We're about half-way through our end-of-year Show Week. It's a very emotional time for us at The Little Gym. I am *always* impressed with the performance of the children doing their routines in front of a large audience of parents. Here's some of the neat things that have happened so far this week:
Our Monday classes always impress me with how well they do, even though they miss one practice due to Memorial Day coming a few weeks before Show Week. Even our 3 year old Funny Bugs did amazing with only one class prior in which they practiced the full routine. (Two weeks ago was Memorial Day, and prior to that we had been working on just parts of the routines in class.)
On Tuesday, one of our Hot Shots (6-12 year old boys), did his pull-over on the bars for the very first time by himself, *and* in front of his family. He had been coming to classes here for about 2.5 years now. I wish we had a video of the progress he's made since he started here. His self-esteem has skyrocketed as he's been able to master skills recently.
Also on Tuesday, two parents realized they had a special bond. They realized that they had both adopted their children from the same children's home in Guatemala. They had been attending the same class for about 10+ weeks before realizing they had that connection. That was probably one of the most interesting connections The Little Gym has ever facilitated.
Today, one of our 5 year olds who has been coming since she was 2, finally felt comfortable standing up and performing her gymnastics routines in front of an audience. For the last several years, she would skip the performance part of Show Week, preferring to sit with her parents. Today she decided to do them, performed all three routines, and performed a few "future skills" (advanced skills done with a heavy spot) too!
My favorite part was seeing my 5 year old son doing his cartwheels over and over during the group activity on Monday. He's been coming for 4 years and has always been a little bit of a goofball, preferring to goof around with his friends versus really focusing on learning skills. But over the years, he's been slowly (stealthily) building up strength and the coordination to do these skills. I love it that I can feel parental pride for my own son at The Little Gym too! We love all of the kids and love seeing their growth year over year. This is such a great job! :-)
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And you do such an amazing job with those kids, Ron. I feel so blessed that you've been a part of Matthew's life this past 6 months. He has always looked forward to seeing you and I can tell he feels safe with you. The little things make a huge difference sometimes...you never know what's going on outside of class, and when you treat those kids like gold, it can go a long way in their little lives.
ReplyDeleteWe were so very proud of Ruthie today. Thank you for all that you all do!!!
ReplyDeleteJen