Gymnastics: Leotards, Somersaults, & Fun!

This past Monday, Mandy Rose had her first gymnastics class! We enrolled her in the class because we want her to try lots of new things and have lots of experiences. She loves to run, jump, climb, and play so this seemed the perfect outlet for her! We have others in our adoptive community who have warned us that they also started this way... a once-a-week, 45 minute class to learn basic tumbling skills. And, now, their daughter trains 4 times a week at a gym that is 45 minutes away from their home! So be it! If Mandy Rose becomes passionate about this, we will support her fully! But, for now, it is just supposed to be a fun, active opportunity for her.

Mandy Rose was enrolled in a beginners, 3 to 4 year old class. From the very beginning of the class though, it was apparent that the other little ones knew a whole lot more than she did! I figured, she would pick things up as she went and tried not to fuss too much over her. Easier said than done. The instructor helped her out by showing her the proper way to do somersaults and some of the other warm up activities that they were doing. Mandy Rose was having a ball despite not knowing what she was doing! She didn't care if she wasn't doing things quite right and that is the way it should be for 3 year olds. They don't need to be worried about performing perfectly!

Working on her somersault!

Success!! Look at that victorious smile!!

The problems began when the kids moved into the "obstacle course" room. There were about 12 stations, each with a different movement that Mandy Rose was supposed to do. She was helped at some, but was on her own for most of them. The class had about 15 kids and just not enough adults/helpers to follow each kiddo. They would throw out terms like "straddle" and "pike" and "donkey kick", etc. that Mandy Rose has never heard before. Bless her heart, she was trying to do each station, but she wasn't sure of what was expected of her. I was becoming more convinced that we needed to be in a different class. Then, I was absolutely certain! The teacher held Mandy Rose back at one station, saying that the another child got to go first because, "you are messing around." I was livid!! How dare she chide my daughter! I got up right then and went and spoke with the director to get her into a different class! How can this woman expect a 3 year old with absolutely NO experience to automatically absorb everything that was expected of her in a brief few minutes of explanation? I was so angry, I was crying. Hacks me off when I do that!

It is hard to know when to step in for your kids to protect them and when to let them experience the "lumps and bumps" of life. If Mandy Rose had been attending this class for awhile and was goofing off or not paying attention, I would have not said a word about her being called down. But this was just simply uncalled for! Don't people realize that the negative words they use with children dig in deep and stay put? Fortunately, in this case, I don't think Mandy Rose even understood that she was in trouble. She still had fun. I just want to make sure that gymnastics continues to be fun or why do it?

After class was done, I went up to this teacher and told her that we would be moving to another class. I told her that she needed to understand that Mandy Rose had no gymnastics experience. I told her that Mandy Rose was not "messing around", she didn't know what was expected of her. The teacher told me that she knew this was Mandy Rose's first class and that she understood. I couldn't help but think, "Then why did you talk to her that way?" I will be avoiding this particular woman's class from here on out!

Anyways, long story short, we will be starting a parent/tot class this week! Soooo, that means her momma is gonna look a fool trying to help her learn what all this is about! That's okay! Anything for my sweet Mandy Rose!