This whole summer Kai has been a tad bit obsessed with `American Ninja Warrior'. If you haven't seen it, it's a show dedicated to difficult obstacles which require agility, strength and coordination. Kai has expressed such an interest in something related to it but we couldn't figure out what would work well for him. At the Abbotsford Air Show, we let him climb a rock wall and he flew up it. When I got home, I thought about possibly building a bouldering wall along our garage for Koen and Kai to work on. A friend suggested checking out a climbing gym for programs for kids and we found the perfect one!
There aren't many climbing gyms around but there is one about 20 minutes from our house; Coastal Climbing. They have a kids program for ages 5-9 years old that meets once a week. We decided to do a drop in to see if both Kai and Koen would like it.
(PS This isn't a sponsored post, just sharing what we found!)
It's 1.5 hours and they get to climb several walls with an instructor that belays them. They also get to do bouldering while waiting for their turn.
There are two levels and I sat in the middle of them most of the time to get these photos. They could climb up to this part.
They both had a lot of fun. Koen has a harder time following instructions (he needs just one command at a time) and obviously his reach wasn't as great. He tried his best and did very well. He is also a little afraid of heights so wouldn't go further than half way.
Kai is not afraid at all and went all the way to the top and easily let go.
I actually took a climbing lesson here years ago (like...15 years ago?!) and got my belay license. I think I still have a few climbs left on my punch card :)
{Below is an iPhone photo but it allows you to see a bit more just how high it goes!}
We've signed Kai up for the program and are waiting to see what Koen would like to do. He's thinking that he wants to do gymnastics after trying it out at the Agrifair. If anyone knows of an affordable but well run gymnastics program in Surrey/Langley, please let me know! And if you're in the Surrey/Langley area and considering rock climbing for your child, you might want to check this place out!
Love,
Louise
I'm so glad this is a good fit for Kai! I am eager to get our kids at a drop in gym here as well to see how they (especially Ezra) likes it :)
ReplyDelete