Monkeys

The girlies are enjoying their gymnastics classes each week. They need to work on some of the skills, namely keeping their arms and legs straight, but they are definitely improved from where they were at the beginning of the fall.

Kate has class first.

Her class alternates between learning to do these running flips with the spring board and using the high bars (she prefers the high bars) because she's intimidated by doing a flip from a full run.

(That high bar in the background with the yellow tie on it, is one that she climbs using the old horse (they don't use those anymore) and shimmies across to learn to drop to the ground--they only flip on the lower bars. They do put extra thick foam underneath it too while they are learning.)

She is learning to do a back flip by rolling over the 'barrel'

and she's getting instruction in how to do a round off.

Then Gabriella gets her turn:

Stepping through a hoop and over toys on the beam,

Learning how to do a cartwheel,

And her favorite is flipping over bars too. I think part of that is because her teacher's name here is Miss Gabby.

So that is what my biggest two monkeys are up too! I've been pleased with the increase in confidence the girls have physically. I'm not sure how long they will continue to be interested in gymnastics, but I'm glad they are enjoying it now.

Flipping It

My littlest gal had her very first gymnastics class this week.

She was able to pass through a rotation of activities--tumbling on large foam mats, walking a low foam beam, practicing the steps for a cartwheel, and flipping over a low bar.

She had to learn to stay on her task. The first activity she was given was to walk the beam. She walked it once, but then waited to be told what to do next. After the first couple of minutes passed, she went to one of the teachers who was spotting another student. She was walked back and told to do it again. Twice.

At the end of one of her mat practice runs, she found the side of the long trampoline. There were other children taking turns on it, but that didn't stop Miss Gabriella. She hopped up and, well, hopped. One of the teachers walked her back to her activity. She got to play on that trampoline later.

She tells me that she had fun. (And Kate did too--she tried a class for older kids.) This week was a free trial. It makes for a very long day, but we're going to see if we can work it out for them.

Show Week

Kate's been taking gymnastics since the fall and really enjoying it. She's learned a lot: become better balanced, made new friends, and had a chance to practice turn taking and following directions. Gabby, Nate, and I generally hang out in the lobby with a couple of other moms and their children, so it's been a social activity for all of us.

This week they had "Show Week," so Justin met us there and we were invited through the glass doors to see more about what they had been doing and take pictures.

On the horse


With Miss Molly


Off the high balance beam


Kate with her class

Next week is an open class--no structured activities and Gabby gets to play too.

Gymnastics Class

Yesterday was Kate's first gymnastics class. She has been so excited about going. Here's a picture of her in her leotard (and a pair of pants) before we left.

When we got there we found three of the five girls in her class were wearing the same leotard. I think it's the only one you can get here in town, and was less than the ones I looked at online. They joked it was the class uniform.

I had originally thought that everyone would drop off their kiddos and leave, but instead they all stayed, so we did too. They had a play room, where Gabby was able to play with another of the little sisters.

They did stretching exercises, used colored scarfs while following their teachers movements, and practiced somersaults on a downward inclined wedge. They also got to practice on a balance beam, hang from one the bars, and go hands and feet across the parallel bars. Kate will have to work on waiting her turn though. I noticed that she sometimes ran ahead before she was called. She didn't seem to notice when I asked her about it later, but at those times, she was then called on to do the activity last. I'm sure it will be a learning process for her, since this is the first truly organized activity she's been involved in. Sunday School and MOPS aren't nearly as structured at every moment, so she'll have to learn the rules.

She had fun and Gabby says she wants "'Nastics tooooo!"