Another year of gymnastics! Yes!

A few years back Little Miss was not impressed with gymnastics and gave us a hard time going each week. We told her to stick with it until the end of the year. The next year we went back, and she has been enjoying it ever since. Each year I ask her if she wants to continue, and it's always a Yes!

I am so glad we prolonged it, and did not stop with it immediately! (We have a rule that you have to do an activity for at least a year!)

It is such good exercise for the little body, and she is constantly doing head stands, hand stands and cart wheels at home and at school!

2015 end-of-year gymnastic championships

Her classes are on a Saturday, and it's been messing with our Saturdays for 5 years now! But we will be doing it while she still wants to do it!


Tammy Smith is still doing the Tiny Tumbles at Roosevelt Park Recreation Centre.
She starts the little ones from one years of age, and she has expanding her teaching now to older kids as well!
I can really recommend her!

Facebook: Tiny Tumbles


Related posts:

- Gymnastic Championships - a first

- The enthusiastic gymnast

(I was not asked or paid to say this! ;-))  

A Teddy for the Teddy Bear Clinic

Tammy at Tiny Tumbles gymnastics had her yearly collection of teddy bears for the Teddy Bear Clinic. Teddy Bear Clinic works towards holistic child protection services, and a teddy bear helps in bringing comfort to a little one that has been through a traumatic experience!

Little Miss really struggles to part with her toys, and especially her bears. (Hoarder Deluxe!
We definitely blame the parents!)

Previous years we had to buy a bear to donate. But this year we said that she should make a choice...

It was difficult, but Little Miss finally decided on this lovely bear. He has been a gift from London, from her Aunt. (Thank you, Ronél!)

He is soft and cuddly, with a touch of Christmas cheer with the red and white scarf!

We love the idea that he has been called for higher duty!
I am proud of Little Miss for making a choice and parting with a dearly loved possession!

Gymnastic Championships - a first

Little Miss has been doing gymnastics since she was 18 months.
There has been ups and downs. We had to deal with a reluctant gymnast about two years back, but the next year she went back with enthusiasm, and she has been going weekly "without a hitch".

(Just sometimes, the sun shines too brightly, or there's a bump, or...
Little Miss does get emotionally sidetracked quite easily! A phase? A preschooler characteristic?)

She did not want to practice her routine, at all, but told us that she was ready!

We had to slot her in with the younger group since we had other plans for the afternoon. She could not compete with the group, but she still got a score and a medal.

Luckily they practiced with the children before the final rounds of the championships.
Of course Little Miss did better while practicing, but she did very well overall.

This was the floor routine:


She got 9.3 for this floor routine, and 8.6 for the jump.
Not bad for a first time.

The MC told us that it was the parents' job to deal with questions about why only some gymnasts get more than one medal...
(We also got the questions!)


For now we will continue with the gymnastics for next year. Little Miss is still enjoying it! We saw with the occupational therapy that the gymnastics has given Little Miss an extra edge!

The enthusiastic gymnast

We had a reluctant gymnast on our hands at the end of last year. Little Missy complained and did not want to go. She was also very demanding that we stayed next to her with the little gymnastics.

It changed at the beginning of this year, and she has been happily going, and doing the exercises on her own.

On Saturday she moved up to a bigger class, where they will be learning to do small routines.

I have a rule that if you start with a new activity, that you should do it for at least a year. After that you can change your mind again. It is expensive to pay the fees and pay the clothes, and then just to move on to the next thing.

I am glad that we did not stop going to the gymnastics.

Video of Tiny Tumbles classes through Animoto

Tiny Tumbles

Check out this video I made with @animoto - Tiny Tumbles #videos #apps #mobile http://t.co/QswQwQ2pnJ
— Karen du Toit (@karentoittoit) June 18, 2013

I have been playing around with applications on my mobile for an online mobile librarian course. (ANZ 23 Mobile Things).

