Gymnastics

We enrolled Mallory into Farmington's ECFE Twist and Tumble Gymnastics class fall session. We've had two classes so far (one night a week) and Mallory LOVES it. We will get a total of seven classes. I am quite impressed with it. I had no idea they would be doing so many different activities. I figured they would run around the floor a little bit, and do some flips and somersaults, but boy was I wrong. Miss Lynn (Farmington HS Gymnastics Coach) is so patient with the toddlers and has all kinds of great ideas to keep them interested. Another fun part of this class, is it's toddler and parents, so I get to partake as well. It's fun, but I realize I am way out of shape!

During the class they start with an assembly line style event. Each toddler takes their turn rolling down an inclined mat, with the assistance of Miss Lynn. Once at the bottom, there are series of hoops or lines to jump through or over. Then to another mat in which you kick your legs up while balancing on your hands. More jumping and then to the end in which the toddler get to toss a couple of dinosaurs into a little net. Mallory just walks them up to the net and sets them in there, but hey, that works for her. There are periodically mats shaped like a shark or a star, in which she stops, puts her hands up and says "TA DA!" Here is a video of Mallory, taking her first run at gymnastics...

The second part of the class is held on the stage of the old gym/auditorium, with the balance beam being the focus. They have three different height beams set up, and the toddlers get to try walking the bean straight, sideways and stepping over little animals. It's super fun to watch them concentrate, and well, Mallory will do the task in front of her, she HAS to hold my hands.

The last part of the class consists of the vault. It's basically a big runner rug the toddlers run down, jump over a few soft obstacles and then bounce off a spring board onto a big pillow like pad, with the help of Miss Lynn. Mallory's favorite is definitely the vault. She loves to run anyway, so this gives her a chance to expand some of her energy, and do something she loves, with a little bit of a challenge.

I guess it's a good sign at the end of both classes, Mallory is crying because she doesn't want to leave. She talks about "gym sticks" all week long, and just lights up when we arrive for class. She is a very good listener and tries everything once. Some of the obstacles are a little hard for her, but at least she tries and will only improve! At home Mallory is saying she wants to try a somersault and she wants to "do beam". So far, she's digging it, and so are we!