a different special feature each day, like "carnival" and parachute games.

Your children will have a ton of fun, plus we'll wear them out for you! :-)

Camps run Monday through Friday, 9am - 12 Noon, or 1pm - 4pm, plus Saturday 9am - 12 Noon. The cost is $31 per session. There is a $5 savings for members, and siblings receive a slight savings.

Camp themes are:

Monday - Big Top Bonanza
Tuesday - Tarzan & Tarzanna
Wednesday - To Infinity... And Beyond!
Thursday - Harry's School of Magic
Friday - Hip Hip Hooray!
Saturday - Karate Kids Camp

During the week of camps, all members will be receiving a copy of our Summer class, camp, and Fall class schedules in the mail. We're gearing up for Priority Enrollment, in which current members get first opportunity to reserve class spots for Summer and Fall. Popular classes fill quickly, so from April 11th through the 23rd is a prime time for members. We'll be having daily raffle prizes for The Little Gym merchandise and services, plus gift certificates for items donated from The Little Gym members and friends. (If you have something you'd like to donate to our raffle, let us know!)

Have a great Spring Break next week! Hope you have fun with your children. I know we will!

Make-up policy updates....

2011-03-04T15:25:00.000-08:00

Could we now have the absoluted best make-up policy in the world? We think so!

We've been listening to your requests and are now changing our make-up policy to make it ever more flexible for you. As you may know, you receive a make-up for any missed class, whether you call us in advance or not. (Of course, we really do appreciate it if you can call us prior to missing a class! That way others can do make-ups in your spot, and we can adjust our teachers schedules appropriately.)

Up until now, your make-ups could only be used while you are enrolled in classes. Going forward, as long as your membership is current, your can use any make-ups you may have accrued. So if you finish a semester with extra make-ups available, you can schedule those as long as your membership is still valid. Make-ups never expire, so you *always* get your money's worth!
Additionally, you can now trade three make-ups for a summer or holiday camp, or three make-ups for a Parents' Survival Night. AND... make-ups can now be shared across siblings, whether they're enrolled in classes or not!

We think we now have the most flexible make-up policy in all of Portland. If you can think of a place with a better make-up policy, I'll give a free The Little Gym tattoo/sticker! :-)

Happy Handstands,
Ron

Portland Mama Makeover 2011 applications are now being accepted!

2011-02-04T06:10:00.000-08:00

Mamalates, a Portland-based Pilates program designed specifically for pregnant and postpartum women, is holding its second annual "Mama Makeover" contest.

The winner will receive nine weeks of services that include Mamalates sessions, a photo shoot by Campbell Salgado Studio, naturopathic consultation and acupuncture treatments with Bloom Natural Healthcare, life coaching sessions with Nurture Life Coaching, chiropractic treatments with Whole Mama Whole Child, childcare from We Village, 20 weeks-worth of classes for their children at The Little Gym. and a shopping spree. The makeover is scheduled to end in time for Mother's Day.

The winner must agree to have her makeover progress posted on Facebook, Twitter and blogs. Mama Makeover applicants can follow along and will receive special weekly discount offers.

To enter the contest, you must be 3 months to 6 years postpartum and live in the Portland metro area.

Applications are at http://www.mama-makeover.com/ and will be accepted through February 28. There is no entry fee.

A percentage of proceeds from Mama Makeover events, such as a raffle, will benefit the local nonprofit Baby Blues Connection, which works to provide support, information and resources to women and families coping with pregnancy and postpartum mood disorders.

Last year's Mama Makeover winner, chosen from about 200 applicants, was "so depleted that one of her goals was actually to gain weight," said Mamalates' Wendy Foster. The winner, who successfully gained 19 pounds, is helping with this year's contest

For more details of the contest, see below, or visit http://mama-makeover.com/

(From the Mama Makeover website...)

The mission of Mama Makeover is to give back to one lucky mama in our community (the Portland-metro area) so that SHE can give even more to her own family. This is not your usual nip and tuck makeover; it is a holistic, integrated approach to wellness and a unique, integrated and FUN event for Portland area mothers and businesses.

It takes a village to help mamas restore balance, get fit, gain perspective and rest AND reinvent themselves so that they can THRIVE. In our second year, many Portland area professionals and businesses are contributing their talents and services to incorporate a variety of modalities in this event. Our desire is to encourage mamas, who spend so much time giving to others, to take care of themselves! As a mother, if you feel good – grounded, strong and healthy – you can more fully participate in your role and job. This is an opportunity to offer support and help a special mama fill back up, transforming her from the inside out. IS THAT MAMA YOU? Read more to find out…

Who can apply and how?

New moms who are 3 months – 6 years postpartum.
Reside in Portland-metro area.
Moms that have time to write about their experience through blogging and social media and have the ability to commit to 10-20 hours a week of treatments, services and prizes.
Must have access to a computer & facebook account.
Motivated to achieve results from the inside out.
All interested moms, who fit the above criteria, must apply through our on-line application process via http://www.mama-makeover.com/

How do I apply?

There will be an five-week, on-line essay & application process for participants starting on Monday, January 17th right here on our website. Four to six finalists will be chosen based on the application process and after a face-to-face interview with the Mama Makeover selection committee, a winning mama, and two runner-ups, will be selected and announced in mid-March*

*TIMELINE* *all dates are subject to slight change, if necessary by MM*

Jan. 17th (Monday) – Feb. 28th (Monday): Applications open

March 7th – 11th: Interview finalists

Week of March 14th: Announce runner-ups and winning mama!

March 28th (Monday): Makeover begins - May 20th (Friday): Makeover ends.

Are you that deserving mama?? WE HOPE SO!

Important part of what we are doing: a portion of the proceeds from this event will be donated to the Baby Blues Connection. This local non-profit offers information and support to postpartum families struggling with depression and anxiety. Parenting is not always easy; for some people, it can be even harder. We have tremendous gratitude for the services offered by the Baby Blues Connection.

Phew! What a week! (And Spring Break camp info)

2011-01-30T07:41:00.000-08:00

The first week of the Winter/Spring semester just finished yesterday afternoon. This year we had the highest percentage of Fall students re-enroll for Winter/Spring classes. (Thank you!!) And this week, we had 58 new students come try classes. Things will be a bit intense for a few more weeks, then it should quiet down. A large number of our classes are almost full, so we'll get to "steady-state" soon.

Additionally, we had a few new instructors join The Little Gym during the past several months. We have very high expectations for our instructors and The Little Gym Instructor Training System is quite rigrorous, so we've been working our tails off getting everyone ready to teach the *best* classes, *every* class.

As part of the instructor training, I've been co-teaching, or coming in for evalations for many of our classes. It has been a blast getting into classes again - especially the dance and grade school classes. I'm excited about The Little Gym team and their focus on providing a safe, warm, nurturing environment for your children to grow.

Parents have been asking about our Summer camp schedule. Most likely it will be the same as last year's: Tuesday and Thursdays from 9am - Noon, and Monday, Wednesday, Friday, from 1pm - 4pm. You can pick and choose what days you'd like to come. We'll probably start enrolling for Summer camps in a few weeks.

But we do now have our Spring Break camp schedule posted to our website, and we're now enrolling for Spring Break camps. Camps are for "potty independent" 3-8 year olds, and run from 9am - Noon, or 1pm - 4pm. The themes are:

Mon, March 21 -- Big Top Bonanza
Tues, March 22 -- Tarzan and Tarz-anna
Wed, March 23 -- To Infinity and Beyond
Thurs, March 24 -- Harry's School of Magic
Friday, March 25 -- Hip Hip Hooray
Saturday, March 26 - Karate Kids Camp (9am - Noon only)

If you have any questions about our classes, camps, or parties, let us know!

-Teacher Ron
http://www.tlglakeoswegoor.com/

It's our birthday! (Actually our 5th anniversary.)

2011-01-18T06:03:00.000-08:00

Two days ago, January 16th, was the 5 year anniversary of my wife and my re-opening The Little Gym of Lake Oswego after becoming owners. It's been a roller-coaster ride -- exciting, scary, fun, and daunting, but we usually have at least one huge smile every day.

Here's the brief story about how we became owners...

In her adult life, my wife Marie used to volunteer at the YMCA in the Richmond District of San Francisco, teaching aerobics to adults. When she got pregnant with our daughter, Freya, Marie got her pre-and post-natal exercise certification and started teaching a few of those classes at a fitness club near our post-baby home in Hercules, CA. After one class, one of her friends said, "You should make (and sell) a video of your classes!"

So we did....

A year later, we were selling a video -- Freya Fitnesss Postnatal Exercise Video -- on our own website, on Amazon.com, and at a few baby fairs in the Bay Area.

We learned a lot from that first business venture. It was fun, but when we had our second child, Blaise, we made the decision to shut down "Freya Fitness, Inc."

Marie had really gotten bit by the bug of having our own business and started researching franchises. We looked at several different ones and after visiting The Little Gym headquarters in Scottsdale, AZ, we both fell in love with it and decided to go for it. We spent some time trying to find a location in the San Francisco East Bay where we lived, and after several months broadened our search to a few other cities. Portland was at the top of our list because Marie spent several years at Willamette University in Salem and had fond memories of her time here.

The timing was great because The Little Gym of Lake Oswego was 10 years old, and the previous owner, Bridget, was ready for other challenges in her life. We came up in early September 2005, put in an offer to purchase the gym, bought a house in West Linn and sold our Hercules home in October 2005, and moved up in November. In December 2005, we closed the gym down, spent 4 weeks renovating it and training the old & new team members, and re-opened in January 2006 with a 22-week Winter/Spring semester.

My strongest memory was that during those 4 weeks of renovations, we rented out the McLean House in West Linn, from 8 - 5pm, Monday - Friday. We operated The Little Gym from our cell phones and carried our 2 front desk computers and our laptops to the McLean House every morning and back every evening, setting up our computer network, credit card machines, etc.... each day... in the rain... for 4 weeks..   I don't think it stopped raining for those 4 weeks.

During those 4 weeks, we transferred the previous 12 months of customer data into our new computer system, and we called every customer of those past 12 months to invite them back to The Little Gym.   We did customer service and skills & spotting training at the McLean house (as best as possible).   And on the day that all of our new gym equipment came in, we were super-excited. We met the 18-wheeler at the gym and carried in the crates of equipment. (The high beam was quite a pain!)

Now it's been 5 years.    We want to thank all of the families in the Greater Portland area who have come to The Little Gym of Lake Oswego for classes, parties, camps, and more. We are committed to providing a safe, warm, nurturing environment for your children to build confidence through gymnastics-based programs.   And we're hoping that the next 5 years aren't as much of a roller coaster ride!!

This week is Show Week, and in seeing "our" children performing their gymnastics and dance routines yesterday, I'm proud of being part of their development and their future success.

This past Saturday was the end of our Proud Parent Photo Contest. We had about 68 entries in the contest. Please check out the amazing photos of the cute kids that were sent in.

In honor of our 5th anniversary, this week we will be giving away a free birthday party at The Little Gym, one per night for the next 5 nights. We'll be picking winners at random from children enrolled in our upcoming Winter/Spring semester. If you've been thinking about The Little Gym classes, it's a great week to join!

Second free semester prize added to Proud Parent Photo Contest

2011-01-01T07:03:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! All of us at The Little Gym of Lake Oswego have been excited about the huge response to our Proud Parent Photo Contest. We're so excited that we came up with a way to make it even bigger and better.

To summarize the contest so far, you can email us a photo of your child having fun at The Little Gym; we post it to our Facebook Proud Parent Photo Contest Album, and then you and your friends vote for your favorite photo by "Like"ing the photo. Whoever has the most likes by January 15th, wins a free Winter/Spring semester of classes at The Little Gym of Lake Oswego (20 weeks of classes - $351 value).

(See our Facebook Photo Album for more details --http://www.facebook.com/TLGLakeOswego#!/album.php?aid=324644&id=178705949621)

Since your friends have to "Like" The Little Gym of Lake Oswego's Facebook page in order to "Like" your photo, our fan-base has grown exponentially. As of New Year's Day, we're at just over 1000 fans.

So here's our fun challenge to you, parents. We're going to add a second free Winter/Spring semester of classes into the prize mix. However, the second free semester will be awarded ONLY if our Facebook page grows to 2000 friends by the end of the contest. And the 2nd free semester of classes will be awarded randomly to a family in the contest.

So, to summarize, one free semester will be awarded to the family with the most Facebook Friends who "Like" their child's photo. The 2nd free semester will be awarded if our Facebook page gets to 2000 "Likes" and will be awarded randomly to one of the contest entries.

So, parents, dig out a photo of your child at The Little Gym and send it in! Or if you haven't been to The Little Gym yet, call (5030 595-9702 to schedule a free introductory visit and bring your camera!

Holiday traditions

2010-12-09T11:46:00.000-08:00

The "Holiday" season is here, and we're all in the middle of all of the planning and execution of our family activities and traditions.   A couple of weekends ago, my wife took our kids shopping while I worked at the gym. It must be the holiday season because she really doesn't like going to the malls -- especially this time of year. Unfortunately, we got a flat tire on the car and it took 3 hours for the repair. So she and the kids got a *lot* of their shopping done that afternoon.