I love this for a quick and sleek professional video made from your photos or videos on your mobile.
It is available on Android and on iOS, but unfortunately not on Blackberry.

Wordless Wednesday #168 - Photobombed at gymnastics

Wordless Wednesday #166 - Gymnastics jump to bicycle stand

The reluctant gymnast

For the past few weeks we have had a reluctant gymnast who does not want to take part in the gymnastic exercises anymore.

She tells us she does not want to go.

But she loves hanging and swinging and jumping on the trampoline. It's just when they are asked to stand in a group and doing the warm-up exercises, or having to do exercises on their own...


We are not supposed to help them anymore and have to look on from the side. She still wants us to stand with her and hold her hand...

I look at all the other children and they all get their uncooperative days.

But she has been doing it now for quite a while...

I don't know if it's worth forcing her! I would have loved for her to continue a little longer. I think the exercises are extremely good, and she gets to catch up on milestones she might have missed, such as not crawling (she only did a crab creep).

How long should I give her before we call it a day?

What do you do about extra activities and children suddenly deciding they do no want to go anymore?

 

Posted with Blogsy

Vertigo

The Toddler has vertigo!

 

We see it now especially with her moving on to the bigger class in Tiny Tumbles.

She tells us no she can't! She's afraid!

She has to be coaxed and bribed to do the uneven bars, and she still needs a hand walking on the higher beam.

I had a bad case of vertigo myself and could never climb trees. But the older (as in my thirties) I got, the easier it became.

I don't know how to make it easier on her? I used to not climb trees, and stayed on the ground, but I think I missed out on a lot of views from higher up!

Any ideas on how to help a toddler overcome their fear of heights?

Posted with Blogsy

Wordless Wednesday #140 - Pommel Horse exercise

Parting with a bear... Too special!

Tammy Smith again ran her yearly social responsibility programme at Tiny Tumbles where she collects bears for the Teddy Bear Clinic.

The Toddler had to pick one of her own bears to give to the "children who don't have bears."

It proved too difficult a task!

When I suggested a bear for her to give, she was adamant that it is a very special bear.
Each and every one!
Although she's got a large number of bears that sit on bookshelves in her room, she could not find a bear that was not "special".
(I recognise the hoarding gene. It seems it has been passed on!)

At one stage she pointed to a bear that I could take!
I was very proud, but it was short-lived...

The Student reclaimed her bear when she saw it was the bear that the Toddler had selected...

So we had to go to Reggies for a bear, and the smaller bear was one donated by the Student!

The photos were taken in the car, on our way on Saturday. The bears had to be strapped in as well!



Related post:

Bears for the Teddy Bear Clinic

Mini Olympics - tips for children at home

The Olympic Games will start today in London, and there is nothing that inspires one but to see the greatness of physical achievements in action.

I still remember how we used to start exercising vigorously when we used to watch the Olympics when we were children...

Tammy Smith, gymnast and owner of Tiny Tumbles, has posted a list on Kidzworld of Mini Olympics we can do with the children at home. The Toddler still has tiny gymnastics classes each week with Tammy, and I think we will definitely continue as long as possible.
Mieka enjoys it immensely, and I can see how far she has progressed since she started doing the gymnastics.

Tips to help your family to enjoy the fun and games of the Olympics:

1. Some favourite games that can be played:

    - Egg and spoon race (with boiled eggs)

    - Wheelbarrow race (The biggest of the two holds the second person at the knees while they run on their hands)

2. Gymnastics:

    - Handstand competition (stand with you back against the wall and place hands on floor. Walk with your feet up against the wall, and see who can hold the position the longest)

   - Walking on a low beam or pole at home without falling off (an extra one put in by me)

3. Ball sports:

    - Balloon volleyball (helps with hand-eye coordination and much easier to control than normal balls. See how many times you can hit it back and forth without it landing on the ground)

4. Wrestling:

     - Pillow fights (on the bed with cushions. If you get knocked down you get tickled.)

