The Wholehearted Parenting Manifesto
Hello Blog World,
 
So we ran across an amazing article about a Wholehearted Parenting Manifesto given the book Daring Greatly written by Dr. Brene Brown. I honestly can say that I will do this injustice if I try to shorten it for you so I will just post it and you can tell me what you think.
 

The Wholehearted Parenting Manifesto


Above all else, I want you to know that you are loved and loveable.

You will learn this from my words and actions—the lessons on love are in how I treat you and how I treat myself.

I want you to engage with the world from a place of worthiness.

You will learn that you are worthy of love, belonging, and joy every time you see me practice self-compassion and embrace my own imperfections.

We will practice courage in our family by showing up, letting ourselves be seen, and honoring vulnerability. We will share our stories of struggle and strength. There will always be room in our home for both.

We will teach you compassion by practicing compassion with ourselves first; then with each other. We will set and respect boundaries; we will honor hard work, hope, and perseverance. Rest and play will be family values, as well as family practices.

You will learn accountability and respect by watching me make mistakes and make amends, and by watching how I ask for what I need and talk about how I feel. 

I want you to know joy, so together we will practice gratitude.

I want you to feel joy, so together we will learn how to be vulnerable.

When uncertainty and scarcity visit, you will be able to draw from the spirit that is a part of our everyday life.

Together we will cry and face fear and grief. I will want to take away your pain, but instead I will sit with you and teach you how to feel it.

We will laugh and sing and dance and create. We will always have permission to be ourselves with each other. No matter what, you will always belong here.

As you begin your Wholehearted journey, the greatest gift that I can give to you is to live and love with my whole heart and to dare greatly.

I will not teach or love or show you anything perfectly, but I will let you see me, and I will always hold sacred the gift of seeing you. Truly, deeply, seeing you.

What an awesome way to think about parenting. I am not a parent but I will someday be one and this is something I will definitely read often when that time comes. Also, we will be sharing this with our staff members and will use it as a catalyst in our teaching methods.

Thanks Friends,

Mr. Stephen


Parenting in the Social Media Age
Hello again Blog World,
 
Did you realize that we literally have our facebook and twitter strapped to our sides. We cannot go to dinner or to grab something at the store without checking our news feed to see if your neighbor posted that picture of the holloween party or if someone posted that they are having a bad day. I wonder what our parents think about that? and I wonder what our kids think of that too?
 
In an article I read recently it asked the questions:
  • Has facebook changed friendships?
  • What is your most common form of communication?

If you think about our your friendships and communication, im guessing they have changed radically since the start of the social media age. When I first started dating in high school, I had to call the girls father that I wanted to take out and ask her father if it was ok to take her on a date, now kids shoot the girl a text or a quick facebook message and her parents may not even know. For our kids it is almost like the movie WALL-E coming to reality. They will all have a recliner that moves them around and a tv screen in front of them and they will have no clue how to communicate with each other. Ok, I dont believe it will ever get that bad, but it is definilty showing signs of heading in that direction.

At The Little Gym, our focus is on your kids and growing not only their physical skills but their social skills as well. We do things throughout class to let kids communicate not only with an adult teacher but also with other kids. Our Hope is that when your child leaves The Little Gym that they have made friends and are a more well rounded individual and confident in themselves. Come see us and watch your kids soar.

Thanks Friends,

Mr. Stephen

The Great Outdoors
Hello Blog World, For those of you that know me well I am kind of an adventure nut, and a huge advocate for the outdoors here in NW Arkansas. A while back Richard Louv wrote a book called Last Child in the Woods. In his book he talks about the divide between children and the outdoors. Louv believes that the lack of nature and the outdoors in today's wired generation links to some of the most disturbing childhood trends, such as obesity, attention disorders, and depression. For folks here in NW Arkansas we can do something for our kids right here. Arkansas is not called the Natural State for nothing. Just within a 2 hour radius of the Rogers area there are more nature experiences than you could do in a lifetime. I bet that more than 80% of people living in NW Arkansas did not know that the largest waterfall between the Appalachians and the Rockies was an hour east of Fayetteville. And even though that waterfall is a tough one to get to, especially for kids, there are numerous waterfalls in the area that are accessible for kids. So we have the opportunity to get our kids outdoors and able to see some amazing natural wonders and get them excited about wanting to be outside. The reason I bring this up now is because there is really no better time to get outside and go on an adventure than now. The leaves are changing and the colors of Fall are always so vibrant in the Ozark Mountains. The weather is cool and you do not have to worry about overheating the kids or yourself (especially if there is a kid strapped to you.) Most critters that you have to be cautious of are rarely seen because of the weather, and its much easier to get folks to go with you as well. So get outside with your kids and let them experience nature. Thanks Friends, Mr. Stephen
The 5 Percent of Moments That Matter
Hello Again Blog World,
 
I just want to take time to tell you that I love my job so much and here is why. I was reading a great article from The Washington Posts, Lifestyles section where Tracy Grant wrote about Parenting and the 5 percent of moments that matter. The article was talking about parents thankless grind that is 95 percent of being a parent and instead of complaining about the mentally and physically exhausting moments, Tracy talked about the 5 percent of moments that make it all worth while.
 
Here at The Little Gym we get to spend a very short span of the day with you and your kids, and in that short span we get to experience those 5 percent of moments that make it all worth while, with you. The Joy that kids have when they come crawl, climb, and jump their way into some serious fun is such a rewarding experience for not only you the parents, but also for our staff.  So from all of our staff, "Thank you for sharing your 5 percent moments that make it worth while with us," and for those of you who are not in our classes, stop by and experience what everyone is raving about.
 
 
Thanks Friends,
 
Mr. Stephen
Hello Blog World
Hello Blog World,
 
This is Stephen, Gym Director here at The Little Gym in Rogers Arkansas. We are so excited that you are reading about our gym and I hope that you are finding the information you are looking for. If not you can always give us a call at (479)636-5566.
 
I am simply on here today to inform you why we do what we do. Melanie started The Little Gym in Rogers to provide a place for kids to come and feel loved and grow not only their physical skills but also gain life skills and confidence. We thought that the best way to do that would be to hire fantastic role models who love working with kids and who are energetic and exciting and great teachers. So that is what we did. If there is one thing that you walk away from The Little Gym thinking it is that wow those teachers were amazing.
 
So come in and meet our wonderful staff, or if you are already a member, dont be afraid to tell others or just post on our facebook page about the incredible teacher your child has here at the gym.
 
Thanks Friends,
 
Mr. Stephen
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