This week we began our gymnastics unit in earnest (last week we just learned the warm-up), and the students were excited to get moving in some new ways.

Every class began by practicing our gymnastics warm-up, which is made up of a series of “animal travels.” Students move across the gym like different animals to get their bodies warm and ready for movement. Some of the movements are the crab walk, penguin walk, and monkey crawl. These movements help students build strength, coordination, and body control, which are all important skills for gymnastics.

After warming up, we began working on some foundational gymnastics skills. This week our focus was on balances and learning how to hold our bodies still and strong in different positions. Students also practiced jumps and safe landings, making sure to land softly with bent knees and good balance.

For the older students, we added an extra challenge by practicing different “get-ups.” These are creative ways to get up from the floor without using hands, which takes quite a bit of balance, strength, and problem solving.  Some of the "get-ups" were the kneel-up, the twist-up, and the roll-up.  

Next week we will continue building our gymnastics skills by trying partner balances and then finishing with some gymnastics stations where students can practice a variety of movements and challenges.

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