NW Aerials

I took my 16 month old daughter here for the first time this morning and I was so impressed with the program! We tried Wiggle Worms. She was the littlest in the class and I was a little worried it would be beyond her… I was wrong! She loved walking on the balance beam, navigating the equipment, and doing assisted somersaults.
Our instructor was SOO helpful! She coached me in what kinds of ways I could help her with the program and let me make decisions about how much to challenge my daughter.
My daughter screamed when we left, had a huge lunch, and fell asleep for the whole afternoon.
As far as value for money — I don’t think I’ve seen a class for toddlers that would beat this.

Alas, I have to agree with the negative reviews here. They do get one star, rather than zero, because my daughters had fun in class. Also, I really like the bleacher seating up above the main floor where parents and siblings can watch classes. However, I was shocked and appalled by how:
a) filthy the place was (stinky, physically dirty, often no soap in the bathroom, etc.),
b) uninterested in customer service the women at the front desk were. And not just once, but many, many times. They seemed bored and bothered to have to deal with me and my kids,
c) unhealthy things were. Lots of crap candy, ice cream, and movie-​theater popcorn for sale; is this not a place for athletes? I’m confused…
d) and, finally, how very unfit many of the instructors were. I’m not talking about former gymnasts who are now moms and are 40 pounds heavier than their tiny little college gymnastics days. I’m talking about multiple morbidly obese instructors (maybe 300 pounds?) who can hardly walk across the gym, and certainly cannot model a handstand (or any move at all). Lest I be accused of weight-​ism, I want to point out that I wouldn’t mind if my daughters’ painting teachers or math teachers were morbidly obese, as long as they could model good painting and mathematics skills. But you kind of need a coach who can show you what to do, and who minimally is a role model for an active lifestyle.
(There was one instructor whose name I’ve forgotten, a 50-​something Asian woman, who was both fit and energetic, who was clearly active, and who was constantly moving around on the mats with the kids, but we never had a class with her).
This studio will likely stay in business as there’s no real competitor in Kirkland, and they seem to have no shortage of clients. But it’s a terrible place to try and encourage young athletes to be healthy and strong.

NW Aerials is horrible they moved my 3 year old with medical issues out of camp with his older brother because he wasn’t the right age but when I signed him up I asked several times if he was the right age and if he would be with his brother. They didn’t even tell me they moved him, my 5 year old did so I insisted he be moved back or refund me. They said they would move him back but didn’t and talked about him in front of him so he didn’t want to go anymore, I let him skip the last day. Well on the last day of camp all the kids got a ninja certificate (a piece of paper basically) I asked for one for my youngest when I picked up his brother and the teacher told me only kids that came to camp on the last day get one! Wtf seriously I told her I paid the same price for both kids and I wanted one! So freaking ridiculous! Who works with kids and picks on a 3 year old!!!

Inconsistent make up polices. Some parents are able to get a lot more flexibility then others. They care very little about customer experience here which is reflected by the reviews and how they staff their front desk.

My daughter has been going to NW Aerials since she was 3 (she is now 8). She is on their level 3 gymnastics team, and is having a BLAST. We recently returned from a meet in San Diego, CA, and here are my thoughts. I watched girls from all over the country perform at that meet. There were girls who did great, there were girls who did well, and there were girls who looked like they likely weren’t performing at their best ability. Every meet we’ve been to so far has had just such a mix of athletes. My daughter performed well on this particular trip. I was very proud of her and she was proud of herself. Her performance, however, did not result in a medal for that particular meet. I’m okay with that, and here’s why. I saw the girls who DID end up with medals. A few of them are simply very talented athletes. Way too many of them, however, had panicked looks of concentration as they performed — not serious concentration or competitive concentration — but PANICKED concentration. I saw multiple incidents of coaches reaming out their athletes (again, these are 5−10-year-old girls) to the point of tears for the girls. Our coach witnessed another coach pit one «team» mate against another in a twisted attempt to get them to both perform at their best. Meanwhile, my daughter’s teammate cheerfully continued with her performance despite developing a fever during the competition and my daughter loyally cheered her on when her friend’s performance suffered due to her failing health. As a former pediatric RN at Children’s Hospital I’ve cared for multiple girls suffering eating disorders while we tried to get them medically stable enough to go to the psych unit. I looked around that competition in San Diego and saw WAY too many girls being set up for similar futures (or ones including a garden variety of other neuroses, psychoses, and/​or disorders). As I see it, there are always trade-​offs in life, and you just have to choose your priorities. Last summer my daughter had three 3-​hour practices per week, but as a level 3, those practices were reduced down to two per week so the [young] athletes can concentrate on these important foundational years at school. Other gyms don’t have such a policy. Those gyms have girls my daughter’s age going in 3, 4, or more days/​week. Obviously it’s going to take my daughter more calendar weeks to perfect her routines than girls from those other gyms, but she gets there. In the meantime, she’s allowed time after school to have 1 tutoring session/​week and 1 piano lesson per week. Another benefit is her health. I couldn’t believe my ears as I listened to other parents chatting at an earlier meet this year. They were comparing their daughter’s injuries. I know, realistically, that injury may happen at some point, should my daughter continue with gymnastics — but overuse injuries on 6−8-year-olds? Seriously? Like I said, the reduced practice schedule results in skills taking a bit longer to be perfected, but it allows for excitement for the sport to flourish. My daughter finished competing in San Diego at 9:45 at night. After 5 hours sleep we hopped a 6 AM flight home. By 10:30 AM she was begging me to take her to the gym. Isn’t that what we want? Healthy practice schedules? Love of sport? Strong teammate relationships? Room for a well-​rounded life? Compassionate coaches who care more about their athletes than scores? As for the criticism over the weight of some of the coaches, here’s my thoughts on that. I’m not paying coaches to DO the gymnastics. I’m paying them to TEACH my child. I hope for good health for everyone, but if anyone is struggling with that — no matter what their profession — they deserve to be met with support, not prejudice. My daughter has been under the instruction of multiple coaches at NW Aerials, and has grown in skill level with each coach — no matter what their size. It’s their knowledge-​base, ability to motivate/​inspire, and heart-​size that matter to me. Not their waist-​size.