You can read Tammy's list here: Mini Olympics Games ideas for children


I am sure there are a lot more Olympics Games to think of.
Do you have any more ideas?

Photo report of the weekend

Decorating in the boardroom 

We had such a quiet and uneventful weekend...

I started with two functions on Friday, but by six thirty we were home.
We had a weekend of rest and time with the family!

Some more of these kinds of weekends, please!!

Tiny Tumbles exercises

Left-right...

We also had two breakfasts; on Saturday and Sunday.

My ultimate guilty pleasure!

Moroccan Lifestyle - one of our favs

We also went to check out Lemon Rose Farm, which we always drive by and say we should stop there one day...

We loved the garden restaurant area and the farm yard with the animals. Mostly because the Toddler assured us it is the "Zoo"while she thoroughly the animals and the play area. The chickens and ducks were walking between the tables.

Jumping Castle at Lemon Rose Farm

Butterfly balloon made for a small fee at Lemon Rose Farm

Lemon Rose Farm

But the food was not that exciting... Here you definitely go for the children!


What did you do on your weekend?

Wordless Wednesday #129 - Exercise fun

 

Wordless Wednesday #119 - Jump!

Wordless Wednesday #117 - Toddler head stand

Movie Clip Monday #23 - spider exercise

Make like a spider with Tammy Smith of Tiny Tumbles.


(Thanks to Tasneem at MumDrum for her Movie Clip Monday idea)

Related post:
Movie Clip Monday #22 - Body awareness exercises

Threats from our toddler

37 months on Saturday and she knows how to make a threat!


“I am going to tell my sister!”
(The sister who is now at varsity.)

Then it gets more violent after that, because she tells us what her sister is going to do with us…

With guns and knives…

It’s funny, but also NOT!

Where does she get the language? Because it is not how we speak to her or each other…

A sad reflection of our society today?

Too much TV?

Bad TV?

Bad parenting?

We find that being a 3-year old is a very aggressive age!


The year is in full swing and its back to tiny gymnastics again! She missed the classes, and I could see the improvement from the previous year.

Tiny Tumbles

The Toddler met her new cousin, and we had a whole discussion about the family hierarchy.

“Sunet is my baby!”
Dad: “No, she is Elise & Karel’s baby! She is your cousin!”
“She is MY cousin, not yours!”
Dad: “Of course, because I am her uncle!”
“She is not Clarisse’s cousin!”
Dad: “No, she is Clarisse’s sister!” and so on...

She also did not want me to take the baby home!

Welcome, Sunet!

We had a very relaxing weekend with our toddler, and there was time to do some decorating in her room, thanks to Mr Price!

Pinocchio turned out to be a scary bed-time story, because she woke up screaming about the growing nose last night!
Back back in the shelve with Bambi...

Monday, and missing the little face her again!


How was your weekend?


Related post:
Some toddler stuff

Movie Clip Monday #22 - Body awareness exercises at Tiny Tumbles

Tiny gymnastics on Saturday.

The Toddler was in a good mood...

She was very excited that she got to do a foreward roll on her own as well!

Bears for the Teddy Bear Clinic

Each year Tammy Smith of Tiny Tumbles has a social responsibility programme where she asks that each child bring a bear of the child to donate to the clinic.


The Teddy Bear Clinic is

a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring abused children are protected and rehabilitated. We provide therapy, counseling, assistance, love, comfort, safety and ongoing support to children who have been abused. The Teddy Bear Clinic does not only work with children, but with parents and communities empowering them with knowledge and skills we can help put an end to child abuse.

Some children find it very difficult to part with their beloved bears (there are some tears), but for the most part they are happy to give, especially when told that they are giving to children who do not have bears.

We had our bear-giving on Saturday.

The children first had to do some exercises with their bears, and then it all went onto the pile of bears.

186 bears and soft toys were collected