One *fun* tradition we started 2 years ago is based on a process we learned from the Advent Bag & Box website. Every night from Dec 1 - 25, the whole family gets together. Someone is the "lighter" who lights one of 5 candles - Joy, Hope, Love, Peace, and Light. Someone is the "reader," who reads an inspirational quote and then we all talk about what it means to us. The 3rd person is the "opener" who opens a holiday-themed bag (or box) and pulls out an activity card.   The Advent Bag & Box folks sell a bunch of pre-written or decorated (but blank) cards. We then do the activity either that night or the next day. Some of the activities we've done so far are to bake holiday cookies, deliver the cookies, donate to a food bank, have a movie night, and yesterday was my son's "Special Day."

The kids love finding out what activity we're going to do, and Mom and I arrange the activities based on which ones work with our schedule (e.g. weekend or weekday activities). I love Video Veg Day, when we hang out and watch movies all day. :-)   Another favorite is "Drop a Dollar" Day, when we go to a store and drop a dollar on the floor with a note saying something like, "This dollar is for you! Happy Holidays!" We hide nearby to see what the finder does. Last year, they saw us and tried to track us down. We ran away. :-)

This is the tradition that the kids love the most -- besides receiving presents.

What holiday traditions do you cherish?

Proud Parent Photo Contest - Win a free Winter/Spring semester at The Little Gym of Lake Oswego!

2010-11-27T08:13:00.000-08:00

Parental pride is a very strong emotion. When your child first smiles at you, or when she goes to her first day of preschool, or when he hits his first baseball -- your heart swells with pride. It's a fantastic feeling.

At The Little Gym, we provide the opportunity to be truly proud of your children every week. With our new Proud Parent Photo Contest, you can share your pride with other The Little Gym families, your friends, and have the chance to win a free semester of classes at The Little Gym of Lake Oswego.

Here's how the contest works: Send us a photo of your child at The Little Gym. We'll upload it for you to the contest photo album. Tell your friends to "Like" the photo, and the person with the most "Likes" by the end of the contest will will a free Winter/Spring 2011 semester of classes - a $351 value.

The contest runs from now until January 15, 2011. It is open to Members and Non-Members. Photos can be taken in classes at The Little Gym, or at Birthday Parties or Winter Camps. If you don't have a photo of your child at The Little Gym, schedule a free introductory visit, come in, and take a photo!

Instructions to submit an entry are below:

1. E-mail us a photo of your child showing off at The Little Gym of Lake Oswego with "Proud Parent Photo Contest" in the subject line. Send your photo to tlglakeoswegoor@thelittlegym.com. Please include your name, your child's name, and a contact phone number.

2. We'll upload it into the Proud Parent Photo Contest Facebook photo album, and we'll send you a link to your photo.

3. Tell all of your friends to "Like" your photo in our photo album. (Your friends will have to "Like" The Little Gym of Lake Oswego to be able to Like your photo.)

4. The photo with the most "LIKES" by January 15th, 2011 will win a FREE Winter/Spring 2011 semester! (Winner will receive 100% refund of what has been paid toward Winter-Spring tuition.)

Good Luck!

- Ron, Marie, and The Little Gym team!

Open Enrollment for Winter/Spring classes starts tomorrow - Monday, November 22nd. Enroll early and be entered to win a free birthday party!

2010-11-21T08:23:00.000-08:00

After the conclusion of Priority Enrollment (current-member enrollment period), we are offering an "Early Bird Enrollment Period" for current members, inactive members, and non-members. It is extremely beneficial for us to know NOW how many students will be in Winter/Spring classes so we can work on our instructor schedule and recruiting plans - so this is our way of saying "thank you" for enrolling early.

All Winter/Spring enrollees (including those of you who signed up during Priority Enrollment) will be entered into a drawing towards a free birthday party at The Little Gym of Lake Oswego!

Early Bird enrollment will run until December 4th when we draw and announce the winner. Open Enrollment begins immediately, and is available for all classes that are still open after Priority Enrollment. This has been our most successful Priority Enrollment and several classes are full and others are almost full:

Monday 1:30pm Jazzy Bugs/Giggle Toes - FULL
Saturday 12:05pm Giggle Worms/Good Friends - FULL
4 other classes have 5 or less spots!

If your class of choice fills, we can put you on the wait list!

You may register by telephone at (503) 595-9702, in person, or online. Please call if you have any questions!

The Little Gym of Lake Oswego now has the best makeup policy in all of Portland!

2010-11-16T13:06:00.000-08:00

Well.... unofficially, we *think* we now have the best makeup policy in all of greater Portland.

We're always looking at how we do business. The only way we can run our business and support our family and our instructors' families is through you - our customers. We recently reviewed our makeup policy and came up with a great way to have a makeup policy that provides our customers what they actually want and need.

Up until now, makeups for classes would need to be scheduled within 6 months after the absence, and you were required to call in to get an excused absence that could be made up. Going forward, your makeups will never expire, and you will receive a makeup class whether you call in prior to your absence or not. In order to use one of your makeup classes, you will need to be currently enrolled in a class. So if you ever take a break from The Little Gym, when you come back, your makeup classes will still be available. We *really* do appreciate it if you can call us when you won’t be coming to class, so others can do makeups in your spot. But we realize that when you can’t make it to class, that is often the hardest time to actually call in. So if you can’t call in, you won’t lose that class.

If you can find another program in Portland with a better make-up policy, let us know!

Last week of Winter/Spring Priority Enrollment -- Open Enrollment starts November 22nd!

2010-11-15T13:57:00.000-08:00

Winter/Spring semester Priority Enrollment ends Saturday, November 20th!

This week (November 15 - 20) is the last week that members (enrolled and non-enrolled in classes) may reserve spots for the upcoming Winter/Spring semester before Open Enrollment begins. The Winter/Spring semester runs for 20 weeks -- January 24th through June 18th.

The following classes are either already full (noted below) or almost full for the Winter/Spring semester::

Saturday 10:15am Super Beasts (2.5 - 3 year olds)
Saturday 11:00am Funny Bugs (3-4 years)
Wednesday 3:30pm Giggle Worms/Good Friends (4-6 years old)
Saturday 12:05pm Giggle Worms/Good Friends -- FULL
Monday 1:30pm Jazzy Bugs/Giggle Toes (dance/gymnastics for 3-5 years old)
Monday 5:15pm Giggle Toes/Good Leaps (dance/gymnastics 4-6 years old)

Due to the high demand for the Saturday Giggle Worms/Good Friends class, we have changed the Saturday 2pm class for the Winter/Spring to also be a Giggle Worms/Good Friends class.

We have over $725 in raffle prizes being raffled off this week. When you enroll in classes, you're entered into every daily prize including:

The Little Gym t-shirts, hats, winter camp, Parents' Survival Night, Annual Family Memberships, and more
A brand new red wagon donated from State Farm Insurance agent, Matt Olsen
A $25 gift certificate from Frog Pond Toys and Lily Pad Cafe' in Lake Oswego.
A $75 gift certificate from Flourish Pilates in West Linn
Children's books from Goodnight Room at the Bridgeport Village
Men's shoes from Dockers
A $30 gift certificate to Pampered Chef
Grand prize of a free Fall 2011 semester of classes at The Little Gym of Lake Oswego!

In the last week alone, almost 50% of current members have re-enrolled for the 2nd half of the school year (Winter/Spring semester). We're expecting more classes to fill this week.

Here are answers to some of the questions we've been getting this past week:

Q: Why should you enroll for the Winter/Spring semester now when it starts in late January?
A: By enrolling now, you will almost certainly be able to get a spot in your class of choice. If you wait too long, the class you want may be full.

Q: When is the current semester over?
A: There are still 9 more weeks to the Fall semester.

Q: Do I have to pay for the full Winter/Spring semester now?
A: You can pay one installment of the 3- or 5-installment options. The 2nd installment on either plan isn't due until February 14th.

Q: Are there benefits to paying the tuition in full?
A: You receive a 10% Value Plan discount by paying in full, plus 50 bonus Member Milestone points (our rewards program). You can also pay a deposit of $78 and pay the balance of the Value Plan by January 24th, and still receive the 10% discount and 50 bonus Member Milestone points. The balance amount would be $273.

Q: What are the prices for the Winter/Spring classes?
A: 5 installments of $78 (base price), or 3 installments of $119 (8% discount) or $351 for the Value Plan (inlcudes 10% discount).

Q: Who will be teaching class ______?
A: We have the final instructor schedule set about 2 weeks prior to the start of each semster. All instructors have gone through our rigorous screening and training processes. They're all great. If you feel you want to switch classes, you're welcome to as many times and as long as there's space.

Q: What do I do if my schedule changes?
A: You can switch classes as many times as you'd like to, provided there is space in a class. If you ever need to unenroll, we will provide a prorated tuition refund about 2-4 weeks after you notify us of your need to unenroll. If you unenroll before the semester actually starts, your tuition is 100% refunded. The annual family membership is not refundable.

Q: What if I am going to miss a class?
A: Classes can be made-up as long as there is space in a class and as long as you're enrolled. Your makeup classes no longer expire. If you take a class when your child is 2 years old and then take a break and come back when he is 8 years old, all of your makeup classes will still be available to you! (This is a change that we made 2 weeks ago and will be announcing in classes this week.) We believe we have the best and most flexibile make-up policy in all of Portland. (If we don't please let us know who has a better one!)

Q: This sounds great! How can I enroll?
A: If your membership is valid, you can enroll by calling us at (503) 595-9702, or by enrolling online from the Schedule tab on our website --- www.tlglakeoswegoor.com. Non-members may become members and enroll starting on Monday, November 22nd.

Priority Enrollment for Winter/Spring semester starts today!!

2010-11-08T12:26:00.000-08:00

Today, Monday, November 8th is the first day that currently enrolled members may reserve their Winter/Spring class spots. Enrolling early helps us to determine which classes will be the most popular, so we can plan our staff scheduling and hiring needs. Plus it helps us pay the bills during the quiet enrollment period of November - December. :-)

As the economy picks up, this first week of Priority Enrollment gets more valuable for members as popular classes and times will fill during ealy. Currently enrolled members can reserve their spots with any of our payment options and be assured they will get into the class of their choice. Already, at 1:45am on Monday the 8th, a large number of current members have taken advantage of early enrollment. Over 75 members have re-enrolled, and several of our Saturday classes are already half-full.

To thank members for enrolling early, we will be serving refreshments for every class for the next two weeks, including snacks such as bagels & cream cheese, cookies, pretzels, juice, and coffee. Plus members who enroll during Priority Enrollment get 50 bonus Member Milestone points (our loyalty rewards program). And we'll be raffling off 21 different things, totalling $1100+, such as tickets to see Yo Gabba Gabba Live, dinner out, pizza, children's books, toys, and more. See our post from

Monday, Nov 8

The Little Gym Parents’ Survival Night
Three “Have one on us” 3-topping pizzas from Papa Muphy’s Take 'N' Bake of West Linn and Oregon City (3 individual winners of one pizza each)

Tuesday, Nov 9

The Little Gym T-Shirt & Baseball Cap

Wednesday, Nov 10

The Little Gym Winter Camp
4 Tickets to see Yo Gabba Gabba! live at 2pm on Sunday the 14th at the Memorial Coliseum ($200+ value)

Thursday, Nov 11

The Little Gym t-shirt, slo-mo ball and Foam Flyer

Friday, Nov 12

The Little Gym Annual Family Membership renewal
$25 gift certificate to Bamboo Grove Hawaiian Grill

Saturday, Nov 13

Parent’s Survival Night
$25 gift certificate to Players (dinner and bowling next door!)

Monday, Nov 15

The Little Gym T-Shirt and Baseball Cap
Matt Olsen of State Farm Insurance donated a red wagon ($100 value)

Tuesday, Nov 16

The Little Gym Winter Camp
$25 Gift Certificate to Frog Pond Toys and Lily Pad Café

Wednesday, Nov 17

The Little Gym Annual Family membership
$75 gift certificate towards classes or personal training at Flourish Pilates in West Linn

Thursday, Nov 18

Set of children’s books from Goodnight Room ($36 value)
A pair of Men’s Dockers Shoes. You choose the size and style! ($50+ value)

Friday, Nov 19

$30 gift certificate for Pampered Chef from consultant, Angelika Heidelberger

Saturday, Nov 20

Grand Prize – free Fall 2011 semester of classes (~$333 value)

It's happening... is my daughter a "tween"?

2010-11-05T11:42:00.000-07:00

It's interesting being a parent and seeing your children grow up. My 9 year old daughter said to me yesterday, "I don't think I need [quiet time] with you or Mom anymore. I like to go to sleep right away and when you stay in my room, you talk to me when I'm trying to sleep. Maybe you can just kiss me good-night and not stay."

We've had various bedtime rituals that have changed over the years. I had one favorite rock CD -- Cool for August -- that I would dance around to while holding Freya when she was an infant and not quite ready for bed. We had a dozen or so songs that my wife or I would sing to Freya and her brother while rocking them to sleep. (It was cool watching The Sound of Music and having they see Eidelweiss sung in the movie.) We included books as she got older, and now, with "quiet time", we hang out with her in bed for a little bit before leaving. I like "quiet time" because that was when she would talk to us about what was really going on at school -- things she liked and things she needed advice with.

She's growing up... she saved up and bought herself an iPod touch. She has her own email address and texts our babysitters and one friend. Is she a "tween?" I don't know... I do like being able to shorten the bedtime ritual, but I'm sure I'm going to miss our "quiet time." Luckily her younger brother still likes to snuggle before bed.

So enjoy your evening rituals while you have them!!!

The Little Gym philosophy in action

2010-11-02T10:25:00.000-07:00

The Little Gym philosophy is to allow children to participate in an activity or try a skill when they're ready. Just last night we had a breakthrough with one child that I thought I'd write about. But first a little bit about our philosophy...

