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Get Active through Gymnastics and Multi-sports Programs

【Interview with Pappi Li, Founder of Electric Bunny】

Specializing in gymnastics and multi-sports programs, Electric Bunny provides unique age-appropriate exercises for children aged 6 months to 4 years old. Established in January 2016, this baby gym center places much emphasis on sports. “We aim to help children get active and learn through exercises. Participation in sports can benefit your child physically and mentally” says Pappi Li, the founder of Electric Bunny.

As a degree holder in sports development with coaching, Li is an active sports player. She plays soccer and field hockey. Prior to starting Electric Bunny, Li was doing freelance coaching at soccer and multi-sports camps in various international schools in Hong Kong. She also had working experience in a baby gym. “I’ve been involved in kids’ education a lot. When I was still in college, I volunteered my help in a kindergarten in Causeway Bay. I love working with children and I can communicate well with them. I had the thought of starting Electric Bunny in December 2015, when I felt there was a gap in the market. Most baby gyms in Hong Kong are like playgroups, while Electric Bunny includes more sports elements in lessons because of my sporting background.” Li stresses the importance of having children engaged in sports. She encourages young children to gain exposure to different sports instead of focusing on one particular type. “Different types of sports work on different groups of muscles. It is important for children to have balanced training on every part of their body in order to have better physical development. It is also a great chance for children to be exposed to a variety of sports to find out what they love the most” says Li.

Each Electric Bunny lesson is 45 minutes long, and consists of two sections. The first half would usually be circle-time activities. Li says “we sing a welcome song at the beginning of each lesson. This is not only for warming up, but we are also teaching children various kinds of body movement. Our age appropriate warm-up exercises help in training up children’s coordination and cognitive skills. For the younger age group, they would learn body parts through songs and games. And for the older age group, we would focus more on cognitive skills. Children are given the chance to see and touch objects of different shapes and textures to improve their cognitive abilities.”

The second half of the lesson is all about multi-sports and gymnastic skills. The gym setting of Electric Bunny is changed every week to ensure the theme is not the same as the previous week’s. The setting of weekly themes in the gym has very much to do with acquiring basic gymnastic skills. “Every week, depending on the theme, we teach children 2-3 sets of basic gymnastic skills. This could include racket skills, tumbling skills, and coordination of movement. There would be different sets of exercises for different age groups, while some exercises are appropriate for all age groups. The only difference is the level of trainer involvement. For younger children, our trainer would get involved more to ensure safety,” says Li. Parents are also encouraged to participate in lessons for 6 months to under 3 years old to strengthen parent-child bonding. Li points out that Hong Kong parents are usually very busy. They do not have much time to interact or play with their kids. Electric Bunny provides them with a very good opportunity to spend some quality time with their children.

“At Electric Bunny, we offer Cantonese gym classes. Baby gym classes taught in Cantonese are not very common in Hong Kong. We seem to be the only one” says Li. In addition to the teaching language, the sports element in their program is another uniqueness of Electric Bunny. Because of her sporting background, Li aims to promote the love of sports to children through their specially tailored programs. “First, we want children to have a positive mindset. We want children to have positive thinking when they encounter any difficulties. To do so, we train up their mental development by setting up obstacle courses in the gym so that children have to think of different ways to climb over to solve the problem. Second, we encourage children to maintain a healthy lifestyle and have a lifelong participation in sports. Sport is indeed highly related to our daily life movements. We need fine motor skills to hold a pencil, and when we are walking up or down the stairs, we are using gross motor skills. Based on my past working experience, I have relationships with various sports clubs in Hong Kong. If necessary, I can always recommend a suitable club for children depending on their interests. Third, we want children to build self-confidence so that they would be willing to try new things. This is very important as they grow older.”

Placing an emphasis on getting active, Li believes that children being active at a young age can help in developing better memorization abilities. It also enhances left and right brain development. “We do have some cases where children have come to us at the age of 3 or 4 years old, which is already the oldest age group at Electric Bunny. They came to us because their parents had noticed that they were encountering some problems in their everyday life. For example, maybe they were not able to hold a pencil properly. I’m very happy that we have been able to make a difference for them.”

As a newly opened baby gym center in Hong Kong, Li hopes to have more parents know about Electric Bunny and understand how their class activities benefit child development. “Our class ratio is 1 teacher to a maximum of 6 children. The small class size allows us to take care of each child and to maintain a hygienic environment. It won’t be too commercial, and children can try the activities more than one time each lesson.” With the majority of enquiries coming from referral or online media platforms, Li hopes to get their name out by word of mouth. Having listed on whizpa.com, she would also like to receive more feedbacks from parents about the Electric Bunny program.