Tall As A Tree, Small As A Bug – Gymnastics!

We are in the throes of winter here in Boise. It hasn’t been above freezing for at least the last 2 weeks, and going outside to “play” is not as fun as it should be. Right now I’m thanking our lucky stars for Wings Gymnastics. Thanks to Porter’s Tutu we’ve been going to child/parent gymnastics for about 7 months. In that time I have learned more about my son’s behavior, physicality, and attitude. To watch how he is influenced by other children and how he confronts new tasks has been truly enlightening. According to the Wings website, gymnastics for little ones provides these tools:

  • Patience and Cooperation
  • Improved listening skills
  • Enhanced neural pathways
  • Improved balance, strength, and coordination
  • Learn valuable social skills
  • Gain self-esteem, confidence, and a “can-do” attitude

I’m pretty certain that at the ripe age of 2 Porter would be developing these skills on his own, but I’m also quite confident that they have been improved upon by his experiences in the gym. Miss. Brenda has been an invaluable teacher and Porter lives for her acknowledgment and praise.

This week we had some make up classes to do and got to go to gymnastics 3 times. AWESOME! Just this week Porter made huge strides. He started walking across the beam unassisted, gained confidence swinging from two uneven bars to one, and FINALLY attempted both forward and backward rolls.

Somersaults were theĀ bain of his usually pleasant gym experiences. I don’t know what clicked, but today he got straight into rolling and ended with a triumphant “ta-daa!” We’ve been working on this since the beginning and I nearly cried when he completed the rolls with a smile. I’m so thankful for these experiences and that we get to enjoy them together.

"Watching eyes, listening ears, quiet mouths. Wiggle your fingers, clap clap clap, put them quietly in your lap." ~Miss.Brenda
“Watching eyes, listening ears, quiet mouths. Wiggle your fingers, clap clap clap, put them quietly in your lap.” ~Miss.Brenda
Climbing a rope ladder to slide down the other side.
Climbing a rope ladder to slide down the other side.

Bye bye song, "Bye bye gymnastics!"
Bye bye song, “Bye bye gymnastics!”

Practicing at home on the bed.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTjogmtU_m8]

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