We start when they're in our parent/child classes. Several times each semester, we talk about how parents should look at a child's face when they're doing skills with them. If a child is showing that they're fearful, we recommend backing off and giving them praise for what they did allow you to do with them. We don't recommend forcing them through the skill just to have them do it.

In our Preschool/Kindergarten age classes, we let children know that if they don't want to try an activity, they can just sit by the "watching wall" and watch. Eventually children will learn the procedure and often they'll go directly to the watching wall and tell us, "Teacher Ron, I'm just going to watch today." Usually when we get into small groups for the station portion of class, they'll join in. The group activities at the beginning of the class can be the most intimidating and it can take weeks or months until they're ready to join in.

If children don't want to go into class by themselves, we allow parents to sit by the watching wall to provide support. We ask parents to be as silent as possible and allow the teachers to interact with their children and invite them to join in "when they're ready," or "when they change their mind." When parents whisper in their ear, "Doesn't that look like fun?" or encourage them to participate in the activity, it ususally backfires. Children join in when they're comfortable. And the best way to make a child comfortable is to allow them to watch the activity for a while, and join in when they're ready. And it could be the next week, or in several weeks.

For our grade school classes, we will see some children who don't like to do specific skills. Some children are terrified of doing somersaults. Some are afraid of doing a forward or backward rotation on the bars. And some are scared of the high beam. For these children, our goal is to break down the skill into simpler variations that they would be comfortable doing, such as doing just the beginning of the skill, or doing it with a very "heavy spot" or possibly with two instructors spotting.

We have one such child in one of our evening grade school classes. The almost-seven-year-old is a bit frightened of the bars and has refused to do backward rotations (pull-overs) or forward rotations (tummy rolls) on the bars. Her dad had expressed concern, thinking that his daughter might even be slowing up the class. We talked about giving her daughter the room to try these skills when she was ready, making sure that she didn't feel pressure from her parents to do the skills even though she didn't want to. Last night she decided the she was ready. She did a tummy roll on the low bar with the help of two instructors. After doing it, she said that it wasn't so bad. She, the instructors, and her dad, all felt a surge of pride. This is what we aim for in every class every week.

This morning when I came in to work, Teacher Angela was excited to tell me about this breakthrough, and I'm excited to share it with you too!
-Ron

Super-Fun Winter/Spring Priority Enrollment Starting Soon!

2010-10-24T08:14:00.000-07:00

Before open enrollment for each semester of classes starts, we have a 2-week Priority Enrollment period in which current members may select classes and reserve spots first. For the Winter/Spring 2011 semester, Priority Enrollment starts on Monday, November 8th. The main benefit of Priority Enrollment for members is that they can secure a spot in classes that might potentially fill up once Open Enrollment starts. Children in evening and weekend classes and other key weekday classes are the main beneficiaries of enrolling early.

Priority Enrollment helps us at The Little Gym because it helps us determine which classes will need additional instructors scheduled and helps us determine if we have any additional hiring or training needs well in advance of the start of the next semester. To find instructors that love children, are energetic, intelligent, and capable of the best customer service and enjoy getting to know our fascinating customers, is a challenge! (Plus the class payments we receive during Priority Enrollment help ensure I can pay instructors, rent, and other bills through the slower holiday season!)

Each Priority Enrollment period, we try to make things fun and festive too. Starting on November 8th, we’ll have coffee, juice, water, and various snacks available for every class, for every day, for two weeks. Plus we’ll have daily raffle prize drawings. Once you enroll your child in classes, they are eligible for every remaining prize. If you win one of the nightly prizes, your raffle ticket goes back into the raffle box. So you can potentially win *every* prize! We have had multiple winners several times in the past. The goal is to encourage early enrollments, without penalizing anyone for doing so!

In the past, we’ve typically given away a bunch of The Little Gym prizes, such as t-shirts, hats, and gift certificates towards Parents’ Survival Nights, camps, and membership renewals, plus a few items that were donated from outside businesses.

This year, along with over $550 of The Little Gym prizes, we have over $550 of additional family-friendly prizes. Plus the first 50 students who enroll will get a buy-one, get-one free frozen yogurt from Yo Top It! of Oregon City (19550 Molalla Ave) . Here’s the list of what we’ll be raffling off, plus the dates of the raffles. For days in which there are multiple prizes, we will be drawing one winner per prize.

Monday, Nov 8

The Little Gym Parents’ Survival Night
Three “Have one on us” 3-topping pizzas from Papa Muphy’s Take 'N' Bake of West Linn and Oregon City (3 individual winners of one pizza each)

Tuesday, Nov 9

The Little Gym T-Shirt & Baseball Cap

Wednesday, Nov 10

The Little Gym Winter Camp
4 Tickets to see Yo Gabba Gabba! live at 2pm on Sunday the 14th at the Memorial Coliseum ($200+ value)

Thursday, Nov 11

The Little Gym t-shirt, slo-mo ball and Foam Flyer

Friday, Nov 12

The Little Gym Annual Family Membership renewal
$25 gift certificate to Bamboo Grove Hawaiian Grill

Saturday, Nov 13

Parent’s Survival Night
$25 gift certificate to Players (dinner and bowling next door!)

Monday, Nov 15

The Little Gym T-Shirt and Baseball Cap

Tuesday, Nov 16

The Little Gym Winter Camp
$25 Gift Certificate to Frog Pond Toys and Lily Pad Café

Wednesday, Nov 17

The Little Gym Annual Family membership
$75 gift certificate towards classes or personal training at Flourish Pilates in West Linn

Thursday, Nov 18

Set of children’s books from Goodnight Room ($36 value)
A pair of Men’s Dockers Shoes. You choose the size and style! ($50+ value)

Friday, Nov 19

$30 gift certificate for Pampered Chef from consultant, Angelika Heidelberger

Saturday, Nov 20

Grand Prize – free Fall 2011 semester of classes (~$333 value)

All of these prizes (with the exception of the Yo Gabba Gabba tickets) were donated by your fellow members! We are very appreciative of these donations and we hope that you will patronize your fellow members' businesses and thank them!

Proud Parent Moments - October 2010

2010-10-13T13:22:00.000-07:00

I love talking about pride in our children. That's got to be the best thing about being a parent -- being able to have those moments of pride -- when our children first smile at us, giggle, walk, hug us, and any time they say "I love you."

I had another "pride" moment last night when my son and I attended his first ever Cub Scout den meeting. About fifteen 1st graders were standing around two tables making paper airplanes just before the meeting was called to order. The Den leader then had all the children take turns saying their name, what school they go to, and what their favorite animal was. Now, my son is a little on the introverted side. In his The Little Gym classes at age 3, he was the Funny Bug that would sit by the watching wall during all of the group activities, or go hide in the donut until it was time for the gymnastics stations. Over time, his confidence grew and he did start participating in all of the group activities.

Last night, I held my breath a little bit as the turn came around to my son to introduce himself.... and he did! He even spoke loud enough that I could hear him across the room a bit. Knowing my child, just the fact that he was able to say his name in front of a group of 15 peers, and about 20 adults, it was a big moment -- for me!

At The Little Gym, we allow children to join in to the activities when they're ready. We allow them to be comfortable watching and joining in at their own pace. And when they do join in, we feel as proud in them as you do. Maybe all of those opening circles, saying names and doing a skill in front of the class had an impact on my son? I think so!

Here's a link to a video we recently posted on our Facebook page of a Giggle Worm who definitely doesn't have any issues with confidence. Enjoy!

-Teacher Ron, Owner

Halloween... It's coming!

2010-10-06T15:19:00.000-07:00

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. Is it because of the smell of the crisp leaves that have fallen off trees, or the swish, swish, as you walk through leaf piles that have gathered at the edges of sidewalks? Or is it because our children get so excited to dress up and talk of nothing else for the weeks leading up to Halloween? Or is it the fun "scary" stories we read, or the fun decorations we get to put up?

Nope... I'll be honest. I love candy. :-) Somehow my son also has a huge sweet tooth. I love going trick-or-treating with my children. Last year was the first year that I brought them home because it was getting later, rather than bringing them home because they got tired.

A few years back, we started a post-trick-or-treat tradition. We sit at the kitchen table and sort out the candy, discarding the candy that the kids don't like or can't eat (due to allergies and the newly added dental braces). Then.... we gorge. We eat whatever candy we want. I usually eat until I'm stuffed. Mom usually cuts off the kids when she thinks it's too much. We keep a tiny portion of the candy for the next day or so, and then Mom throws the rest away, while I sadly watch it go. I'm usually too stuffed to object when that occurs. But at least this way, we don't have candy in our house for very long after Hallween. And there will be plenty of other treats coming as Thanksgiving and other holidays are just around the corner.

At The Little Gym, we have a tradition too. We have our annual Members-only Halloween Party. This year it's on Sunday October 31st -- on Halloween. We're having it a little earlier in the day this year, so the kids can come to The Little Gym and still be able to go home for dinner before going out trick-or-treating.

We've always had a pretty big turnout, so we now have 2 parties -- one at 1pm, and another at 2:35pm (5 minutes after the first party has ended). We transform the gym into a Halloween extravaganza with a Halloween-themed obstacle course, giant cheese-slide, halloween activities and performances, fun games & prizes, and cookies and juice. Children (and parents) are encouraged to come in costume. All of their favorite teachers will be!

We have sign-up sheets at the gym and we're asking parents to RSVP by Saturday the 23rd. Below is our staff photo from just before last year's party. We hope to see you there!

Fascinating Parents at The Little Gym

2010-09-22T10:41:00.000-07:00

Each semester, we welcome families back and welcome new members to The Little Gym. In our announcements we ask (challenge!) parents to get to know each other. You'll be sitting next to each other for 19 weeks, and we have fascinating parents who come to the gym. We've had Trailblazer families, local TV personalities and producers, parents in all sorts of professions and into all sorts of hobbies. By saying hello, you never know who you'll meet.

In January of this year, we a Dad came in to try a class with his 2 year old. He said that grandmother (his mother) would be coming to class too. She was visiting from out of town. When she arrived, I asked where she was from. She said Massachusetts. (I am too.) I asked where. She said Natick. (I am too.) It turns out that her son who was in The Little Gym class, graduated from my high school 2 years ahead of me. We enjoyed trying to find connections from the past.

Just this past Monday, at my son's very first Cub Scout pack meeting, I was standing next to another Dad as the new Tiger Cubs were doing some running races. We got to talking and I found out that he had moved out to West Linn over the summer and was from Massachusetts... yes... Natick too. He graduated the year before me. He also went to the same college as me (Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts) with the same major.

That's quite a coincidence that I ran into two others from Natick, Massachusetts, a fairly small town in the suburbs of Boston.

So next time, you're at The Little Gym, say hello to another parent. Ask if they're originally from Portland. Find out what they do, or what hobbies they have. You just might meet a *really* fascinating person, or perhaps an old (or new) friend!

Our Fall Open House is this Sunday from 2-5pm

2010-09-16T21:10:00.000-07:00

Twice a year, we open the doors to the general public to come visit The Little Gym of Lake Oswego during our Open House. This Sunday will be Marie and my 10th Open House. (This January is our 5 year anniversary of owning & operating The Little Gym of Lake Oswego, and the 15th anniversary of The Little Gym of Lake Oswego's existence!)

All The Little Gym employees will be on hand showing skill demos, leading activities, serving refreshments and most of all, ensuring that all guests have a fun and *safe* time at the gym. We'll be raffling off t-shirts, CD's, hats, Winter Break camp days, free annual memberships, and the grand prize of a free annual membership plus 4 weeks of classes at the gym.

Every year, we wonder how well we have gotten the word out about our Open House. And we always keep our fingers crossed that we'll have a good turn-out.

If you're reading this and you haven't been to The Little Gym before, or recently, we hope that you'll come for a visit this Sunday (2-5pm), and meet us and have a little bit of fun while learning about The Little Gym. For directions, please see the Announcement page of our Web site.

The Little Gym voted #1 by Metro Parent Magazine readers!

2010-09-04T08:06:00.000-07:00

We are excited to announce that The Little Gym of Lake Oswego was recently awarded the #1 Birthday Party Place *and* #1 Children's Gym in the greater Portland area in Metro Parent Magazine's 2010 "Family Favorites" Reaader Survey.

Each year Metro Parent Magazine surveys its readers of their "family favorite" places in the Portland region. In their September 2010 issue, the winners were announced.

Thank you, members and friends for voting The Little Gym #1! You can read about all of the Family Favorites winners on pages 32-35 in the September issue: http://www.metro-parent.com/issues/sept10/index.html

Here's what they said about The Little Gym:

Birthday Party Place

The Little Gym earned top honors in this category with the consensus being that they do it all for you – and it’s all fun. “Love their ‘care free’ birthday parties. They do everything for you!”

Children’s Gym
The Little Gym also (overwhelmingly) took the top spot in this category. Along with their “very nurturing and knowledgeable instructors,” several parents mentioned that their children have gained considerable confidence through their classes there.

You all know how hard we try to hire and train the very best instructors to implement The Little Gym programs so your children can grow their skills and confidence each week, and your pride in them can soar. Now the rest of Portland knows too! Thank you!

So long Summer, hello Fall!

2010-09-04T07:39:00.000-07:00

Is summer over already? Yikes! I read a great book (before kids) about innovation. It talked about how some things speed up and some things slow down. It's probably a bit controversial so I won't put all of the details here. E.g. Discussions about the Big Bang and about computers developing the ability to think like live humans. Email me if you want the title. :-)    As we age, it does seem that time goes by faster.

