Jumping Class

One thing we have learned about Mason's personality is he tends to live by the rule "if at first you don't succeed...do something else." If he can't do something well he would rather just not try at all. I don't want this mindset to stop him from trying new things as he gets older, so last June we decided to start Mason in a sports development/gymnastics class at the Little Gym. The Little Gym's goal is to increase confidence and teach children they can succeed while having fun learning new skills, and for Mason, that is exactly what it has done. When he started the class he was very apprehensive and would watch the class from the sidelines with a scrunched, stinkbug face and his hands tucked in the back of his pants. I am kicking myself that I never took pictures of it. With the help of some wonderful teachers Mason went from making excuses why he couldn't participate like "I am really busy" and "I think my teeth are falling out" to trying everything they ask him to do. By the end of the summer semester Mason loved his "jumping class", as he calls it, and looked forward to it each week, so we enrolled for another semester. Here are some pictures from the show week they had in December. This is how they go from one station to the next singing, "Down by the station"They told Mason these were train tracks and he is a train puffing down the track to get him to walk across these bars on his hands and feet. It's one of his favorite things to do.

He has really improved his coordination with balls.

Miss Mel (or "Smell" as Mason called her) and Mr. Joe were the most AMAZING teachers. They really understood Mason and his imaginative little mind. When Mason was carrying around imaginary ice cream cones that were inhibiting his participation Mr Joe would offer to hold them for Mason while he took his turn on the bars then we hand them back when he was done. Both of them left at the end of December to teach school and do Physical Therapy, respectively. Stinks for us, but lucky for all the second graders and disabled children that get them now.

Brynn comes with me each week to watch Mason and would always go crazy trying to get through the door to play in the gym. Finally in October I decided to enroll in a parent/child class with her. Mason loves coming and playing with the other older siblings while we are in class and Brynn loves getting one on one time with me. It is great!

Brynn is my fearless little monkey and she just runs around climbing up and jumping off of anything and everything during exploration time. Then when we work on different skills as a class she blows me away with her coordination. I become more and more convinced each week Brynn is going to be a little gymnist. It only took her two weeks before she could walk across the balance beam by herself. It's hard to believe she is only 18 months old and doing all the things she does. .We just started another fun semester of "jumping classes" and are loving it. It has really helped this winter having something to look forward to and get us out of the house a couple times a week.