"Anytime Summertime Kids' Camps" at The Little Gym Feature Weekly Themed Programs and Flexible Scheduling Options

SCOTTSDALE, AZ--(Marketwire - Jun 13, 2012) - Summer vacation for school-aged children is right around the corner, and many parents need to make plans for more than family vacations for the upcoming summer months. They also need to find fun and worthwhile activities, offered in a safe and secure environment, to keep their kids active, learning and socially engaged. This is where the childhood development specialists at The Little Gym can help, with programs like Anytime Summertime Kids' Camps and summer classes.

The Anytime Summertime Kids' Camp program, offered at over 300 The Little Gym locations worldwide, is designed to meet the needs of both kids and parents. A long-time feature of The Little Gym program, this year's Anytime Summertime Kid's Camp program introduces new "Summer Adventure" themes to keep interest and participation high while providing flexible scheduling options that fit today's busy family lifestyles. Parents can schedule several full weeks, a week, or even just a day at a time. "Our Anytime Summertime Kids' Camps are just that," said Bob Bingham, president and CEO of The Little Gym International. "Our flexible scheduling helps families manage work and other commitments while giving kids a place to learn, play and interact with other children while they develop important motor skills and build self-confidence. We offer fun, physical activities around creative themes that engage kids' bodies and their imaginations."

While the exact schedule of camps varies from gym-to-gym, parents and kids can expect "Summer Adventure" themed programs designed for children ages three to eight that range from "X-Treme Sports of All Sorts" to "The Little Gym Olympics" and "Legends, Fables and Folklore" to "My Animal Planet." Whether the weekly theme focuses on "Secret Agent: Gyms Bond" or "Hip-Hop Karate Chop," the emphasis is on exploration, learning and supervised physical fun that challenges kids to develop new skills. Parents can also select from the gym's regular schedule of age-appropriate summer classes filled with movement, music, learning and laughter for children four months through 12 years.

In addition, this summer's programs at The Little Gym locations nationwide will be enriched by a recent partnership with Sprout®, the first 24-hour preschool TV channel designed for parents and kids to share together. Sprout fosters real life learning and celebrates everyday moments of kids ages two to five. In order to help teach young children about empathy and kindness, Sprout created Kindness Counts, a pro-social initiative supporting the development of empathy in preschoolers by promoting small acts of kindness that matter big. Through this year-round campaign, Sprout's ultimate goal is to reach one million kind acts from families all across the country. The Little Gym locations nationwide will promote this initiative throughout the summer, encouraging children to focus on how to be kind to their body and kind to others.

"We're planning a great summer of fun, learning and physical activity in both our Anytime Summertime Kid's Camp and summer class programs," said Bingham. "Whether families choose us for a single day or the whole summer, our trained and caring instructors create a welcoming and secure environment where their children can challenge their minds and their bodies, gain confidence in their own abilities and learn to respect and support the abilities of others."

For more information or to register for the Anytime Summertime Kid's Camp program or summer classes at The Little Gym please visit www.TheLittleGym.com.

About The Little Gym
The Little Gym is an internationally recognized program that helps children build the developmental skills and confidence needed at each stage of childhood. 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 22 countries. For more information, visit The Little Gym at www.TheLittleGym.com.