My children are now 6 and 9. Blaise had his birthday -- a Star War themed party at The Little Gym -- a few months back, and Freya's having a sleep over party tonight with 8 of her friends. (A friend suggested I turn the clocks forward 2 hours and buy some ear plugs.)   For Freya and Blaise, hopefully they're enjoying their childhood, relishing each experience and growing from them.

This summer we had them enrolled in various camps around Portland. They experienced digging through regurgitated owl pellets, finding small mouse bones. They learned how to "post" at horse camp. And we all got introduced to tennis via a fun family tennis lesson for a few Tuesdays this summer.   We did get away for a week to a cabin in California. Freya did her first "real" hike with us and did her first (guided) trail ride on a horse with me. And we did get the annual Oregon Coast camping trip in last weekend. We also had plenty of down-time so they could experience the obligatory boredom of summer and focus on coming up with creative ways to keep boredom at bay. (I'm still trying to get the stains out of our carpet.)

With Fall starting, they're excited to start school. We met their teachers the other day at their Open House. This is also the first year that Freya and Blaise can do gymnastics together (Grade School Flips/Hot Shots). We'll see how that goes.

I'm excited about our Fall semester at the gym starting. We have a few new instructors coming on board and are saying good-bye to a few too. Teacher Amy is going to be traveling for a good chunk of the semester, so she'll be around helping with some training and substituting for a while. Teacher Kelly (the *new* Kelly) has some family committments and is going to be finishing nurisng school.   And Teacher Michael is going back to OSU for his sophomore year. Hopefully they'll *all* be back again!

Teacher Ana joins us in our Parent/Child, and Pre/K gymnastics and dance prorams. She recently graduated from Lewis & Clark from their Theater program. She's going to be directing one of their upcoming productions. And Teacher Andrea is joining us from The Little Gym of Beaverton. She'll be leading Birthday Parties and helping out in some Pre/K and Grade school classes too.

We're looking forward to having many of our summer class and camp students coming back for Fall classes, and we're excited about how many of of our former students and brand new students have been signing up in droves these past few weeks. It's going to be a great year!

Let's hope it doesn't go *too* fast so we can enjoy it! :-)

Happy handstands. -Ron

Sports Skills at The Little Gym

2010-08-10T06:25:00.000-07:00

It’s Summer Sports Week at The Little Gym. This week, we incorporate a few activities from our Sports Skills program into our Preschool/Kindergarten and Grade School gymnastics classes.

Our Sports Skills program is designed to develop basic sports skills and create a foundation for positive athletic experiences. It’s for 3-6 years old boys and girls, broken out by age groups, and uses a variety of innovative sport exercises, lead-up games and drills to teach the basic understanding of the rules and strategies associated with specific sports.

This week in our gymnastics classes, we’ll introduce the basketball chest pass, work on soccer dribbling, trapping, and kicking, football throwing and catching, and tennis (as well as including gymnastics).

Being an instructor at The Little Gym for over 4.5 years, and leading many Sports Skills classes over those years, I’ve seen the benefits of our Sports Skills class first-hand in many of the children who have been in our sports program. One of my favorite semesters was when I had only 4 children enrolled in a summer class – Mini Jacks, for 3-4 year olds. Two of the children were boys who had an amazing amount of energy and a comparable lack of focus. The other two children were girls that were completely the opposite. From feedback after classes, I understand the parents in the lobby were getting quite a kick out of the weekly “show” of me trying to engage all four children appropriately. What seemed to work well for the boys was when I pretended that we were doing racecar baseball, or dinosaur soccer.

It was hard to see the growth in those 2 boys from week to week, but they loved the class and their parents kept them in the sports skills program for several years. Eventually they became the “rock stars” in the class, learning the skills, and (eventually), improving their focus and concentration. One of those boys joined our advanced 5-6 year old class, (and also one of those 2 girls as well!).

Parents wonder if their child should do one semester of sports skills. We do mix up the sports each semester, with the Fall concentrating on soccer, football, and basketball (with a little bowling, and volleyball added). And in the Winter/Spring we focus on hockey, golf, and baseball (with a week of track & field, and Frisbee). As with any sport, repetition builds skills and confidence. So yes, as with any of our programs, it truly is a 2-3 year timeframe to get benefits of the program, learning the skills, and building a soaring sense of confidence. And those children who do spend 1-2 years in the sports program will have an increased ability in all of those sports.

I think I’ve given the example of my son a bunch of times. He just turned 6 a few weeks ago. Blaise spent several semesters in the sports skills class. That’s the class that helped him get out of his shell and join in the first 15 minutes of the class. He really enjoyed the various sports “games” we played, from dribbling the soccer ball around the parachute and then kicking the balll towards the cones in the center of the parachute, or our “Tower of Power” game where we throw footballs to knock a cone off a tower of “hot dog” mats.

This past spring, Blaise, agreed to join T-ball. Of course, after I signed him up, he freaked out, saying that he *didn’t* want to do T-ball. I insisted that we come try the first practice and see how it goes. Blaise was by far not the strongest player on the team. He has not been very interested in playing ball with me on the weekends, so I was impressed when he followed the coach’s directions and started playing catch with the other boys on his team. And he started to love going to his (*many*) practices and games. Even though I think it rained every day this past season, he loved going and playing T-ball with his new friends.

I loved it too. My pride in Blaise grew each week. The last 3 weeks of the season, the coaches started pitching to the kids. If they didn’t get a hit after about 4 pitches, the coaches would bring out the batting T. Blaise always got the T… until the last game. His first at-bat, he hit the first pitch from the coach. And I *saw* it!

More Proud Parent Moments

2010-07-29T17:02:00.000-07:00

We talk about how at The Little Gym you have the opportunity to feel pride in your child each week. Well this week, I felt a ton of pride in my son. My son, Blaise, has been in The Little Gym programs since my wife and I became owners of the gym 4.5 years ago. Our nanny brought him to classes for the first few years, and he joined the Funny Bugs class by accident when she brought him to the wrong class time. He was already three but with his temperment, we thought it best to keep him in a parent-participation class for a little longer. He ended up doing great and we kept him in the Funny Bugs class.

This week was a week of the next transition. Blaise turned 6 last month, but due to other committments, he couldn't join the grade school "Hot Shots" class until this week. Like his sister, he was very reluctant to join the "big kid" gymnastics class. He's probably going to do the all-boys Tuesday class, but this week, he came on Wednesday to the co-ed 4:15pm Flips & Hot Shots class. And he did great! He kept up with the other children in class, was beaming as he ran around the gym in the warmup, going all-out. And the other boys welcomed him into the class.

I loved it! As a parent, there is nothing better than that feeling of pride in your child. It's a very strong emotion. This week we allowed parents into classses to watch a portion of class. It was enough, for me, to get a good dose of pride... which translated to ice cream after class for all. :-) I hope you were able to get a good dose of pride in your child or children this week!

Happy handstands,
Teacher Ron

Another fun week coming up... Guppies to Puppies!

2010-07-22T15:27:00.000-07:00

Now that Who's Your Hero camp week is over, I'm setting my sights on our Guppies to Puppies week -- the week of August 16 - 20. During our classes that week, we invite students to bring in a pet to show to their class during the opening circle or closing circle (or lobby if it's a large animal).

And during our camps, we arrange special guest animal visitors for each day. In years past, we had visits from a one-legged cat, several snakes, bearded dragons, a pony and a horse. Plus we've had visitors from several non-profits:

Project Pooch -- an organization that has successfully paired youths incarcerated at the MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility in Woodburn, Oregon, with homeless shelter dogs since 1993.
PAWS - a non-profit cat adoption center in West Linn, Oregon. Their mission is to place as many homeless cats and kittens into loving, caring homes.
Cat Adoption Team - the Pacific Northwest’s largest nonprofit, limited admission cat shelter.

The cat shelters are always a hit, especially when they bring young kittens and talk about caring for animals. And we're hoping that Suzi from Project Pooch can make it back again. She brings one of her dogs and shows some of the things that a highly trained dog can do.

This year, we will have a visit by some hissing cockroaches. possibly some walking stick bugs; and we'll go next door to Cat Care Professionals and visit some cats staying at their B&B.

We're looking for other pet visitors that week. So if you have a pet you'd like to bring in to show off, we'd love to have you! Call (503) 595-9702 and talk with Ron for arrangements.

Happy Handstands!

Who's Your Hero Week at The Little Gym - July 12 - 16

2010-07-09T09:37:00.000-07:00

Next week is "Who's Your Hero?" week at The Little Gym of Lake Oswego. This week is always a huge hit for the children who attend camp. Each day we talk about and pretend to be the various heros of our community -- police, fire fighters, paramedics and more! On several days we'll actually be visited by some real community heros.

Last year, paramedics from Metro West Ambulance gave a tour of their ambulance, showing the campers all of the gear they keep and how they use it to keep people safe when they're injured. One child got hooked up to a heart-rate monitor and another got their arm stabilized with an air-based cast. This year, will be visited by two different ambulance companies on Monday July, 12th and Tuesday, July 13th.

We also got visits from both the Lake Oswego and Tualatin police last year. Officers Girardi and Phillips talked about safety and how the police help families in the community. Of course, the highlight was a tour of their police cars.

But the highlight of the week was when Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue came for their visit. Three fire fighters spent quite a bit of time talking about their gear in our lobby, and showed how their infrared detecters are used to find people in smoke-filled rooms, or to find out which areas of a building are hot (on fire and dangerous). Then they took us outside for a tour of their fire engine, including allowing each camper a turn to shoot water from a live fire hose.

The police are visiting on Friday next week, with the fire fighters coming on Wednesday the 14th. Since each crew will be "on call," if an emergency arises, they may be called away. But hopefully, we'll have some super-fun visits with our local heros.

Space is available in camp for every day next week. Call us at (503) 595-9702 to reserve your spaces for your potty-independent 3-8 year olds before they're full!

Opportunity to expose your children to another culture -- Compass USA is looking for host families

2010-06-24T15:28:00.000-07:00

I recently got an email from Shelby Davison of Compass USA, asking that I forward her request to our members. I have not worked with Compass USA and The Little Gym does not endorse their organization. If you're interested in learning more, please contact Annette (Clackamas) at 503.481.4125, Becky (Clackamas) at 360.892.4212, or Lana (Oregon City) at 503.709.6108. The Compass USA website can be seen at: http://www.compass-usa.net/.

Compass USA is an organization that facilitates home-stays for American and International students to further the growth of international understanding. They currently have a group of 25 Okinawan high school boys and girls coming to Clackamas and Oregon City July 21-August 18 and are looking for host families who would be willing to open their hearts and homes to these students.

From Shelby:

"This is a rewarding opportunity for families of all ages to have an international experience without even leaving home. Many of the families that have participated in this program have developed life long friendships with their students and have even visited their students in Japan."

"From July 21st to August 18th, Oregon City and Clackamas will play host to nearly 25 Okinawan students eager to improve their English and learn about American culture. This group of young girls and boys (ages 13-17) will spend their four weeks in the Oregon City and Clackamas area both participating in academic classes and enjoying weekday field trips around the community, including excursions to the Oregon Coast, Fort Vancouver, Seattle for a Mariners game, and the Columbia River."

"What makes this stay truly special for the students is the opportunity to live with a local family. Host families throughout the community open their homes to these international visitors, and by doing so open themselves up to a singularly enlightening cultural experience. While the Japanese students get a chance to learn about life in an American family, their host families are given a similarly special chance to learn more about life in Okinawa."

"This cultural exchange is a life-changing opportunity for everyone involved. If you’re interested in hosting a bright and inquisitive student from Okinawa, please contact Annette (Clackamas) at 503.481.4125, Becky (Clackamas) at 360.892.4212, or Lana (Oregon City) at 503.709.6108."

Winter/Spring 2010 Show Week

2010-06-16T18:51:00.000-07:00

We're about half-way through our end-of-year Show Week. It's a very emotional time for us at The Little Gym. I am *always* impressed with the performance of the children doing their routines in front of a large audience of parents. Here's some of the neat things that have happened so far this week:

Our Monday classes always impress me with how well they do, even though they miss one practice due to Memorial Day coming a few weeks before Show Week. Even our 3 year old Funny Bugs did amazing with only one class prior in which they practiced the full routine. (Two weeks ago was Memorial Day, and prior to that we had been working on just parts of the routines in class.)

On Tuesday, one of our Hot Shots (6-12 year old boys), did his pull-over on the bars for the very first time by himself, *and* in front of his family. He had been coming to classes here for about 2.5 years now. I wish we had a video of the progress he's made since he started here. His self-esteem has skyrocketed as he's been able to master skills recently.

Also on Tuesday, two parents realized they had a special bond. They realized that they had both adopted their children from the same children's home in Guatemala. They had been attending the same class for about 10+ weeks before realizing they had that connection. That was probably one of the most interesting connections The Little Gym has ever facilitated.

Today, one of our 5 year olds who has been coming since she was 2, finally felt comfortable standing up and performing her gymnastics routines in front of an audience. For the last several years, she would skip the performance part of Show Week, preferring to sit with her parents. Today she decided to do them, performed all three routines, and performed a few "future skills" (advanced skills done with a heavy spot) too!

