gymnastics

my 3 little gymnasts

I enrolled all 3 kids in gymnastics.  Charlotte is in a 15-35 month old class where I stay with her, and the boys are in a 3 y.o. - 5 y.o. class with a teacher, all at the same time.

I don't think I blogged about it, but I had enrolled the boys in the toddler class at this same gym when they turned 2.  It was a terrible experience.  The class ran 8 weeks over what was essentially the first trimester of my pregnancy with Charlotte.  I was beyond exhausted, I was nauseous, the gym smelled like feet and my nose was over-sensitive.  The teacher was nasty and didn't pay even a second of attention to the boys, except to yell at me when they weren't doing what she had asked and to tell me to take them out of the gym if they couldn't follow directions (they were 2 year old boys! what did she expect?).  We suffered through and I tried to forget that it had ever happened.

This past spring, Benjamin did a gymnastics class at the JCC, but I was not impressed with the quality of the instruction there.  One day when I dropped him off, I was pretty sure that the teacher was high.  So that's not great, either.

Finally, Asher expressed interest in taking a class, which is exciting, since he has refused any activity since soccer in the summer of 2013.  Charlotte is amazing flexible, and can already do the splits, so gymnastics it is.

Our first class went great!  The boys did their thing, and every time I glanced at them, they seemed to be following the teacher and participating happily.  Charlotte was extremely enthusiastic about her class, especially the trampoline (which the boys refused to go on when they were 2; much hysteria and screaming around that activity).  The teachers adored her, and the other moms complimented me on her ability, considering it was her first class.  After the class, the kids get half an hour in the "fun factory," which they loved.

It was a very successful morning, and led to excellent afternoon naps.  I'm looking forward to this routine for the next few weeks!