The last few years have been so special. We have learned a ton and with that, have become wiser and well, we have…grown! With that wisdom, came some introspection. I thought about what was working, who I loved working with, and what the world really needs right now. Thus, Grow Kids was born. But I’d like to share a little of why.

Very honestly, I noticed that people were really confused about Grow Family. Even I was starting to have difficulty answering who we were and what we did. It wasn’t intentional. We started out as a yoga studio built for kids and families, but I realized-rather quickly-that we were adding new things, namely, classes beyond yoga. On top of that, I also had to confront the fact that people hear yoga and have thoughts, particularly thoughts that prevent them from ever stepping foot into our center. I was tired of contending with that and feeling defeated that all the education, posts, videos…weren’t helping. I had been feeling for a while now, that there was a metamorphosis happening. I just needed to embrace it and let go of what I initially thought we would be.

Once I did, a few words kept creeping into my vocabulary anytime I was describing what is important to me as a mom and teacher, and what I think is important to many parents around the world. These words that kept coming up over and over were curiosity and empathy. I also paid attention to some recurring themes since our very first class. Something that students kept saying repeatedly to me was that we were more than yoga, more than extracurricular. That their kids begged to come to Grow and that they saw a difference in their confidence in both academic and social-emotional skills. A frequent refrain, even now, is you just do things very differently here and we love it.

It dawned on me that Grow is a heart-centered educational center that is based in mindfulness and that enriches the lives of kids (and families) through the vehicle of play, experience, and yogic principles. Yoga and mindfulness are at the core. We are in the business of building brain and heart muscles. We want kids to never stop learning because they associate learning with fun. They retain an insatiable curiosity and they use that to make the world better through kindness and compassion. We want kids to understand other people and to cultivate empathy. What good is being the best engineer if you cannot relate, communicate, or empathize with other humans?

So, in a nutshell…that’s who we are. Or rather, we are an enrichment center that inspires kids to stay curious through hands-on, experiential, and multi-disciplinary activities. We boost confidence, empathy, and growth mindsets to meet each learner exactly where they are using our mindful and intentional Play, Learn, Grow philosophy. We are Grow Kids!

Now to the logistics!

What’s Different?

• We are no longer offering adult yoga classes

• Our prenatal and postnatal programs are on a temporary hiatus and will return under a different brand once Grow Kids has been nurtured properly

• All classes will be somewhat standardized using our Play, Learn, Grow method and all teachers will be trained in our methodology

• We no longer will offer memberships and each member of the family will purchase individual passes for classes (excluding family yoga)

• Our colors and logo, as you might have noticed! We kept that beautiful sushi green and added some calming blues/purples

• Our web address! It’s now www.growkidsjax.com

What’s the Same?

• All classes feature our hands-on fun and teach mindfulness principles

• We still have parent/child and family classes and events

• Kids yoga and family yoga is still a staple-we couldn’t say goodbye to those!

• There are even more opportunities to attend camps and book birthday parties

• Our enthusiasm, professionalism, and excitement to welcome you is still top priority!

• Our address and phone number are still the same as well as our Facebook group for engaging

We will be following up with another blog with a formal introduction to a cute, new character who you’ll be seeing a lot. In the meantime, start getting to know YoYo with our adorable coloring sheet, that one of our Grow Kids helped create!

Stay tuned for a formal intro to YoYo.

See ya later!

With kindness,

Heather