My favorite part was seeing my 5 year old son doing his cartwheels over and over during the group activity on Monday. He's been coming for 4 years and has always been a little bit of a goofball, preferring to goof around with his friends versus really focusing on learning skills. But over the years, he's been slowly (stealthily) building up strength and the coordination to do these skills. I love it that I can feel parental pride for my own son at The Little Gym too! We love all of the kids and love seeing their growth year over year. This is such a great job! :-)

The Little Gym of Lake Oswego Receives Presidents Circle Honor

2010-05-27T10:40:00.000-07:00

Every year, The Little Gym owners from around the world get together for their annual conference. We actually call it The Little Gym Reunion because it’s really a time for gym owners to get together and reunite with other gym owners and our “corporate” friends at The Little Gym International.

This past weekend, was my sixth Reunion. It was held in Hot Springs, Virginia, at The Homestead, an historic resort that dates back to 1766. The location was gorgeous, and I was even able to take a guided hike of a local gorge.

Each year, at Reunion, we get an update about what’s in store for us in the year to come. Sometimes it’s a big splash, like 2 years ago, when we found out that The Little Gym was going to do a tie-in with Disney’s movie Enchanted. (We had a Disney/TLG commercial on TV, plus a raffle in which one The Little Gym member got the chance to walk down the red carpet to see the Enchanted premier in Los Angeles.)

Last year’s focus was on social networking and what Facebook, Twitter, and blogs were all about and how they could play a role in building community with our customers.

The Little Gym also brings in guest speakers each year. Last year Jeffrey Gitomer spoke about customer service. This year, Boaz Rauchwerger spoke about building relationships. I’m always energized after hearing great speakers such as Gitomer and Boaz.

Additionally, each year, we have various breakout sessions to learn more specifics about The Little Gym International initiatives and to learn best practices from other The Little Gyms. I always have pages and pages of tips and suggestions to bring back to our gym.

But the best part of Reunion is seeing the gym owners that I’ve gotten to know over the past 6 years. I love seeing gym owners who went through “Boot Camp” with my wife and me and comparing notes about how things are going in the various parts of the country. I love seeing Mitch from Miami who’s always *so* positive. And Katie from New Jersey who’s gym has just rocketed in the past few years. And my prior advisors Stephen and Joel who are so excited about our recent success here in Lake Oswego. This year I also got to spend some time picking the brain of Adam from Chicago, the most successful The Little Gym. And I had a really nice chat with Jodi, the wife of Robin Wes, the founder of The Little Gym.

My goal each year is make it into President’s Circle, the recognition of the top performing gyms. The whole team here in Lake Oswego has worked incredibly hard to ensure we follow The Little Gym’s axioms of always teaching the best classes, telling everyone about them, and building long-lasting relationships. We spend 2 hours each week in our staff meetings, training, drilling, and practicing gym skills, and how to ensure you and your children are getting the absolute best value out of our programs.

This year we were honored in President’s Circle for the fourth straight year with a bronze-level award. President’s Circle honors are given based on gym performance and quality. Although I was the only person from the Lake Oswego gym there, it really was all of the instructors here that made that award possible. We’ve got a great team for which I am grateful.

Next time you’re at the gym, please congratulate your favorite instructors for achieving President’s Circle!

Here's a photo of me receiving our President's Circle Award. To the left (my right) is Robin Wes, the founder of The Little Gym, still teaching after 34 years! To the right is Bob Bingham, the President and CEO of The Little Gym International.

Parents Magazine Names The Little Gym #1 for Children's Birthday Parties

2010-05-16T07:23:00.000-07:00

Recently, Parents Magazine surveyed over 40 national chain birthday party packages to assess which offer the most entertaining, unique and personalized experience at an affordable price. The Little Gym landed on top with the #1 ranking! Here is the press release we sent out to the local news media last month.

Parents Magazine Names The Little Gym #1 for Children's Birthday Parties

The Little Gym of Lake Oswego owner applauds parent company's recognition

Lake Oswego, OR (Grassroots Newswire) April 21, 2010 – Parents magazine just announced that The Little Gym has been named the #1 Birthday Party destination for children. The Little Gym of Lake Oswego Owner Ron Skoletsky is extremely proud to have received this distinction.

"This recognition reflects just how unique our birthday parties are for children – and also how memorable and stress-free they are for parents," Skoletsky said. "Awesome Birthday Bash parties, as we call them, involve games, music and fun activities led by trained, cheerful and child-friendly staff. We take care of almost everything! Nothing captures the magic of childhood better than a birthday party, and we enjoy making birthdays a magical milestone for the kids."

While most parents are no longer planning expensive, over-the-top birthday bashes because of the effects of the economy, they still want to make sure their child has a fun and memorable celebration, according to Parents magazine. The publication surveyed birthday party packages offered by national chains to assess which offer the most entertaining, unique and personalized experience at an affordable price.

"Our May issue is devoted to birthday parties and we wanted to find out which party chains not only throw fun birthdays that kids will love, but offer affordable packages that will make parents happy," says Dana Points, editor-in-chief of Parents. "We examined more than 40 popular party spots to bring readers the 10 best ones."

While researching national birthday chains, Parents magazine looked at what each place provided with regards to fun, games and food, as well as extra incentives such as invitations, party ware and goody bag favor offerings. In addition, the availability of instructors, personalization level, and party room size were also taken into consideration.

"Our primary focus is building confidence in children by helping them develop physical skills. So it is even more exciting to be recognized for the creativity and imagination that we put into our weekend birthday parties," said Paul Dickison of The Little Gym International.

"There are several factors that we believe draw parents to our birthday parties," Skoletsky added. "Our unique and proprietary music and curriculum are specially personalized to cater to each child's age, gender, and interests. And, unlike facilities where multiple parties occur at the same time, each birthday booking reserves the entire facility."

The Little Gym locations, including The Little Gym of Lake Oswego, make birthday parties a stress-free event for parents, as they take care of set up and clean up for the parties, provide party ware and even send out invitations to guests, "Our staff is well-trained to bring out the very best in children, which helps to make each birthday experience memorable and magical," Skoletsky said.

The first hour of the birthday party is spent in the gym engaged in age-appropriate instructor-led games and activities. The final half hour of the celebration is spent in the gym's special party room where children enjoy cake and drinks and open presents. The Little Gym provides drinks for the children, all paper goods, balloons for decoration and a list of opened gifts for thank you cards. The birthday child even gets a special The Little Gym T-shirt.

Aside from its Awesome Birthday Bash parties, The Little Gym also offers classes for children from four months of age to 12 years that range from parent/child classes in early motor skill development to grade school gymnastics, sports skills development, karate, cheerleading and dance. These programs are built on a structured curriculum where kids progressively build skills, leading to enhanced self-confidence and socialization.

For more information about Parents magazine's 10 Best Birthday Party Chains, visit: www.parents.com/fun/birthdays/ideas/top-10-birthday-chains-for-kid-birthday-parties/.

For more information about The Little Gym of Lake Oswego and its Awesome Birthday Bach parties, please contact Ron Skoletsky at 503-595-9702 or visit http://www.tlglakeoswegoor.com/.

About The Little Gym

The Little Gym is the premier developer of physical skills in children worldwide. The very first location was established in 1976 by Robin Wes, an innovative educator with a genuine love for children. The Little Gym International, Inc., headquartered in Scottsdale, Ariz., was formed in 1992 to franchise The Little Gym concept. Today, The Little Gym International has more than 300 locations in 21 countries. For more information, visit The Little Gym at http://www.thelittlegym.com/.

What do your teachers do on their day off?

2010-05-09T06:41:00.000-07:00

Many times I've had parents come to the gym saying that their child has talked about Teacher Ron or other teachers and were wondering what they were doing right now, or if they sleep at the gym, etc... So to help satisfy their curiosity, here's a vido of what I've been working on (off and on for the past 10 years). The video you are about to see is the result of probably 20-30 hours of practice over the past 11 months.

Secret trick for having a great day!

2010-05-07T16:23:00.000-07:00

Today I learned a new trick for how to have a great day. During our 11:15am Mini Jacks sports skills class, one of the students' moms was bonding with her 2-year old daughter, painting her nails. I walked by and put my hand flat on the table and said to 2-year old Morgan, "Hey, can I get my nails done too?" Mom didn't miss a beat and painted one nail a bright pink. Morgan and Mom got a kick out of it, and I had a smile on my face for a minute until I got caught up with something else at the gym.

At least 5 times during the day, I noticed my pink nail. I proudly showed it off to my The Little Gym staff. It helped keep me in a playful mood all day. I don't know if I'll do it that often, but when you can live life, not taking yourself too seriously, the fun you can have, can make your good day into a great one.

Do something fun and silly today!

Enroll for Summer or Fall classes and enter a raffle to win a free birthday party at The Little Gym!

2010-04-27T13:27:00.000-07:00

We just finished a two-week priority Enrollment period in which current The Little Gym members got first pick of spots in Summer and Fall semester classes. After the conclusion of Priority Enrollment, starting this week, we are offering an "Early Bird Enrollment Period" for current members, inactive members, and non-members. It is extremely beneficial for us to know NOW how many students will be in Summer classes so we can work on our instructor schedule and recruiting plans - so this is our way of saying "thank you" for enrolling early.

All Summer and Fall class enrollees (including those of you who signed up during Priority Enrollment) will be entered into a drawing towards a free birthday party at The Little Gym of Lake Oswego!

Early Bird enrollment will be open until May 8th when we draw and announce the winner. Early Bird Enrollment is available for all classes that are still open after Priority Enrollment. Several of our Saturday classes are almost full!!

You may register by telephone at (503) 595-9702, in person, or online. Please call if you have any questions!

It gets easier!

2010-04-27T13:14:00.000-07:00

A friend of ours once told my wife and I, “Little kids… little problems. Big kids… big problems.” I think she and her husband were helping their child with mortgage payments at the time. One of my little problems back then was that it seemed that I had to be holding my child ALL the time. I thought my arms were going to fall off. I asked someone else, “When will I no longer have to hold my child?” They said, “When you can’t.”

But it does get easier. We had two couples over the house recently on a Saturday night. My kids are 5 and 8 years old. They brought over two 8 year old boys and a 5 year old girl. We prepared a gourmet meal (re-heated Market of Choice delicacies) and hung out with the other adults in our dining room for 3 hours. Our kids played in and around the house until it got dark. The kids finally came in when they were to cold to play outside. Every once in a while, when we couldn’t see one of them outside, one of us would get up to see what they were up to.

It was an amazing night. Three hours of adult conversation. Pure bliss. And after brushing teeth (we skipped it for our 5 year old), our kids were asleep in minutes, completely worn out.

So yes, it does get easier. Thankfully, they’re too young to need help with mortgage payments.

Hey, come join us on Facebook, or visit The Little Gym of Lake Oswego/Tualatin's homepage and schedule an introductory visit if you haven't visited in a while! We're now enrolling for summer & fall classes and summer camps!

Happy Handstands!
-Teacher Ron

Should I buy stilts for my daughter?

2010-04-14T07:59:00.000-07:00

This morning, my 8-year old daughter asked my wife and me if we could get her some stilts. She had been using some "As seen on TV" exercise equipment in stilt-like fashion recently. I told her that if she wanted to invest some of her allowance, I'd be willing to invest some of my money too in some stilts. I figured that if she is showing interest in an activity, I should probably encourage it. And walking on stilts is a physical activity that would help with her balance and it's a fun, unique skill to acquire.

Freya said to us that a girl in school had stilts. I said, "How do you know? Did she bring them in to school?" And Freya said, "Yes. She uses them everyday. She has a broken leg."

So, yes, Freya meant that she wanted some crutches to play with, not stilts. This got me thinking, how many activities should you encourage your child to do? What's appropriate?

I believe that the answer to that is different for every parent and every family. In our family, we offer choices to our children and allow them to decide. Our two children have tried horseback riding, various sports, karate, art, music, and of course gymnastics. Although our children are never going to be Olympic gymnasts, we have kept them in gymnastics to help develop their strength, coordination, flexibility and balance. The outcome is that they are able to keep up with their peers on the playground and on the sports field. And when I see my daughter swing across a long set of monkey bars, or my son running around third base, I am overwhelmed by my pride in them, and happy that they're able to be proud of themselves too.

Summer & Fall "Priority Enrollment" for members -- update

2010-04-10T06:59:00.000-07:00

Starting on Monday, members have a 2-week window to enroll for summer and/or fall classes before enrollment opens to the general public.

The daily drawings are:

Apr 12: One free Parents’ Survival Night at The Little Gym ($21 value)
Apr 13: The Little Gym CD, Water Bottle & T-Shirt ($23.50 value)
Apr 14: One The Little Gym Summer Camp ($21 value)
Apr 15: The Little Gym t-shirt, slo-mo ball and Foam Flyer ($27.50 value)
Apr 16: The Little Gym Annual Family Membership renewal ($35 value)
Apr 17: (1) $25 gift certificate from Bamboo Grove Hawaiian Grill, or (2) One free Parent’s Survival Night ($21 value) (two separate drawings)
Apr 19: The Little Gym CD, Water Bottle & T-Shirt ($23.50 value)
Apr 20: One The Little Gym Summer Camp ($26 value)
Apr 21: (1) $25 gift certificate to Larsen Family Farm in Wilsonville, or (2) The Little Gym Annual Family membership ($35 value) (two separate drawings)
Apr 22: Two Pilates classes at Flourish Pilates, West Linn ($50-60 value)
Apr 23: $30 gift certificate from Pampered Chef consultant, Angelika Heidelberger
Apr 24: Grand Prize – free Winter/Spring 2011 semester of classes! ($350+ value)

We're excited to start passing out beach balls and The Little Gym baseball caps this Monday too! (And to start seeing your children wearing them!)