I have taken my 6 year old daughter here for gymnastics the past couple months. The classes are great and my daughter loves them. The instructors are very good with the kids and quite patient, so she has a really great time. There’s even a great seating area for parents to watch high up so you can see everything. Great place.

This gym is only sufficient, at best. I have had two young (5 & 7) children go through classes, but have yet to see more than one or two coaches/​instructors who can actually demonstrate any of the techniques they teach. In fact, sadly, I witnessed one «coach» today who must weigh 300lbs. How can a gymnastic school employ someone of that weight — who not only had trouble walking across the gym, but either sat or rested her belly on the mats as she instructed her students. I have nothing against the woman’s weight, but how can she possibly be a good instructor?
There is nothing about your first impression, when you walk in the door, that makes you think it is a professional gym. The front desk is a disaster. There is a popcorn machine, candy dispensers and an ice cream freezer. There are always at least two, ratty dogs behind the desk. The only bathroom is dirty and during last summer’s session, had no running water in the sink for washing hands. Instead, they had hand-​sanitizer on the counter. This went on for weeks.
Sadly, my daughter loves gymnastics and this is the only place within a reasonable drive from our home. If she decides to seriously pursue gymnastics, I will definitely plan to move her elsewhere.
They could make this a much better place if there was just a little effort put into it.
Clean up your front desk. Lose the dogs. Lose the candy/​ice cream/​popcorn. Clean the mats. Clean the bathroom. Just clean up in general. Help yourselves out.

My daughter has been coming here for gymnastics for almost 2yrs and I have to say she is doing amazing! The place we were at before was ok but wasnt impressed, but here has been great. They make sure that ever child is doing it right and the front desk always said hi to us when we walk in. I tell people if your looking for a gymnastics place, this is it.

I took my daughter to the tots class today on a recommendation from my close friend. I was very disappointed. No one behind the desk was welcoming to me or my daughter. They just threw me a form to fill out about my daughter and then it seemed like chaos ensued! The teacher was late to the class and the girl who started out was nice and attentive to my daughter but when the regular teacher arrived she never introduced herself. I had to ask her for her name. There was absolutely no structure to the Tots Class and it was if I had to teach my daughter (I know nothing about gymnastics.) The facility was dirty and smelly and the staff seemed scattered and unprofessional. We will not be going back to this gym. It is unfortunate.

Northwest Aerials has been a wonderful place for our son to gain coordination in a fun, learning environment. Trampoline and tumbling has been a great fit for a child with lots of energy! He is excited about what he is learning and enjoys the facility, teachers and programs. Whether it is camp, class or an open gym, he loves his time at Northwest Aerials. Thanks for all the attention and care!

I visited NW Aerials for the first time as a guest at a birthday party. I was really looking forward to my visit after hearing mixed reviews, by word of mouth. I couldn’t wait to see it for myself.
Here’s my two cents.
1. Fun — Yes, my daughter had a good time and it appeared safe. 1 Star!
2. Cleanliness — The aroma was horrific! The mats did not look or smell fresh, and I’m pretty sure one could easily pick up a fungal infection. Bathroom facilities were not cleaned nor stocked with necessities, like soap and TP.
3. Snacks — adding to the pungent aroma of the athlete’s-foot infested mats, was an overwhelmingly buttery popcorn scent that make me feel like I was trapped in a movie theater with stale popcorn and a tinea pedis disease. Upon leaving, we discovered the popcorn and numerous vending machines packed with JUNK candy! Really? A «gym» that sells junk food is not the healthful image I’d like to provide my daughter.
4. Coaches — They’re certainly NOT fitness coaches, you can bet on that! Honestly, I was shocked to see the number of obese staff members. Whomever is in charge of hiring needs to take a serious look at the image projected by the coaches.
5. I admit I know very little about gymnastics, therefore my expectations were not high. I only give 5 stars to establishments that exceed expectations. NW Aerials falls short of meeting mediocre standards.

