Mr. Van Sluys MTS

 We finished up gymnastics this week with some ariels, partner balances, and stations.  Next week we start Mission Impossible.  Please remind students to wear comfortable, non-constricting clothing.  Dresses are not great for Mission Impossible.   Thanks!

We started gymnastics this week.  Before we begin gymnastics we have a discussion about how gymnasts must have excellent body control.  Body control is emphasized throughout the unit as students move and balance in different and unique ways. The gymnastics unit is split into 4 different parts.  Our first focus is on learning a variety of ways to move our body around the gym.  I call these " animal travels " and they include movements like galloping, the crab walk, seal walk, monkey walk, penguin walk, the dog scooch, and the bear crawl, among others.  The focus during these movements is on building strength as well as controlling our body.  We then use these movements as a warm up each day before subsequent   gymnastics lessons.  The next focus is on  balances .  Each grade learns a variety of different balances and poses.  As students progress through the grades they will learn different balances that require more skill than p...

We said farewell to February this week, and welcomed March!  That means we are done jumping rope for a while, and are moving into gymnastics, or as I call it V-nastics (my own version of gymnastics).  Some classes started gymnastics this Friday, and the other classes will be starting on Monday.  Please ensure students are wearing comfortable clothes from now until Spring Break.  I would avoid skirts, or tight fitting and constricting jeans/pants.  Students may also want to tuck in loose fitting shirts.