Gymnastics Class: The Failed Experiment

So as my daughter has now fully entered the "terrible twos" I am constantly trying to find activities that not only keep her busy but also don't piss her off. On any given day you can find me playing outside the house in the yard, at the pool, at the playground, or at the mall, generally with Peanut on the ground next to me having a temper tantrum. She really does like to be active and run around, and she loves to climb on things and try to do headstands. I thought the perfect idea would be to get her into a gymnastics class. After all, my sisters and I all took gymnastics when we were younger and loved it. And I wasn't looking for anything too serious, just maybe a little structure to get her comfortable with being at the gym. So I found a gym close to us that offered a 45 minute parent and tot under 3 class and thought that would be perfect. Being pregnant and not knowing how much physicality would be required on my part, I decided to take Peanut to the Saturday morning class so that my hubby could come with me and help me out if need be. They also allowed us to participate in the first class for free, and I am really glad they did. We got there and filled out her information and waited for the class to start. We were instructed to take our shoes off and that is when the meltdown happened. Peanut had a complete conniption when she had to take her sandals off. I mean FREAKED out. So I let her hold onto them as we went into the gym. The first activity they had us do was run in a circle. Peanut was not having it. She again freaked out and proceeded to follow my husband around in the circle crying the whole time. Then came the looks from the other parents. I never get that. Surely every parent has had the opportunity to experience their child freaking out at an inappropriate time, yet they always give other parents "the look" when those children are misbehaving. You know "the look" like "Well my child would never behave that way." Yeah right lady, thanks. I decided to try and stick it out with Peanut and see if she would loosen up. Not so much. By the time we were on the floor doing stretches, Peanut had had enough. She was crying and climbing up the front of me on the floor, all while myself and my husband were doing stretches that we hadn't done since high school gym class. We gave each other a look and knew it was time to leave. I told the teacher that maybe we would try it another time and she said that sometimes it takes kids a few times to get used to it. I really hope so. Mostly I was happy that I didn't have to pay for the 10 minutes of Peanut freaking out in the middle of a gymnastics gym. Oh well, back to the drawing board I guess.