My daughter did her first ballet class here at 3 and hated it. The teacher we had did a horrible job working with a shy 3 year old. I’m used to them being a little more warm and fuzzy with little kids because this age group can sometimes be pretty clingy to mom and my daughter went from I’m not so sure about this to crying as soon as she saw the teacher. One of the moms of one of the girls in her class said it was ‘a known issue’ with certain teachers there. The teacher yelled at her the third day for crying and so I switched her to one of their gymnastics classes. We have done open play here before as well as a half day summer camp class and the main thing I can say about this facility is that they are severely lacking in customer service skills. No one smiles or even stops what they are doing to make eye contact. If you are trying to pass on info about a food allergy or any other detail they will blow you off and walk on like you are not even there. Horrible horrible horrible. After a couple of years of trying out different places I discovered most of the kids we know attend Emerald City Gymnastics in Redmond which is where we will be attending this year.

This is an updated review after having our daughter in classes here for a while and seeing how they approach teaching them skills over time.
I feel like a couple of the dance teachers do a pretty good job of teaching the fundamentals of dance. The problem is that it’s a crap shoot to get one of those teachers.
My bigger issue comes from the gymnastics. First and foremost, I do not feel they teach kids proper technique and form. The biggest way to avoid injuries is to learn how to do things correctly. Even these younger kids can learn how to go through the steps to do a forward roll complete with their head tucked. They never took the time to help my daughter learn how to stop doing a headstand-​to-​backflop when she did her rolls. This is just one example. I feel like many of the instructors just can’t be bothered or are too overwhelmed by the sheer number of kids they are being asked to wrangle.
I also want to put out another «what’s with all the junk food?!» rant. Seriously, our kids do not need to be bombarded by all this crap at every turn! Do us all a favor and give us healthy options or no options.
Oh, and I have since seen what other places charge for their recital costumes and such. NW Aerials seems VERY overpriced for what in our instance turned out to be a junky costume.

My son just recently attended a trial gymnastics class at NW aerials. I wanted to like this place despite the multitude of gumball, candy and toy machines upstairs next to the gym. I worked hard and was pleased I was able to distract my four year old away from them directly after class.
However, the last straw, was as I was about to sign my son up for a session of classes. There, in the lobby, right next to the front door is a huge vending machine filled with ice cream. He asked me for ice cream and I was unable to divert him. He started to have a meltdown and temper tantrum. So, I asked myself, is this worth it? Do I want to work this hard to avoid candy, toys, and ice cream just so my son can go to this particular gym?
Well, with so many choices for gymnastics classes in this area, I think the answer is no. I will choose one that’s healthier and sets a better example for good nutrition and doesn’t try to sell me extra items evey step of the way. If they need the extra money, I would rather they charge extra for the classes than have all of these vending machines around with sugary sweets. Perhaps, they could put the vending machines off to the side in a less blatant place?
If they do decide to move some of these candy/​ice cream machines, I would sign my son up for classes but until they do, I’ll be checking out some other gymnastics classes.

I love this gymnastics gym, I think that the teachers are proffessional and know what they are doing. This place is very safe and they teach you the fundmentals. I have been going here for only about a year and I have improved so much I love northwest aerials and would suggest it to anyone:)

My daughter (now 4) attended NW Aerials during the last school year. She was doing a mixed gymnastics/​dance class. We have also attended a number of drop-​in gymnastics classes and open gyms, so I have watched many of the gymnastics staff members teach. Most of the staff members who teach the preschool gymnastics classes appear to have little to no gymnastics training (I am a former competitive gymnast and judge, so I say this with some experience). I have not seen much progression in the gymnastics program — very redundant from week to week. Worse yet, I don’t even get the feeling that any of them have a particular fondness/​passion for dealing with preschoolers. We attended the summer dance recital, and while we thought the preschool classes were very cute and the overall production was very professional, I was concerned that the older girls classes (6 – 7 year-​olds) were not much advanced beyond the 3 – 5 year-​olds. Another mom who has a background in dance and has seen other preschool dance recitals also had the same concern.
What I find particularly sad about this school is that I don’t see a core value placed on healthy bodies. The first thing you are hit with walking in the door is the smell of popcorn. Then in the children’s waiting area there are about 10 different candy machines (though a few of them are stocked with toys, the majority of it is just candy). I called the Director finally after my daughter’s teacher handed out candy at the end of the class (instead of the usual hand stamp), and while she said that the teachers weren’t supposed to do that (though I just saw it happen in another class this week), she was completely unresponsive to the complaint of candy machines (in fact, she even told me that «some parents thank me for having the candy machines there» !!!). Many of the preschool gymnastics teachers are significantly overweight, which further indicates to me that there really isn’t a focus on healthy bodies in this business.