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GYMNASTICS WEEK 2

 

If you read about Caroline’s first day at gymnastics, you know that she was quite the handful! Gymnastics started with a warm up activity and some stretching. My little Caroline wasn’t having anything to do with that, and wanted to run straight for the trampoline.  She was upset, tantruming, not listening, and we got off to a rough start. While the rest of the class went great, the cool down was again a challenge for her. Needless to say, this Mama was a bit nervous for class this week. LOL

 

In preparation, I’ve been talking to Caroline all week about a couple of things. We took extra time this morning (right before class), to talk about these specifics as well:

 

We have to stay with the group and follow Mr. Willy’s instructions. I explained to Caroline that, just as she had to wait in line for the trampoline (which she was great at doing), she also needed to wait before moving onto the next station in general. We were to stay with the class.

 

Listen to Mama and stay calm. Caroline and I are always doing a TON of practice with basic
commands (look at Mama, come to Mama, wait, go, etc), so she is getting good practice with this. We are also working on staying calm if things don’t go her way. I acknowledge her feelings and tell her it is ok to get upset, but also let her know that we need to stay calm so we can think about how to fix the problem.

 

We talked about this on the way to class in the car, and also talked about it as we sat in the waiting area before class. She was so excited for class to start! When Mr. Willy came out and called the  “Tumble Tots Class”, Caroline exclaimed “YAY!”. She was simply thrilled!

 

Since I knew what was coming this time, I told her we were going to do the warm up and to stay with the class. This time, instead of running around screaming and tantruming, she participated and tried the warm up exercises! We shook maracas, danced a bit, and did stretches. She did extremely well. I praised her the entire time for listening so well. There were a couple of moments where she saw something else she wanted to do. I asked her to look at Mama. She did every time. I then explained we were going to watch Mr. Willy and stay with the class. She’d look right at him and focus in again!

 

Next up was the obstacle course. She took a couple of minutes to get going on this, but once she did, she again tried everything! She climbed up on the mats, did the balance beam, the bar activity, placed her feet on the footprints, and her hands on the hand-prints, then went through the tunnel, and did it all again (serveral times). I was beaming with excitement, and she was too. Not only was she doing everything, she was really good at it! Her favorite part were the bars. She’d reach up high and grab on. Then I’d let go of her and she’d swing back and forth! She was so strong and held on tight! I was also really impressed with her ability to follow the footprint mat. She put her feet where they were supposed to go, then her hands down, and then I helped her hop over to the next footprints. Amazing how she was understanding what to do!

 

Next up, she did the one way trampoline (her favorite from last week). She waited in line, then got up on the trampoline and waited for me to say go. I didn’t have to hold her back once. She was listening to me perfectly. She ran down the trampoline most times, but listened when I asked her to try and jump. She’d then slide down and go around as she’s already learned to do. So impressive yet again!

 

Next up was the floor mat. This time they got balls to play with and there were mini soccer goals to kick the balls into. She had a lot of fun with this activity. She shared with other kids, and cleaned up well when the time came!

 

Next was the foam pit. She went down the slide a couple of times. She chose not to do the rope activity this time, which was totally fine. When it was time to move to the next station, she’d follow Mr. Willy and calmly leave the station we were at. She did this at each station change with ease!

 

Next was the second trampoline. She waited her turn and was super patient (even though she was last to get on). They have a square taped off in the middle of the trampoline. She listened to my instructions to stay in the square! I was amazed by this in and of itself! She jumped, and when we told her to fall down and sit on the trampoline, she did! She did it 3 times!

 

As we walked over to the cool down area, I told her we were almost done and that we had one more station that we needed to stay with the class for. We sang the “Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear” song and did all the moves. She turned around, touched the ground, and jumped! She did everything so well.

 

I was beyond impressed with my little girl. The instructor and all of the other parents were too. She exceeded my hopes and expectations. I literally got a bit teared up as we left. I stopped outside with her and told her how proud I was. I gave her hugs and kisses and high fives. She said “YAY” and had a huge smile. I just wanted to jump and scream and laugh and dance with her to celebrate! We did some of that in the parking lot LOL! I then took my BIG BIG GIRL to Red Robin for an extra special lunch. SO INSANELY PROUD of this beautiful, smart, strong girl!

 

Oh and I still didn’t take pictures! haha 

I am so hands on with her that I didn’t even bother to take my phone in for pictures this time. Next time, however, it’s coming in so I can get a picture of my little gymnast on the bar!!!

 

 

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