How Our Tiniest Gymnasts are Growing

How do you keep a toddler busy? He’s just learned to walk and the next thing you know he’s climbing onto the table! You’re exhausted, but he’s still going strong. You know you have to find an outlet for all this energy!

The problem is that there just aren’t a lot of organized activities for these under-twos. They are too young for most recreational classes or a regular preschool program, where two is the usual minimum age. Toddlers are even too small for many park playgrounds.

Gymnastics for Toddlers

Tumblebees can help with our Busy Bees program. We get it. That’s why we call this group Busy Bees. There are two classes available every week designed just for this age group of 12 to 24 months. As a parent or caregiver you guide your child for 45 minutes through core gymnastics skills, coordination activities, and group games. All activities in our Busy Bees classes are age appropriate, designed for these very young but active and growing bodies and minds.

Never too Young

If you’re thinking that this age group is too young for structured classes, we hope to prove you wrong. Our goals for the Busy Bees classes are the same as for all our classes. Our students learn such skills as listening, following directions, and goal setting. Yes, we know. Goal setting for a 13-month-old sounds ridiculous, but for a child who has just learned to walk, that goal might be as simple as walking across the room. The children also learn the basics of safety, respect for others, and taking turns, all reinforced by you as you help your child through the class.

Physical Benefits

Besides the social and cognitive aspects of a gymnastics class, our youngest students gain physical skills as well. You’ll see improvement in coordination and balance, meaning your little one is steadier on her feet. An increase in spatial awareness and rudimentary safety concepts combine with climbing skills to give her more control over her movements. And with every class your child will be growing stronger and stronger.

Fun, Fun, Fun

We don’t mean to make it sound like this class is all serious work. The greatest benefit for both you and your child is that Busy Bees is fun! You’ll both make new friends in our no-pressure environment, but the best part will be that big grin on your little one’s face.

Try Tumblebees Without Committing to a Class!

As parents, we all face this dilemma from time to time: Our child wants to sign up for an activity that requires a monthly financial commitment, but we’re not sure she will actually like it. Do we go ahead and give it a try? What if she hates it? Do we force her to stick to her commitment or shrug off the financial loss?  It can be a quagmire of what-ifs from the beginning.

But here’s another what-if: What if there is a way for your child to try out the new activity without making a commitment? This sounds almost too good to be true.

Tumble Time

At Tumblebees, we’ve created a way around this dilemma. Every Friday we offer an open gym hour in the late afternoon for school-age children. It’s a great way for potential students to explore gymnastics. All the equipment is available for the kids to try in a supervised atmosphere. Your child can get a sense of how a regular class will suit her. Does she like the instructors? Is she comfortable in the gym? Is the balance beam just too scary?

If she’s not sure after just one hour, you can bring her again. There are no limits regarding how many times one child can participate. Bring her when you can. If you find at a later time she's ready for a regular class, she’ll be able to switch over.

BeeCess Classes

Tumble Time is open only to school-age children from kindergarten through high school, but we have a separate time for preschoolers aged 2 to 5 who have not yet entered kindergarten. These little ones need an adult who can stay to participate and supervise their child as safety in the gym is always a top concern. This is also why we cannot allow older children to participate in BeeCess sessions. Attending BeeCess is a great way for you to judge whether your child is ready to participate regularly in gymnastics. If she’s not ready, you can bring her back from time to time as she grows. She’ll still have fun and make friends.

Tumble Time and BeeCess sessions happen every Friday afternoon year-round, except for any holidays which may fall on a Friday. The cost is $10 for non-students and $7 for students in other classes.  Stop in soon and give us a try!

Tumblebees is On the Move!

For parents of preschool-aged children, making time for a weekly gymnastics class is often difficult. If you’re working full-time, the class has to be scheduled in the early evening at the end of a long day of child care when your child may prefer to be home. Weekend classes often interfere with other activities such as birthday parties, family outings to museums, or trips to visit grandparents. This is why Tumblebees brings you the Tumblebus, an innovative way to bring gymnastics to young children at more appropriate times.

What Is It?

What on earth is the Tumblebus? It’s a bus—actually two buses that rotate on a monthly schedule—that brings gymnastics classes to kids at child care centers in and around the Greensboro and High Point area! The bus is filled with specially sized gymnastics equipment, including a trampoline. Also installed are a balance beam, rings, vault, and bar, all safely secured and ready for young children. Of course, the bus is also loaded with brightly colored tumbling mats for forward rolls and cartwheels. Kids love learning new gymnastics skills in this fun environment.

Program

Speaking of learning, the Tumblebus staff works from lesson plans developed every month that regularly add new skills to build on those learned the month before. The bus visits each location either once a week or once a month for group classes.  

Staff Qualifications

Tumblebus staff members hold all the same certifications as our gym staff including first aid with CPR certification and USA Gymnastics safety certification. They are knowledgeable in the areas of early childhood education, elementary education, and leadership, and are qualified to work with young children under North Carolina child care laws.

However, their most important qualification is that they love teaching gymnastics skills to preschoolers. They understand how beneficial regular physical activity is for kids and how much the sense of accomplishment in learning new skills adds to a young child’s self-confidence. Gymnastics is a foundation sport that incorporates social skills, like taking turns and listening to instructions, with physical attributes such as improved strength and coordination. All of these benefits help students transition to other sports such as baseball or diving and improve academic performance.