Spring Break Musings

2010-04-02T21:25:00.000-07:00

Spring break ended a week ago. This was the first year in over 4 years that we did not run classes at The Little Gym during the local school break. We ran camps for 3-8 year olds and I hope your children who were able to get spots in those camps had a blast.

I know I often say how great my staff is at The Little Gym of Lake Oswego. It was fantastic to be able to take the week off and spend time with my family and be able to come back to a sparkling clean and tidy gym, with everything in place for a great “Super Fast Action” week.

Usually during Spring Break, my wife and I work, and our kids are scheduled in various camps or activities with friends. This year, with me able to take some time off, we made the pilgrimage to Disneyland. We “killed two birds” with this trip. We knocked Disney off the “must-do” list. Plus we flew my 12 year old niece out from Boston to join us. Her 2 older sisters had made the trip when they were younger, so it was finally Juliette’s turn.

So three kids at Disney – age 5, 8, and 12. My little guy wasn’t quite thrilled with going on any of the fast rides, even with bribes, so he and I stuck to the tame ones. But Freya and Juliette went on the Matterhorn, Splash Mountain, California Screaming, and Space Mountain, by themselves, calling me on my cell phone when they were ready to meet.

I was asked several times this past week if I had fun at Disney. Sure it’s stressful, managing 3 kids with different needs/requirements at Disney, plus navigating LAX (yuck!). And I did make sure the kids saw “It’s a small world,” and went to some of the “show” attractions. But probably what they’ll remember the most, was making up fun games to play while waiting in line for 30 minutes for their lunch, or making up fun songs (about throw-up) while waiting in rush hour traffic on the way back from Legoland, or making up fun things to do in the pool during Thursday afternoon’s break from walking.

Maybe next vacation, we’ll just invite a cousin or friend, or two, and get in the car and just drive somewhere -- so the kids can be kids and we can all make up silly songs about throw-up and create some great memories (and possibly see something that I can cross off our list of “must-do’s”).

Summer and Fall semester enrollments for members only (Priority Enrollment) starts April 12th!

2010-03-29T14:17:00.000-07:00

In the past, we've had separate "Priority Enrollment" periods for summer and fall, in which only members may enroll in classes for the two weeks before Open Enrollment. This year, we're going to combine the enrollment periods into a super-uber Priority Enrollment. We're taking the best of past Priority Enrollment "celebrations" and adding to them.

Starting on April 12th, members of The Little Gym who are currently enrolled in classes may reserve spots in both summer and fall semesters of classes. Enrollments may be done in person, by phone or online. Starting April 19th, any member (e.g. siblings, or members who are not currently in classes) may enroll for summer and fall classes.

We have just about 500 students enrolled in classes, with many classes having long wait lists. So our popular classes and times may fill during or just after Priority Enrollment.

How to enroll online: To enroll online, you need to log into your account on our website.

Go to the "Schedule" area of our website and choose the semester you want to enroll in
If a class is higlighted, you can click on it to enroll. If it is not highlighted, the class is either an invitation-only advanced class, or it has one or zero spots left.
After you select "Enroll", you will be promted to login with your email address and password. If you haven't set up an email & password on our website yet, you can select "register" to do so. When you register, you will be asked if you've been here before (select yes), and then you will either need to type in your Member Milestones number and PIN (from your Member Milestones card), or you can call the gym for your "Magic Number". The Magic Number is your Family ID in our system. We'd be happy to give you either your Family ID or your Member Milestones number and PIN.
Once you've logged in, you can select classes for all of your children, and select your payment option.

During Priority Enrollment:

Every day we will be serving coffee, juice, and other assorted refreshments before, during, and after each class.
Every child who enrolls will get their name on a “Future The Little Gym Stars” chart to be displayed in our lobby.
Every child who enrolls will be entered into daily raffle drawings towards The Little Gym t-shirts and merchandise, free membership renewals, free summer camps, gift certificates to local family-friendly businesses, and the grand prize of a semester of classes for Winter/Spring 2011 at The Little Gym! And yes, as soon as you enroll, you are eligible to win every daily prize!
Every child who enrolls will receive Member Milestone points - up to 500 points for Summer and up to 600 points for Fall! (Some of you may already be close to earning a free semester of classes!)
Enroll during Priority Enrollment for Summer classes and your child will receive a pretty cool summer gift -- a The Little Gym beach ball!
Enroll during Priority Enrollment for Fall classes and your child will receive a different (really awesome) gift -- a The Little Gym baseball cap!
Enroll during Priority Enrollment for both Summer and Fall classes and your child will receive both special gifts from us, and you will receive a $20 The Little Gym certificate*.
*Promotional gift certificate can be used towards any future semester of classes (Winter/Spring 2011 and later), or towards any Parents’ Survival Night, summer or holiday camp, or Awesome Birthday Bash!

Payment options:

You are welcome to pay in full and receive the Value Plan discount (approximately 10% off), or you can pay one installment of any of the installment plans.
Another option is you can pay one installment as a deposit towards the Value Plan. The installment will hold your spot, and then the balance of the Value Plan would be charged on your credit card on the first day of the respective semester. That way, you'd get the 10% Value Plan discount, but only have to pay one installment now.
If your plans change, you can switch classes as many times as you'd like, as long as there's space.
If your plans *really* change, if you unenroll before the semester starts, you get a full refund of your tuition. (If you unenroll during a semester, we prorate the refund.)

Sibling Discount update:

To accommodate families with multiple children, we are increasing our sibling discounts. Starting with the Summer semester, for families with multiple children enrolled in a semester, you will receive a 20% discount for your second child, a 30% discount for your third child, and a 40% discount for your fourth and each additional child.

Summer Camp details:

Our summer camps offer three hours of fun and activities for children ages 3-8. The specially developed camp curriculum is designed around themes, such as “Whales, Sharks & Mermaids!”, “Wild West!”, or “Time Travelers!,” and combines physical fitness and play with arts, crafts and special events. Our camps are scheduled for Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoons (1-4pm) and Tuesday and Thursday mornings (9am – noon). They are the perfect break for kids (and parents!) during the long summer months.
You are welcome to choose any day or days during a week to come to camp. Come to one, two, three, four or all five camps in a week. You pay for those individual camp days you come to. For example, you can come to every other Tuesday, and the Monday & Thursday of the 4th week of the summer. You choose your days!
We are enrolling *now* for summer camps. Children do need to be potty-independent and between ages 3 and 8 as of their camp day.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q: Should we do summer camps or classes? Summer camps are 3 hours long, are designed to be fun and very active. Our classes are 1-hour long and are focused on skill growth. We recommend classes if your schedule works for them, so that your children can continue working on furthering their self-confidence and gymnastics skills. However the 3-hour camps are a great way to keep your children active, building relationships with other children and teachers, and having a ton of fun! We do gymnastics in our camps, however, the focus on really growing gymnastics skills would be in our classes.

Q: I'm not a member of The Little Gym now. How can I ensure I don't lose a spot in a class I want? Prior to April 12th, you may join The Little Gym and be eligible to enroll starting April 19th. Or if you enroll in classes now, you may enroll in summer or fall classest starting April 12th. There are 12 weeks left in our current semester, so your cost and committment is less than a full 20-week semester.

If you have other questions, let us know!!!

Proud Parent Moments

2010-03-10T13:31:00.000-08:00

We've been talking about Parental Pride recently at The Little Gym. It's that feeling you get when your child does a "first" -- a first smile... says "Dada" or "Mama" the first time... goes potty on the big potty for the first time.   Having that feeling of pride in your child is one of those things that must top the list of every parent.

We all experience pride in our children from time-to-time. And at The Little Gym, we provide the opportunity for you to feel that pride every week in every class. We instructors also feel that pride in your child. Today, for example, a child who was extremely reluctant to do a backwards roll allowed me to spot him through the roll. When his face went from being very frightened to glowing with a big smile, I felt that same level of pride as his mom did, watching from the lobby.

This week was a pretty magical week for my family, personally. This past weekend, our 8-year old rode a 2-wheeler for the first time. She outgrew her bicycle that had training wheels so we picked up the next size bike. Marie and I had different methods of helping her (Mom's technique won). And within about 30 minutes, she was pedaling by herself. (Still needs work, but it was a *huge* leap in her skills and confidence.)   Marie and I were beaming.

And on Monday night, while reading to my children before bed, our 5 year old son, just started sounding out words -- from Roald Dahl's The BFG -- and that book has some *hard* words. (He did the easy ones, of course.)   Blaise has been doing this in Kindergarten, but this was the first time he did it for us. I was pretty floored since I had never caught him actually *reading*before.   Huge dose of parental pride there.

We've started asking parents when they call us, "What was a time recently when you felt pride in your child?" The answers we get are amazing.

When have you recently felt pride in your child? Did you tell them? Feel free to post your most recent prideful moment here!

Yay! It happened! We were on KOIN Channel 6's Keep It Local tonight!

2010-02-16T20:35:00.000-08:00

This afternoon, we got a call from KOIN's Keep It Local that the segment they filmed last Wednesday would be on today. I quickly shot out an email and a Facebook post and crossed my fingers that my DVR would record it at home.

It was great seeing Keep It Local's segment about The Little Gym of Lake Oswego! I am very impressed with Jenny Hansson's research too. She actually called us "The Little Gym," and correctly mentioned that we are a semester-based program, and offer a free introductory class. She got in that we have programs for children 4 months to 12 years, with different weekly themes. If you'd like to see the segment, see below!

Holy, Moly... the things we do for our loved ones

2010-02-14T08:23:00.000-08:00

Sorry... this doesn't have much to do with The Little Gym...

Last December, we got oneof those keychains that can display JPEG images, and loaded a few photos of our children on it for our Nanny, Kayla.  So I got it in my head to purchase one of the larger digital photo frames for my wife, Marie, for Valentine's Day.

My 2 children and I spent about an hour this week going through some old photos and copying our favorites into a temporary folder on my PC. I then spent several more hours on my own, going through our archives of photos. I had to stop around 2004, when Blaise, our 2nd, was born.   So after about 3-4 hours, I had 600+ photos to load.

Last night I plugged in the Pandigital 7" frame and started copying them over. One hour later, I found out that my photos were too big to fit -- the resolution was too high.    Yikes!    The box says that it can hold several thousand photos!

After experimenting for 45 minutes, I googled "How do I resize photos in bulk?" and found Bulk Photo Resizer, from Download.com. While it resized all 635 photos, I figured out how to put a "greeting card" on the digital frame, which had several backgrounds -- the roses were a nice touch.

I then tried to upload the *much* smaller 800x600p photos, and failed!! I tried copying them to a USB memory stick and then transferring them but that didn't work! However, when I did that, a subdirectory called "Photos" magically appeared on the digital frame. When I tried copying the photos to that directory, Egads, it worked!

After a quick clearing off of the kitchen table, setting out some flowers, a card, and our picture frame, we're good to go!

Here's The Little Gym tie in... I toying with buying one of these frames for the gym. But... do I want to deal with this headache on a weekly basis?   Hmmm....

Marie just woke up so I'm going to go... Hope you all have a very Happy Valentine's Day!
-Ron

Review/Comparison of The Little Gym of Lake Oswego's birthday parties

2010-02-12T16:19:00.000-08:00

A few minutes ago, Jane, a parent of one of our Chopsticks (Karate age 4-6), stopped me to let me know of her experience having her son's birthday at another local children's facility. I asked if she wouldn't mind repeating it for me and my trusty camera. You can view her video on our Facebook page...

Of course, afterwards, I offered her a hug and a Valentine's cookie. :-)

We're on TV! (Soon)

2010-02-12T15:46:00.000-08:00

This past Wednesday, Feb 10, Jenny Hansson, of KOIN TV, Channel 6, brought her daughter to our 9:30am Beasts class for a segment for their Keep It Local program. Before class, she asked me a few questions while her camera guy, Dean, filmed.   It will be airing on their program any day now... possibly tonight, or early next week.

Man, that was nerve-wracking! The camera is about two feet from your face and you're asked to ignore it and talk to Jenny. I had thought about some of the key messages I wanted to get across. I know that I missed two, and I'm not sure how much my nervousness will come across. I could feel a little drip coming out of my nose as I answered her last question. See if you can see the camera light glistening off of it on the video. (I'm going to be looking for it.) :-)

Then Jenny and Siena joined Teacher Angela in class. Opening circle was interrupted so Angela could get mike'd.  I think Dean had as much fun as the kids, with him running backwards so he could film the children in their warm-up. I'm curious as to how the whole thing turned out!

After it airs, let us know what you think!
-Ron

It's Finish week, not Finnish week!

2010-02-01T20:37:00.000-08:00

This week is "Finish Festival" week for our Preschool/Kindergarten gymnastics and dance/gymnastics classes. We'll be working on finishing all of our skills with our "Ta-Da's." But every time we do this theme, I think about the time about 20 years ago (yikes!) when I visited "The Big E" -- New England's version of the World's Fair.

The only thing I can really remember about The Big E was that they had buildings representing the people, culture, traditions, and food from all of the New England states. One of the states (Vermont??) offered $1 samples of Finnish Pancakes. It's basically a very "eggy" pancake that you bake in the oven and serve with maple syrup. (Ah, so it must have been Vermont.) Along with the sample, you were given the recipe.

I'm hoping that since it's been 20 years, this recipe can be considered "public domain." So if you're interested in trying a great brunch dish, here you go!

