gymnastics

Most of you probably know that I did gymnastics for 10 years growing up and also taught it for 4 years. I don't think I really want my kids to get into gymnastics competitively, but I will try to give them opportunities to do what they choose. However, I HAVE always wanted to have coordinate kids and be able to teach them some basic gymnastic tricks well. I thought nothing would stop me from teaching Isabel to do cartwheels when she was two..... I have tried hard to teach Isabel how to be independent and sometimes she just does not want to follow instructions. So, it has been more challenging to teach her gymnastics than I had originally thought. I decided to try doing a little gymnastics class out of my home with a few neighbor kids to see if Isabel would catch the other children's excitement and enjoy the class. I even got my husband to make us a beam and I made/gathered other equipment that I could use creatively. We did gymnastics classes for about two months and Isabel just didn't really care. The other kids, especially cousin Sofie, just loved the class and were so cute and good at it. Isabel would sometimes show interest and sometimes not want to participate fully. So, I finally decided to stop doing the class because she (and I quote) "just doesn't feel like doing gymnastics very much." Since we got a new bed, it has been a little more crowded for the stations. (Yes, I taught the class in my bedroom because it is the largest carpeted room in our house.) I experimented doing the class in our huge dining room, but the wooden floor is just too hard and the mats would just slide around a lot. So, with mixed feelings, we'll stop doing the class for now. Maybe Isabel will be more interested in it when she is older. (I will still try make sure all my female children can do cartwheels at a reasonable age.)