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The Little Gym, located at 70 East Main St. in Smithtown, is part of a franchise which operates approximately 400 locations worldwide including in Asia, Europe and South America.
The Little Gym was originally conceived by a gentlemen named Robin Wes in South Africa. Mr. Wes, a musician, gymnast and kinesiologist, developed the Little Gym concept in 1976 to help children develop vital skills in a fun, noncompetitive environment. Once the concept of teaching movement, language and social skills to children under one roof took flight, Mr. Wes decided to create the Little Gym Franchise.
Liz Campfield, part owner of the Little Gym Smithtown location, became interested in The Little Gym as an employee in 2010, embraced its mission, and bought into the franchise in 2013. Liz, who has a degree inhospitality management, explained the concept of three-dimensional learning, on which the The Little Gym is based. The goals of three-dimensional learning are:
- Learning physical skills through movement and activity
- Boosting cognition through the use of language, letters and communication
- Becoming a good citizen both socially and emotionally
The Little Gym now has close to 375 students, ranging in age from four months to 12 years old. While Liz focuses on the younger clientele, program director Matthew Kovacik tends to work with kids three years and older. Between them, they teach 34 classes in a typical week, including weekends and evenings.
Since the Little Gym is franchise based, the curriculum is standard throughout the network and all Little Gyms teach the same lessons on any given day.
However, the mission of the Little Gym goes beyond education. “While we definitely serve an educational purpose, we also provide the added benefit of child care with our camp and parent survival night programs,” says Liz. Liz continued, “In those programs, parents and caregivers have the opportunity to leave their children with us for several hours, while they enjoy some quality adults only time.” The Little Gym also sponsors special events, including an annual Easter egg hunt, a Halloween party, and of course a holiday party with Santa.
As for dealing with the Covid 19 pandemic, Liz explained “it was tough, as we were forced to close from March to July two years ago.” They adapted by hosting live events on Facebook and then transitioning to home classes via Zoom. When they did re-open, it was with a maximum of 10 kids per class with social distancing, temperature checks and hand washing policies in place. Sanitary measures were implemented as well.
“Thankfully, we are nearly back to pre-pandemic enrollment, although mask wearing is now at the discretion of the student,” says Liz. Liz acknowledged she is “grateful for the loyalty of our members during this extraordinarily difficult period.”
The Little Gym has a web site, https://www.thelittlegym.com/smithtownny/, where potential clients can review classes and programs, as well as read more on three-dimensional learning. At the Little Gym, parents and caregivers can observe the classes first hand through a large viewing area which has convenient seating.
