Stories of Awe and Triumph at The Little Gym

We have amazing stories of skill growth that are generated daily by the fabulous kids at The Little Gym of Lake Oswego. Just this morning, in our Super Beasts class, when I announced that we were going to sing Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, 2.5 year old Vance said, “I know that song.” I then announced to the class that Vance would lead us in singing… and he did! All 18 parents and I were impressed with Vance’s comfort in performing in front of the crowd.   I *wish* I got that on video!

In another breakthrough moment, a 5 year old child who was trying our class out for the first time, verbally expressed his fear of doing a forward roll. Teacher Alex and I were able to show him how to break down the skill, first having him start with a straight body with arms in the air, and then lowering his arms to the mat. We told him we’d stop there, but he stayed with his head down. We asked if we could help him do his forward roll really slow, holding him the whole time and he said (over and over), “Go slow!” After he did his heavily spotted forward roll, all three of us cheered his achievement. We all beamed. At the next station, when it was his turn to do a forward roll, Teacher Adam was there to help. With 2 rolls in one class, we’re looking forward to further opportunities to grow his skills and his self-confidence!