Today was Hannah's first day of gymnastics and she was so excited she couldn't eat her breakfast!! I signed her up for the 3-4 year old class at Upstate Gymnastics in Pendleton. I think she's asked me every day for the past two weeks if it's time for her to go to her class.
I love her little pink leotard. It's an XXS!
I love her little pink leotard. It's an XXS!
We got there a little early because I had to pay them and fill out the paper work. So Hannah was watching the Mom & Tot class, which got her really excited, so she asked a million times if it was her turn yet. Bobby surprised us and showed up for the first 20 minutes or so before he had to go back to work.
Waiting somewhat impatiently for her class to start.
They started the group out by sitting them in a circle so they could do their stretches. While they were trying to get the kids situated Hannah walked right over to the mini trampoline and starts jumping!! Hannah was pretty good at the stretches but there were a few she couldn't get the hang of. At one point the instructor was showing them how to stretch their wrists by "rolling up tacos" to which Hannah exclaims, "I don't like tacos!!" Bobby & I laughed so hard :-) Then they broke the group up into fours because there were 14 kids and four stations for them to do (so there was actually one group with only two kids). After so many minutes they rotated to the next station. Hannah was in a group with two little girls - Gracie and Anna - and a little boy - Drew.
Hannah & Gracie wait for their turn on the bars.
The first thing Hannah did was the bars. They did three different exercises: 1st they were just supposed to hang there, 2nd they were supposed to bring their knees up to their noses and last they were supposed to bring their toes up and touch the bar. Hannah was very good at this which isn't surprising b/c she's always hanging off things like a little monkey. When it was time to bring their knees up to their noses, Hannah immediately did it without the instructor reminding her what she was supposed to be doing.
The instructor helps Hannah on the bars.
After that they moved on to some simple mat exercises and finished by walking across the balance beam. I couldn't really see how Hannah did with the mat exercises because the balance beam was in the way but she did great walking across the beam. Of course the teacher was holding her hand but still!!
Walking across the balance beam!
The third station they went to was the vault. They were supposed to run and jump on the vault board twice before climbing up on this really thick beam. After they walked across the beam I'm not really sure what they did b/c I couldn't see from where I was standing.
This instructor helps Hannah get onto the beam.
The last station they went to was my favorite. It was like a little obstacle course. First they tumbled down an inclined mat. Then they walked across some uneven padded "stones". After the stones they twirled ribbons while walking across a balance beam. From the beam they jumped on the mini trampoline (which was what Hannah was really looking forward to). They finished the course in the bird's nest. It looked like an upside down thimble that they could sit in and rock back in forth. This was Hannah's best station besides the bars.
Hannah jumping on the trampoline.
They finished the class by forming a circle, putting their arms around each other and singing a song. Every one got a bunny stamp on their hand and a coloring page to take home. Hannah was so sad that it was time to leave and wants to go back tomorrow.
The group song. Hannah is next to the little boy in green.
I was really surprised at how quickly Hannah warmed up to the different instructors. She can be a little shy sometimes but she always listened and tried to do exactly what they said. Her only problem was being a little too excited. She had a hard time staying seated and waiting her turn but at some point during the class every one of the kids did the same thing too. I can't blame them - it all looked like so much fun!! I can't wait to see what they have planned for the kids next week!
Waiting somewhat impatiently for her class to start.
They started the group out by sitting them in a circle so they could do their stretches. While they were trying to get the kids situated Hannah walked right over to the mini trampoline and starts jumping!! Hannah was pretty good at the stretches but there were a few she couldn't get the hang of. At one point the instructor was showing them how to stretch their wrists by "rolling up tacos" to which Hannah exclaims, "I don't like tacos!!" Bobby & I laughed so hard :-) Then they broke the group up into fours because there were 14 kids and four stations for them to do (so there was actually one group with only two kids). After so many minutes they rotated to the next station. Hannah was in a group with two little girls - Gracie and Anna - and a little boy - Drew.
Hannah & Gracie wait for their turn on the bars.
The first thing Hannah did was the bars. They did three different exercises: 1st they were just supposed to hang there, 2nd they were supposed to bring their knees up to their noses and last they were supposed to bring their toes up and touch the bar. Hannah was very good at this which isn't surprising b/c she's always hanging off things like a little monkey. When it was time to bring their knees up to their noses, Hannah immediately did it without the instructor reminding her what she was supposed to be doing.
The instructor helps Hannah on the bars.
After that they moved on to some simple mat exercises and finished by walking across the balance beam. I couldn't really see how Hannah did with the mat exercises because the balance beam was in the way but she did great walking across the beam. Of course the teacher was holding her hand but still!!
Walking across the balance beam!
The third station they went to was the vault. They were supposed to run and jump on the vault board twice before climbing up on this really thick beam. After they walked across the beam I'm not really sure what they did b/c I couldn't see from where I was standing.
This instructor helps Hannah get onto the beam.
The last station they went to was my favorite. It was like a little obstacle course. First they tumbled down an inclined mat. Then they walked across some uneven padded "stones". After the stones they twirled ribbons while walking across a balance beam. From the beam they jumped on the mini trampoline (which was what Hannah was really looking forward to). They finished the course in the bird's nest. It looked like an upside down thimble that they could sit in and rock back in forth. This was Hannah's best station besides the bars.
Hannah jumping on the trampoline.
They finished the class by forming a circle, putting their arms around each other and singing a song. Every one got a bunny stamp on their hand and a coloring page to take home. Hannah was so sad that it was time to leave and wants to go back tomorrow.
The group song. Hannah is next to the little boy in green.
I was really surprised at how quickly Hannah warmed up to the different instructors. She can be a little shy sometimes but she always listened and tried to do exactly what they said. Her only problem was being a little too excited. She had a hard time staying seated and waiting her turn but at some point during the class every one of the kids did the same thing too. I can't blame them - it all looked like so much fun!! I can't wait to see what they have planned for the kids next week!
