A Boy & Gymnastics

Devin is a monkey, namely King Kong.  He has been a climber and a jumper since he he could hold his own head up.  He is crazy agile and coordinated and most people who see him climbing and jumping comment on that.  Ha, he did NOT get those skills from his mother with two left feet.  While I might be strong, I seriously lack in grace. 

Devin has wanted to do gymnastics for as long as I can remember.  About a year ago we tried a Mommy and Me class at another gym (the one we had gone to for years off and on) because he wasn't yet three years old and couldn't be in a class by himself.  That class proved to be a nightmare because he lacked any and all maturity, AND I had to have Garrett with me during all the classes and it was a joke.  We quit after four classes, much to Devin's chagrin.

When he was potty training, we kept using gymnastics as a bribe.  Well, after he potty trained he was still way too immature to do a real class, so we wanted to hold off until he was closer to four years old.  I have had a few issues with our "other" gym, so I decided to make a clean break and try out another one that has a reputation to be very serious and structured.  That's exactly what Devin needed, and last week he went for a trial class.  I think he was expecting it to be a free-for-all class like he had experienced before.  USA Gymnastics World is definitely more serious and structured, but the teacher was also very very nice.  Her name is Courtney and she is an ex-gymnast and you can tell by how she talks to the kids.  She doesn't teach them with kiddie language- she calls a spade a spade.  Although she uses a very kind voice, she is serious.  And this gym is a lot bigger, from what I can tell.

Today was Devin's first real class and he loved it.  At first he wanted to get up and run around, but he's learning that that is NOT tolerated at this gym.  It's good for him.  Courtney talked to me afterward and said this class will be a good fit for him.  I think she is right!