By Stacey Moreno

Pre-school gymnastics is fun and safe - perfect for those high-energy little movers and shakers! And we are fortunate to have many options close to home. But sometimes, so many options can be confusing for parents. We’ve spoken with some local experts to guide us through the details of different types of programs out there for our toddlers.

Gymnastic Clubs
If your interest is purely gymnastics, seek out gymnastic clubs in the area. These facilities will offer classes for little ones that are fun and focus on teaching basic gymnastic skills. Sonshine Gymnastics, located in Holly Springs, is one that has a gymnastic-based focus. Sonshine’s Director of Pre-school and Recreational Programs, Jody Keye, explains, “Pre-school gymnastics and childhood development go hand-in-hand. Children will increase their ability to balance, and have better body awareness and hand-eye coordination. They can learn to overcome fear of heights and learn how to maneuver their bodies in safe ways…helping them in their own backyard and on the playground.”

Children may start at 18 months and attend class with a parent until age three. The staff at organizations like Sonshine usually have gymnastic backgrounds and/or childhood development experience. Gymnastic clubs usually have gymnastic apparatus – vault tables, bars, balance beams and a spring-loaded floor. “The children experience all of the apparatus, including rings and parallel bars, which is important for the boys,” says Ms. Jody. They also use the open foam pits and use equipment that is smaller for the little ones. As pre-schoolers grow, they easily transfer into recreational and competitive gymnastic programs. “Most rising kindergarteners that come out of our pre-school programs are able to skip the beginner level in afterschool recreation and move to an intermediate level,” says Ms. Jody.

Cheer Gyms
Another option that is attracting lots of attention is the cheer gym. These gyms focus on cheerleading, dance and tumbling activities, starting with pre-school age activity and leading up to advanced tumbling and competitive cheer. At Carolina Legacy in Cary, Cheer Coach/Pre-school Instructor Carlos Richmond, relies on over ten years experience teaching pre-school gymnastic classes to keep the classes “fun and exciting for little ones.” Various sized and shaped mats, hula hoops, barrels, mini-bars and low beams are all used to teach mini handstands, cartwheels and rolls. Carlos says, “By using games and fun activities, I teach the kids proper gymnastic basics that will help increase muscle control.”

Carolina Legacy, for example, teaches children two years old (that are potty trained) through five years old, independent of a parent. Cheer gyms may have all the typical pre-school gymnastic equipment but as kids progress, the bars, beam and vault are no longer practiced and tumbling becomes the main focus. “At Legacy, we specialize in cheer and tumble, so when the kids are five or six years old, they can progress to more advanced tumbling or cheer classes,” says Carlos.

Children’s Gyms
If you are looking for a program that specializes in the youngest of tumblers and the focus is on fun, a children’s gym may suit you. My Gym’s program, for instance, is created with early physical, mental and emotional childhood development as its backbone. They contain age-appropriate activity that will nurture development physically and emotionally. My Gym Children’s Fitness Center of Raleigh manager Whitney Pilotte explains, “Our classes allow for a great bonding experience for child and parent with interaction using songs and dancing, working both gross and fine motor skills.”

Children’s gyms often have special ziplines and ball-pits in addition to the typical gymnastics equipment like bars, beams, trampolines and soft landing mats, keeping the experience play-oriented but still allowing for learning basic gym skills. My Gym prides itself on never doing the same class twice. “Every week, the gym equipment is rearranged and new a lesson plan ready, so kids stay interested,” says Whitney. “Active kids get lots of supervised climbing time here. There’s always an extra hand to catch them, so parents don’t need to worry.”

Babies that are three weeks old can join class with a parent. As the baby grows into a toddler and becomes more independent, parents are weaned out by age three and a half. When pre-schoolers become older, they can move on to gym classes that are “still recreational and fun with games, songs and cardio exercise, but focus more on proper gymnastic techniques.”



Next Article >>

Current and Past Articles >>