2.04.2012

Gymnastics....Again

Jack started yet another trial gymnastics class using yet another Groupon purchase.  This one is a Tumble Bees class at Olympiad Gymnastics.  We have five classes on Saturday mornings and he is really enjoying them.  The first class was a little rough because the class is only 30 minutes long and it took Jack about 20 minutes to warm up to the group.  The final 10 minutes were spent having a blast on the trampoline and jumping into the foam pit, but then, too quickly, the class was over.

The second week, Daddy came along with us, which was a lot of fun.  It still took Jack a little while to warm up and he was more interested in wandering around doing his own thing than sticking with the different stations the teacher had set up for us.  Still he got lots of energy out and had a great time trying lots of new things.
Climbing a ladder (slight incline) - I was impressed at how well he did at this!

Tall balance beam!
Bars!

Swinging like a monkey

In the big foam pit with Daddy!

Action shot!  Fearless little guy

Seat drop on the trampoline
This week was our third class and it was the best one yet!  Jack opened up right away and for the most part did the stations that the teacher set up, which included: hopping through some hula hoops, somersaults, different activities on the bars, walking on the beam, climbing a wall (hands on the floor with back to the padded wall and walk your legs up behind you - he really impressed me by doing this one without my assistance), and of course, some more trampoline/foam pit time.

We've now tried three different places with our various online deals.  The first was My Gym and while it's not a gymnastics place, per se, it was probably my favorite for the fun activities we got to do.  The downside is that it's in Chesterfield, which is about a 30 minute drive from our house.  The second was GymQuarters, which was fun, but the gym was PACKED while we were there on Tuesday evenings and there was just too much going on for a 2-year-old to focus.  Olympiad is great because during our early Saturday morning classes, we pretty much have the whole place to ourselves, AND it's less than 10 minutes from home.

While I don't think we have a budding gymnast on our hands, I like having the special "Jack-only" time, he's practicing some important skills (balance, somersaults, etc) and most importantly, it's a fun way for  him to burn energy during the cold, gloomy winter.  I may consider extending our sessions for another month or so to get us through some more weeks of being trapped indoors, but I also want to enroll him in swim lessons again, so we'll see when those start.

No comments: