The Little Gym grows, glows

Helen Limcaoco, chief executive officer of Just For Kids Inc., became a pioneer of sorts when she opened the country’s first The Little Gym (TLG) in 1996. At the time, programs in motor skill development for young children, particularly based on gymnastics, were unheard of.

10 years and thousands of students later, Just For Kids is going strong with four TLGs, including one in Singapore. Just For Kids owns and operates all TLG franchises in the Philippines and in Singapore.

Its TLG Singapore West at Forum Shopping Mall on Orchard Road opened in May 2003 and now has 550 kids enrolled. It recently earned The Little Gym International’s President’s Circle Award for reaching this benchmark enrolment level.

"TLG is founded on the basic theories of brain development and how this is enhanced by active motor skill development from birth to 9 years old. As the children get older and increase their attention span, lessons on why continued physical activity is good are introduced in the hope that children will learn to love sport, dance, and movement and to stay active for the rest of their lives," said Limcaoco.

TLG offers Developmental Gymnastics for children aged three to six and Parent and Child Motor Development for those under three. Students engage in a variety of physical activities, developing skills in different games and sports like basketball, soccer and volleyball, without the pressure of competition. Miniature courts allow them to practice dribbling, kicking and walloping with confidence, in the spirit of pure fun. They have no fear of losing or of being ridiculed if they make a mistake.

With a gym area of at least 200 square meters, The Little Gym has space to offer Recreational Gymnastics for older children, aged 6 to 12. "At this age range, children more or less have an idea what activities they like to do, and if they like gymnastics but don’t like the stress of training for competition, we have programs for them."

All TLG lesson plans use original music composed by founder Robin Wes, a motor development specialist. The integrated music program, provided to all 250 franchises in 20 countries, helps kids learn rhythm and key motor skills such as coordination and flexibility. TLG has a combined enrolment of more than 100,000 children coming to class weekly. 

TLGs in El Pueblo Real De Manila in Pasig, Bonifacio Technology Center in Global City, and Autozentrum BMW Center in Alabang have a combined total of between 700 and 1,100 kids enrolled every quarter.

Year-round enrolment allows students to start at anytime of the year. TLG’s programs follow three 12-week quarters from June through March, and one 10-week quarter in the Philippine summer from March to May. Classes run for 45 minutes for parent-child classes for children under three and for an hour for children aged three and above.

Regular class size is limited to 12 children. Parents have the choice of making the child attend classes daily or three times a week for three-year-olds, while two-year-olds attend twice a week.

TLG has a very popular pre-school program called "Terrific Tots" for two- to four-year-olds. "It is very different from most other pre-schools because 25 percent of the children’s time is spent inside the gym either doing a regular TLG class, in creative movement sessions, or at free play when they can run around and just use their imagination when going through all our equipment," Limcaoco said.

She hopes to increase enrolment in the existing locations by at least another 300 students in the next 12 months.

"We believe in The Little Gym programs and their benefits, and all families with young children should provide movement activities for them year-round," she said. 

* * *

Just For Kids, Inc. Master Franchisee in the Philippines and Singapore of The Little Gym located at Level 1, Bonifacio Technology Center, E-Square Fort Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, tel. nos. 850-4060 to 61.