Ingredients:

8 large eggs
1 quart fresh milk
4 to 5 Tbl sugar
1 tsp salt
1 cup flour
1/4 lb butter

Melt butter in a large pan (12" x 16"). Mix milk and eggs lightly with a beater. Then mix in sugar, salt, and flour. Pour the mixture over the melted butter. Bake in a 450 degree oven for 20-25 minutes. You can cut the recipe in half for a 9x13 pan, or in fourths for an 8x8 pan. Serve with maple syrup, jelly, or butter.

Let me know how it turns out!
-Ron

Stories of Awe and Triumph at The Little Gym

2010-01-29T18:43:00.000-08:00

We have amazing stories of skill growth that are generated daily by the fabulous kids at The Little Gym of Lake Oswego. Just this morning, in our Super Beasts class, when I announced that we were going to sing Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, 2.5 year old Vance said, “I know that song.” I then announced to the class that Vance would lead us in singing… and he did! All 18 parents and I were impressed with Vance’s comfort in performing in front of the crowd. I *wish* I got that on video!

In another breakthrough moment, a 5 year old child who was trying our class out for the first time, verbally expressed his fear of doing a forward roll. Teacher Alex and I were able to show him how to break down the skill, first having him start with a straight body with arms in the air, and then lowering his arms to the mat. We told him we’d stop there, but he stayed with his head down. We asked if we could help him do his forward roll really slow, holding him the whole time and he said (over and over), “Go slow!” After he did his heavily spotted forward roll, all three of us cheered his achievement. We all beamed. At the next station, when it was his turn to do a forward roll, Teacher Adam was there to help. With 2 rolls in one class, we’re looking forward to further opportunities to grow his skills and his self-confidence!

Fall 2009 Show Week thoughts...

2010-01-21T20:53:00.000-08:00

Show Week for the Fall 2009 semester (our Mid Year Show) is almost over. It's always a very bittersweet week. During Show Week, the children we've been working with for 19 or 20 weeks perform gymnastics, karate, sports skills, or dance routines they've been practicing. They've been working on growing their skills from week to week, and then starting about 8 weeks ago, we link together the skills they're performing for their parents, siblings and grandparents this week. We only practice the full routines in the 2 classes prior to Show Week. We do not spend the whole semester teaching "to the show."

I'm always impressed at how so many of the children rise to the occasion and over perform parents' (and my) expectations. The Preschool/Kindergarten beam gymnastics routine is my favorite to coach. From doing an inchworm across the low beam to getting into a plank position, and then balancing in a tucked body on the beam, so many of the 3, 4 and 5-year olds finally "get it" for the first time, during the show.

Of course, there are also students who are more goofy during Show Week or decide to not perform for their parents. The growth that takes place in the previous weeks of the semester is more important than one individual performance, and hope parents know that. And of course, my 2 kids are probably some of the goofiest in class. I'll try to upload a video to our Facebook page if I can!

This year, in our gymnstics classes, we're starting the show with the parents in the gym and the children in the lobby. After the Lead instructor introduces the show and The Little Gym's philosophy, the children run in, run across the gym and do a forward roll down a cheese (wedge) mat and then sit with their parents. We've been practicing various roll progressions with the different age groups, but even the Funny Bugs (3-4 year olds) are doing higher level progressions. (Maybe not on purpose!!) They throw their little bodies at the cheese mat, and most of them remember to tuck and roll, ending up with a nice dive roll and a thunderous round of applause. (The others get saved from a splat by their teacher catching their hips as they speed by and help them tuck.)

I love all of the grandparents who come visit. As we say good-bye at the door, so many of them tell us how great our program is and how much their grand children love coming. Many comment at how they wish there was something like this for their children. (I wish I had a place like The Little Gym to go to when I was younger.)

But we do have a percentage of families who won't be coming back next semester. We don't know when we'll see them again. There are lots of reasons, like trying other programs, or taking a break. In 20 weeks with a child, you can really bond with them and it makes us sad to see them go. This morning, I saw a 2 year old doing amazing donkey kicks in the lobby, something I hadn't seen him do all semester. I hope I get the chance to see him again!

But so many of them do come back again. And when their parent calls to re-enroll, or we see their name on a class roster, we get a little surge of happiness/excitement knowing we'll have another semester of fun with our now-older students.

A few parents have posted some photos of Show Week to our Facebook page. Take a look... or post some of your own!

And I hope to see you at The Little Gym in your own child's Show Week!
- Teacher Ron

A fun evening at The Little Gym

2010-01-09T20:57:00.000-08:00

Recently one of the Portland Trail Blazers had a birthday part at The Little Gym for his 1 year old daughter. Of course, I wanted to be at the gym to make sure everything went smoothly. As usual, I was delighted with how professional our staff was in handling everything. I stayed for about 40 minutes to help out, but I wasn't needed. Teachers Kelly, Nicole, and Cassie did a fantastic job of running a fun party for all of the children, age 1 through pre-teen. I was probably the most star struck of anyone. I did enjoy seeing one dad do some small jumps on our high beam. (It held up!) And I did see the largest cartwheel ever, performed on our big red mat. I forced myself to leave early before I started acting goofy and requesting photos. It was a really fun evening. :-)

The Little Gym is #1 again!

2010-01-07T10:49:00.000-08:00

It's time to toot our own horn again! Entrepreneur Magazine has recently ranked The Little Gym No. 1 in the Children's Fitness category in their Top Franchises List, otherwise known as Franchise 500, for the 4th consecutive year. (Is this because Marie and I have been owners of The Little Gym of Lake Oswego/Tualatin for 4 years now?)

We sent out a press release to the Portland media. Let us know if you see it anywhere!! If any of you have ties with local media, I'd be happy to send a copy of the release to you. Here's a couple of quotes and paragraphs from the release:

"We are pleased to be recognized with our parent company as a leader in this category because it reinforces that parents are seeing the benefits of what we offer their children," said Ron Skoletsky of The Little Gym of Lake Oswego. "And, while Lake Oswego parents know The Little Gym as a great place for children, they should also know that our children's fitness and skill development concept is also receiving recognition on a national level."

The magazine also noted the overall strength of children-focused franchising, calling The Little Gym a leader in the growing children's services segment. According to Skoletsky, its programs are curriculum-based and make skill-building fun for students and parents alike. Individualized attention builds the students' confidence and lays the foundation for success in other arenas of life, Skoletsky added.

Paul Dickison of The Little Gym International says, "Just as each of The Little Gym locations takes pride in helping children soar, the company's franchise concept has allowed hundreds of entrepreneurs to satisfy their dreams of business ownership in their local towns. The company's core belief in structured curriculum for skill development has made The Little Gym a valued partner with parents who want to provide the best development opportunities for their children."

The Little Gym offers classes for children from four months of age to 12 years. Programs range from parent/child classes in early motor skill development to grade school gymnastics, sports skills development, karate, cheerleading and dance. These programs are built on a structured curriculum where kids progressively build skills, thus leading to enhanced self-confidence and socialization.

Holiday and Show Week preparations at The Little Gym of Lake Oswego

2009-12-27T19:21:00.000-08:00

In my last post, I said that I’d give you some insight as to what we’re doing to prepare for the holidays, for Show Week, and for the upcoming Winter/Spring semester.
Well… the holidays are almost over. We had winter camps this past week, with themes from Holiday Goofy Games to New Year’s Beach Bash. It was a time for your kids to blow off some steam, and for me to do some back office work. Teachers Kelly and Amy went to the East Coast to see their family (hopefully the recent East Coast storms will let them come back this week). And Adam, Angela, Nicole, Michael, and Makenzie manned the camps. Angela was in her element… she traded shifts with me a couple of times so she could be in extra camps with your children.

I’m excited because I was able to place orders for Show Week certificates, some cool medals and ribbons we’ll be handing out to your children during Show Week, Show Week dance costumes, *and* I was able to reformat my PC’s hard drive and reinstall everything. You know how 3-year old PCs can get. Now I’m finally able to get all of the latest Microsoft security patches installed. Yay! (Yes, I’m not only a great singer, but I’m also a computer geek.)

Teacher Alex also came on board last week. We are indoctrinating her in The Little Gym philosophy of growing skills in your children in a fun, nurturing way, growing self-esteem along with rolls, jumps, and cartwheels. If you’re at the gym this week, say hi. She’s going to be training hard in our Pre/K and Grade school gymnastics and dance, sports skills and karate classes. We’re also interviewing a few other folks this week. It’s hard to find the right combination of love of children, customer service, attention to detail, and silliness.   We'll be in heavy-duty training mode over the next 4 weeks, getting Alex and the others up to the levels we expect our teachers to perform at.

In addition to all of these things, we managed to cut several hundred strips of crepe paper for our camp octopus craft, and 700+ strips of construction paper and 88 tiny eyes for our snake craft.

The only thing I can’t find the time to squeeze in, is how to work off all of the calories I ingested during the holidays. Several parents brought in some treats for the instructors to share. Thanks for thinking of us!  The cheese "snow balls" were quite popular.

We hope you had a great holiday and will have a fun New Year’s, and we hope 2010 is full lots of memorable experiences.   [We just had one tonight. We're finishing off some pumpkin pie which my son, Blaise won't touch. So he's having a little bit of vanilla ice cream. We have a couple of different ice cream syrups left over from Freya's birthday party so Blaise went to get them from the fridge to add some color and flavor. He pulled out the two squeeze jars.   As he was putting them on the kitchen table, Blaise yelled out in surprise. We all turned and realized at the same instant that he had plled out a jar of Hershey's chocoloate sauce, and a jar of Italian dressing -- one of the last things Blaise would ever be caught eating. The ensuing laughter was a nice "cherry" on the top of a nice weekend.]

Holiday Musings from Teacher Ron

2009-12-11T13:35:00.000-08:00

Oh, the weather outside is frightful,
But The Little Gym is sure delightful,
When the cold rains start to blow,
Come and tumble, swing, balance, and grow!

Have you listened to our new voicemail message yet? I spent about 45 minutes last Sunday morning composing it. The paragraph above is the first stanza -- sung to the tune of "Let is Snow."

I've been meaning to do something fun to update our outgoing message and finally sat down and just did it. Let me know what you think! Call (503) 595-9702 to listen to it.

Yes, it's almost Christmas, a time to have fun, exchange gifts, and stress out. My family celebrates Hanukkah and Christmas. And when we find a fun Kwanzaa event, we'll often join in too.

Personally, I'm not much into the planning aspect of the holidays. I'm lucky that my wife, Marie, really wants to focus on the humanistic side of this time of the year.   Last year, we found a pretty cool tradition that we started incorporating into our family's traditions. Each day of December, we do a simple ceremony after dinner. We light candles of peace, hope, love, etc.., say some kind of reading and discuss it, then we open up a tiny bag and pull out a tiny card that has an activity that we're to do the following day. The other day was my son's "special day". Marie took some time off from work and went to Blaise's school to have lunch with him. Last night we found a local giving tree and purchased gifts for 2 children in need.   This morning we did a Super Secret Special Surprise -- we went to our children's classrooms at 7am and put a secret gift on the desk of each child.

We bought a kit from Advent Bag & Box (http://www.adventbagandbox.com/) to do this.   (We have no affiliation with them.) We didn't buy the acompanying book so we're winging it a little bit. But this is a fun and mostly easy tradition to do. Our kids calm down enough to do the ceremony and we haven't burned down the kitchen table yet. Tonight we'll be doing "Advent" plus lighting our menorah.   Maybe we'll make some super-greasy potato pancakes (a la Grandma Esther's recipe).

What traditions do you and your family have? (And can we steal them for our family?) :-)

For my next post, I'll let you know what The Little Gym is doing to prepare for the holidays, for Show Week, and for the upcoming Winter/Spring semester.

I'm looking for "Video Veg day". Maybe it'll be one day this weekend?  Marie?

Happy Holidays,
Ron and The Little Gym of Lake Oswego team

Thanksgiving... What a great holiday!

2009-11-29T07:13:00.000-08:00

Today I am truly thankful... thankful for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Thankful for the excuse to cook lots of delicious food. Even though we cooked a small turkey for our family, we'll have leftovers for quite some time. Yum!

Thankful for the extra time with my family. We combined two things that we hadn't done yet -- we visited Pittock Mansion (only found about 1/3 of all of the hidden reindeer hidden around the place). And we visited Powell's bookstore. We've been living in Portland and had never made it to these Portland institutions. (Powell's reminded me of Spag's of Worcester, MA. Anyone know of Spag's is still around?)

Thankful for the mini-vacation. I feel rested and ready for a great week at The Little Gym.

But while I was recharging my batteries, we were busy at the gym too. Look around when you come in to classes this week and see the great work that Adam was working on!

Early Bird Enrollment raffle -- win an Awesome Birthday Bash!

2009-11-22T07:54:00.000-08:00

We just completed our 2 week "Priority Enrollment" period when current Members may pre-enroll for the upcoming Winter/Spring semester and secure a spot in a class of choice before Open Enrollment starts (tomorrow). I was very curious to see how this particular Priority Enrollment would go. It's our guage as to how well we're teaching classes, engaging our customers, and yes, how the economy is picking up.

We had a very strong pre-enrollment with 50% of current customers re-enrolling. (Yay!) By knowing which classes are filling, I can better determine where I need to shift staff schedules and recruit for new instructors.

So this year, we've decided to have one more raffle drawing. We are now starting our "Early Bird" enrollment period, where for these first 2 weeks of Open Enrollment, *anyone* who enrolls in our Winter/Spring semester, will be entered into the drawing for an Awesome Birthday Bash. (Members who pre-enrolled during Priority Enrollment are already entered into the drawing.) We'll do the drawing on Saturday December 5th.

