Martial Arts Fitness Center: Marlton, NJ

The Martial Arts Fitness Center in Marlton, NJ is an amazing place for little ones interested in martial arts. The children's classes are designed to teach discipline, listening skills, balance, coordination, confidence, self-control and bully defense. Each program is appropriately suited for the developmental levels of the children in the age-based groups. The Little Dragons class is aimed at children between 4 and 5 and provides the foundation of the skills needed to progress in martial arts. Following instructions and creating a growing sense of self-confidence is stressed. Light martial arts techniques are also taught. The children's classes (age 6 and up) continues the lessons learned in the Little Dragons classes and also incorporates Tae Kwon Do and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Bryan Preston is the owner of the dojo and also serves as the instructor for the children's classes. Mr. Preston is remarkably patient and gentle with the little ones and instructs in a way that is engaging and encouraging.  The current classes are held during evening hours and on Saturday morning. Attendance twice a week is suggested and classes last for approximately 40 minutes. Mom's with additional little ones have no need to fret, the dojo offers a small area with books and toys to entertain non-participating siblings. The dojo is also located in shopping area that has several stores including several places to grab a quick snack.

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RunAmuck Mud & Music Fest: Titusville, NJ

Mud runs are all the rage lately, and for good reason. They give you a great workout, give you a sense of accomplishment and confidence and give you an opportunity to appease your inner child by running around in mud!

The RunAmuck Mud and Music Fest is an awesome family friendly event that is a perfect couples' or family activity (children must be 10 years old +). This 5k event takes you through the wooded terrain of Washington Crossing Park and challenges you with various obstacles including muddy water pits, rock climbing walls, ground crawls, hurdles, balance beams, rope climbs and more.  The course is fun and challenging, but mild enough for older children to easily navigate and participate in.

The event has plenty of grassy and picnic areas for viewers along with  food and drink stands. The main stage features a DJ who gets the crowd pumping. Some events also feature live bands. There are heats for individuals, couples, teams as well as costumed and non-costumed heats. It's a guaranteed blast!

Some Tips From the Pit:

• The event course has you navigate through wooded areas that have poison ivy. Bring along a small bottle of Original Dawn dish soap and use it to clean your skin with off right after the event.
• Bring a trash bag to throw dirty clothes and sneakers in.
• Consider wearing bikini bottoms underneath your shorts. I found this to be beneficial in getting more of the mud rinsed off me in the shower. Also change into a pair of flipflops to shower off muddy feet.
• Bring a towel and sunblock! Seems like a non-brainer, but I spotted quite a few people who forgot these two items.

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O'Boy! Organics: Drexel Hill, PA

O'Boy! Organics offers a variety of services to help moms introduce healthy eating to their children. The company does in home cooking classes that are perfect for mom groups. The classes teach basic organic food making for moms. The company also offer children's cooking parties which is a unique and fun way to celebrate your child's next birthday. If that isn't enough, O'Boy! Organics also offers a Personal Chef service. This is perfect for mama's who want to supply their kiddos with fresh and healthy meals but don't have the time to make the food themselves. This service is a perfect gift for new moms or repeat moms who have other little ones at home.

What an awesome idea!


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Kid Jam: Philadelphia, PA

If you have a tiny music maker on your hands, you may want to check out Kid Jam in Philly. The musical collaborative is a way for children 4 and up to have the opportunity to participate in weekly jam sessions, be exposed to a variety of musical influences and learn to write and record their own songs. Kids (and their proud parents!) are also able to get a cd of the musical ventures created during the jam session. Pretty neat!


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Gymboree Music Class: Cherry Hill, NJ

Today I took the kiddo to his very first Gymboree experience. I signed him up for a free class and since he's a sucker for the sweet sounds of music, I opted to try the Level 1 Music Class (6 - 16 months). The kiddo is right on the cusp of age groups because he's 16 months so I was worried about him being way older than the other kiddos, but there happened to be a pretty good mix.

All in all it was a great experience. The place was clean and the staff was super friendly and helpful. The kiddo enjoyed interacting with the other children and participating in music related activities. At this level the parents do most of the grunt work (at one point the kiddos were sitting on our legs as we raised them... no need for a gym membership for mommy if you go to this class!) but the kid's are kept actively involved the whole time. Our class leader interacted with all the children and kept an upbeat atmosphere the whole time.


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