Bye-bye gymnastics class!

Asher started his first gymnastics class just before Christmas. We went weekly to a parent and tot session, which meant I got to participate with him.

We had a lot of fun during our sessions! Asher loved the chance to run and jump and climb and play - sometimes a little too much! This tended to push me to be creative, and persistent, to get him to participate in the activities he was actually supposed to be doing. I found I really processed through that a lot this year - having reasonable expectations for him as a young toddler. During class I wanted him to have fun and enjoy what he was doing, and I understood that he needed time and space to explore, and that he couldn't be expected to stay "on task" or do everything that was asked of him. On the other hand, I wanted him to learn that it was important that he follow his teacher's instruction and do what was asked of him. So at the beginning especially, our classes looked a lot like me constantly chasing after him and having him participate. Eventually he got it though, and was able to participate in most of the activities asked of him without too much guidance needed from me.

Any given class looked a lot like this:

Running around pretending to be choo-choo trains or airplanes;


Climbing, sliding and playing on the equipment;

Crawling through tunnels;

Walking on the balance beams (usually with help);

Running or jumping on the "tumble track";

Jumping on the trampoline with Mama;

And Asher's favorite, playing popcorn with Monique (his teacher)!

Basically she just has the kids sit on their bums, and "pops" them into the air for a quick bounce. I wish you could hear Asher's laugh for this activity; he loved it!

We usually did some swinging on rings and bars, parachute play, and different floor exercises as well. I definitely think Asher got a lot out of it. Besides learning some basic listening and following instruction skills, Asher also learned how to do a bridge, a tree, roll like a hot dog, somersault (with help), hold his body weight by hanging onto a ring/bar, and jump! Pretty impressive for a 2-year old.

Our Monday mornings just won't be the same now that gymnastics is over. It was a lot of fun though and we hope to continue some of the activities on our own for the summer!