As I mentioned above, it is extremely beneficial for us to know *now* how many students will be in our Winter/Spring classes. I'm excited to see how this Early Bird enrollment period and raffle will turn out. Hopefully it will be a good way to optimize our Winter/Spring staff scheduling - which I'm starting working on this morning!!

Thank you!
-Ron

Ever give in to the "dark side"?

2009-11-19T21:43:00.000-08:00

Tonight I gave in to my "dark side." My children are 5 (Blaise) and 8 (Freya). After Freya's Brownie meeting we stopped quickly at the library and were heading for home when Freya pointed out that we were driving by Cold Stone Creamery. She got a gift card from a friend for her birthday a few months back and has been dying to use it.

Tonight Freya said, "Too bad we can't go there." I joked, "For dinner?" Freya said something to the effect of, "That would be fun." So I said "ok," and had to repeat it a couple of times as I was turning the car around and headed back to the ice cream store.

Yup, we had ice cream for dinner. I was heartened a bit when Freya said she'd have some fruit before bed and Blaise offered to eat an apple.

Was I a bad parent? Sure, I wasn't looking forward to telling Marie (my wife) what we ate for dinner. But me and the kids had a *really* fun night together that hopefully they'll remember for a long time. Tonight's the kind of night that recharges the batteries a bit. This holiday season I hope you find plenty of times to create unique and lasting memories.

The Little Gym of Lake Oswego To Offer 25 Scholarships

2009-11-06T13:03:00.000-08:00

My wife and I have been owners of The Little Gym of Lake Oswego/Tualatin for almost 4 years now. This The Little Gym has been providing premier motor skill development programs at this location for 14 years. Over the past year, our members have stuck with us, helping us get through these tough economic times.

We recently thought about how to give back to this community and have decided to reserve 25 class spots in the upcoming Winter/Spring semester for local families that wouldn't otherwise be able to attend classes due to being hit by the economy.   The Winter/Spring semester runs from January 25, 2010 through June 19th.

We've provided partial and a few full scholarships to families in need over the past year.   I'm glad to be able to put smiles on the faces of both parents and children who are able to come to classes who would normally not be able to.

We're going to try to keep this process as simple as possible. If you or someone you know has been hit by the economy and a scholarship to The Little Gym would enable your child to attend and benefit from our programs, please send an email to tlglakeoswegoor@thelittlegym.com describing how a scholarship to The Little Gym would benefit your family.   Please also include your name, address, phone number, and email address.

Submissions are due by Tuesday, December 15th. The scholarships will be awarded in early January.

For more news or updates to this program, watch this blog (http://www.tlglakeoswegoor.blogspot.com/) or the Announcement section of our website -- http://www.tlglakeoswegoor.com/.

If you have any questions, feel free to email us or call the Gym at (503) 595-9702.

Happy Handstands!
-Ron
Gym Director/Owner

Priority Enrollment for Winter/Spring starts Monday. Here's the list of our raffle prizes!

2009-11-05T13:25:00.000-08:00

Members may enroll for our upcoming Winter/Spring semester (runs Jan 25 - June 19) starting on Monday, November 9th. Enroll early and be eligible to win all raffle drawings!! You can enroll in person or by phone starting at 9am, or beat the rush and enroll online starting at 12:01am (I think!) using your Member Milestones account number and PIN. (Call us at 503-595-9702 if you need that, or your Family ID/"Magic Number").

Here are all of the prizes you could win! (Over $650 worth!)

Mon, Nov 9: One free Parents’ Survival Night at The Little Gym ($21 value)
Tues, Nov 10: The Little Gym CD, Water Bottle & T-Shirt ($23.50 value)
Wed, Nov 11: One The Little Gym Winter Camp ($26 value)
Thur, Nov 12: Custom his/her gymnastics-themed chocolates from Simply Sweets ($18 value)
Fri, Nov 13: Pregnancy Activity Book for My Big Brother/Sister from UniquePregnancyGifts.com ($25 value)
Sat, Nov 14: The Little Gym Annual Family Membership renewal ($35 value)
Mon, Nov 16: The Little Gym CD, Water Bottle & T-Shirt ($23.50 value)
Tues, Nov 17: One The Little Gym Winter Camp ($26 value)
Wed, Nov 18: The Little Gym Annual Family membership ($35 value)
Thurs, Nov 19: One night stay at the Phoenix Inn Suites Tigard/Lake Oswego (~$100 value)
Fri, Nov 20: On-location photography session from Annie’s Sweet Pea Photography ($150 value)
Sat, Nov 21: Grand Prize – free Summer semester of classes! ($200+ value)

Good luck!!!! :-)
-Ron

Now Announcing... The Best Makeup Policy in the World!

2009-11-05T13:05:00.000-08:00

I've been struggling lately... We have the best instructors in the world here at The Little Gym of Lake Oswego. We have the best motor-skill development program that not only grows physical skills, but skills that provide a foundation for confidence and success in life. So I was thinking the other day, what could we do to make our program better?

It came to me in a flash... how about make our make-up policy even more flexible for parents!

Up until now, makeups would need to be scheduled prior to the end of the semester that you're enrolled in. Going forward, if you miss a class, you will be able to do a makeup for that class up until 6 months after that absence, provided that you are still enrolled in a class. As with our current policy, we request that you call in prior to the start of the class to be able to do a makeup for that class.

So now, you don't have to worry about your makeups expiring so quickly. If your child is sick, now you don't have to be concerned with squeezing in a makeup before the end of the semester. As long as you are enrolled in a class, (which, of course you would be!!), you can schedule a makeup class when you're ready.

We have a few children in our program with conditions that make illnesses that are bothersome to most children, potentially life-threatening to them. So hopefully this change to our makeup policy will make things easier for you and keep all of us healthy!

Tears of Joy at The Little Gym

2009-10-29T12:30:00.000-07:00

I wasn't planning on writing a blog post today, but after our morning classes, Teacher Angela mentioned how she almost started tearing up in her Beasts class (age 19-30 months) today. Sadie has been reluctant to walk on the high beam by herself. She typically holds on tight to Angela or her Nanny Sara. Today, Sara suggested that Sadie try taking one step by herself. Angela was by Sadie's right side and Sara by her left. Sadie took one tentative step by herself... then another... then another... until she made it to the end of the beam by herself. Sadie was bouncing with excitement. And Angela's eyes started to well up as well.

Of course, whenever we share a story like this with each other, our other favorite stories need to be shared. Teacher Adam brought up a student (3 year old Funny Bug in our Saturday class) from a semester or 2 ago. Gabby had been terrified of the high beam and would walk across with her jaws-of-life grip on the teacher. At one point in the semester, she was ready to try it by herself. Like Sadie, she took a tentative step, and then another, until she made it to the end of the beam. Adam looked up and caught the eye of Gabby's mom in our multipurpose room (with windows right next to the beam). It was Gabby's mom who had showers of tears of joy raining down.

If you've experienced tears of joy at The Little Gym, please let us know!

What are your family's Halloween traditions?

2009-10-28T13:19:00.000-07:00

Halloween is in a few days. Most of us will take our kids out trick-or-treating around the neighborhood, or perhaps to our town's "downtown" area for some trick-or-treating at the local stores. Then we'll gorge on our kids candy after they go to sleep.

My children are 5 and 8 years old. They don't easily forget about the candy they've collected from our neighbors. So what we do is... we allow our children to eat pretty much as much candy as they'd like before going to bed on Halloween. They share their candy with Mom & Dad. (I've got quite the sweet tooth.) And then when we're sick to our stomachs, we throw the rest of the candy in the trash. Marie makes sure I don't sneak some away for myself for later.

That's kindof our only Halloween tradition. What are your favorite traditions? I've heard of the Candy Witch or Faries coming after Halloween to take away all of your children's leftover candy. I've heard of families who donate their candy to children's hospitals. I know of neighborhoods that throw big Halloween parties. What do you do? (And are you ok if I adopt some for my family? )

In any case, we'll either see you at our annual Member's Halloween Party, or next week for our Progress Party Sleepover week at The Little Gym!

Happy Halloween!

Who is your child's favorite The Little Gym Instructor?

2009-10-23T05:55:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, young Maddie came to do a makeup class in Teacher Adam's Thursday Funny Bugs class. She went right on in, no issues, no hesitation. A few weeks ago, when Maddie came to do a makeup class in my class, she needed Dad to come in with her, and she hung out by the gymnastics stations, hesitant to join in. When I asked Mom about it yesterday, she said, "Maddie has a crush on Teacher Adam." I tried not to take in personally even though I am working towards becoming a certified "child whisperer."

Although all of our instructors are fantastic, I'm curious... who is your child's favorite instructor at The Little Gym and why?

Sneak Peak at our Winter/Spring schedule

2009-10-20T20:22:00.000-07:00

It's almost time to reserve your space for the Winter/Spring semester at The Little Gym of Lake Oswego/Tualatin. If you'd like a sneak peak at our schedule, it is now online on our website on the Class Schedules page.

All members (as of October 6th) will be receiving a copy of our Winter/Spring schedule in the mail around Monday October 26th. It includes details of our two-week Priority Enrollment period in which only members may enroll. We'll have schedules at the gym around Monday the 26th as well.

During the 2-week period when only members may enroll (Nov 9 - 21), we'll have refreshments at the Gym plus daily raffle prizes. I'm finalizing the raffles. We've got some nice ones for you! I'll reveal those over the next week or so as they become more solid.

Happy Handstands! -Ron

Cool article about Teacher Kelly

2009-10-17T15:49:00.000-07:00

Here is an article originally from The Virginian-Pilot newspaper (covering southeast Virginia where Teacher Kelly is from). It's a suspenseful article describing the challenges of the beam in gymnastics and how Kelly saved the day for her high school during a gymnastics meet.

"Balance is everything"

The Little Gym is on TV....

2009-10-16T21:11:00.000-07:00

... The Little Gym of Fitchburg, WI, that is. On October 1st, they were visited by the Madison, WI television station WKOW and featured on a "Parent Project" segment.

From the article: Research shows classes such as these help parents learn more about their children than they would through everyday interaction. According to the journal 'Child Development,' "curriculum-based parent-child classes can help parents develop sensitive, appropriate responses to the individual needs of their child. Knowing how to respond best to your child helps them develop a secure attachment to you and in turn, provides a strong base for future relationships."

The link below has a brief article and a link to their 2-minute TV segment. Enjoy!

WKOW TV Parenting Project: Benefits of Parent-Child classes (article) (video)

The most amazing The Little gym instructors

2009-10-15T09:37:00.000-07:00

I am so lucky to have such a great group of instructors here at The Little Gym. We have a 2-hour team meeting each week to review the following week's curriculum, practice skills & spotting, and train on various aspects of the gym, including customer service, class management, cleaning and any new initiatives that we are implementing.

Last night we took a break and took pictures of the team for our new Facebook page. I'll include a couple of them here. Please visit our Facebook page for more photos.

In our meetings, I talk about how, in this challenging economy, I need everyone to be comfortable handling all aspects of the business, from answering questions correctly, to being able to schedule preview visits and enrolling new members, to doing the most important thing --- teaching the absolute best classes and growing skills and self-confidence in our students. Each instructor takes their role here at The Little Gym seriously and are continually learning and growing their own skills, either as an instructor or in contributing to this small business. By doing so, they free me up to focus on how to keep The Little Gym moving forward.

In the past year, we've included new equipment, we've added a member rewards program, we've expanded our Pro Shop, added a scholarship program for struggling families, and renewed our focus on improving our customer service. Our current initiatives include cross-training instructors on our various curriculum, and growing our instructors via The Little Gym certification process. Several instructors are on their way towards being Gold-level certified by The Little Gym International.

I hope you have a chance to meet our great instructors. I'll post more about them in the future. If there are any The Little Gym topics you're interested in, feel free to send me an email!

Welcome to The Little Gym of Lake Oswego blog

2009-10-12T13:58:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's time for a The Little Gym of Lake Oswego/Tualatin blog. Time to get into the '00's. Why blog? Good question. I hope to figure that out in the next several months or so. As we say in our Super Beasts classes when we introduce structure via modified games, or have parents step back and have the children follow the teachers -- It's an experiment! I'll start writing and see where it goes.

My wife Marie, and I have been the owners of The Little Gym of Lake Oswego/Tualatin for almost 4 years. It's been quite the roller-coaster ride. But *every* day, something happens at the Gym that provides the fuel to keep going, working our tails off to ensure we're always teaching the absolute best classes and providing the best customer service. I'll be writing about some of those events here in this blog. Feel free to post your comments too!

Today was no exception. Each September, when we re-start our Bugs class (for 4-10 month-olds), it's a challenge. Most parents automatically join Gymboree with their littlest ones. (I know, I've got to get The Little Gym information into the hospitals, pregnancy classes, nursing/La Leche programs, etc...) So when we get Bugs started it takes a little bit. This semester we tried the class at a different time (9:15am Mondays), and decided to build up a wait list for several weeks before starting it. So today, we had four little Bugs start along with their parents. I love practicing my "Bugs whispering." It usually takes several weeks for the infants to get comfortable with Teacher Ron. Today, I got a nice smile from even our youngest in class.

Parents typically come to class not knowing what to expect. There's a lot of learning going on, but just being able to spend 45 minutes with your child, focusing on their growth, focusing on them, bonding, and enjoying them, is tremendously valuable and worthwhile. I love being a part of that.