#tumblebees ultimate gym

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How We Use Movement to Help Students in the Classroom

Movement is essential to the development of young children. They know this instinctively, as you have probably guessed as you watch your preschooler zoom across the room for the eighth time in two minutes. What you may not know is just how movement aids in a child’s development and that those benefits go beyond physical growth.

Types of Movement

While unrestrained running across a backyard is undeniably good for children, at Tumblebees Learning Center we go beyond that joyous expression of freedom. Our preschool teachers integrate movement into the overall learning experience so that the children learn to move with more control. Basic tumbling and sports skills are two of the ways we teach children to use their bodies, along with moving to the rhythms of a variety of music.

Social and Cognitive Benefits

Studies have shown that regular physical activity for preschoolers aids in social and cognitive development. We see these results every day in our Tumblebees Learning Center classes. Movement helps young children to control and express emotions. Responding to the rhythms of music offers opportunities for children to count and describe the patterns that appear in the song. All of this promotes the growth of school readiness for all preschool ages by increasing learning capacity and the ability to concentrate.

Physical Benefits

All types of movement help preschool bodies build strength and develop healthy muscles, bones and joints. In turn, coordination improves so that children can participate successfully in games and sports as they move through elementary school and on into higher levels of education. These benefits are built into our curriculum that includes plenty of gymnastics and other sports skills. An extra bonus is that strength and coordination boost a child’s self-confidence as he finds he can keep up with his friends.

Overall, children who are physically active on a regular basis experience better health and miss less school than their more sedentary peers. In addition, an early foundation in the pleasure of movement and exercise will continue to keep them healthier throughout their adult lives. Too many children, even the very young, spend too much time focused on electronic devices. At Tumblebees Learning Center we give them the chance to experience life in the active lane.

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(After Hours Crew)

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How Rock Climbing is the Best Team Building (contact Tumblebees for your next corporate event!)

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How Our Tiniest Gymnasts are Growing

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Try Tumblebees Without Committing to a Class!

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How Taking Risks Can Help Kids Grow

You’ve probably seen parkour devotees in action, even if you didn’t realize what it was. Over the past few years, several television commercials showcasing athletic footwear or sports drinks have featured young adults running through urban environments, leaping from one structure to another, sliding down stair rails and climbing walls. This is parkour. It looks both fun and risky.

Children love doing these types of activities. They need to stretch their muscles and practice their coordination. Parents are often not so keen about the risks of leaping and climbing, fearing a broken bone or concussion. But what if the kids can do these activities in a safe and supervised environment?

Benefits of Risk

In today’s environment, many children seldom encounter any kind of risk. We’re all naturally concerned about our children’s safety, but it is possible to take these concerns to a point where the child is actually deprived developmentally. According to recent studies, kids need to learn to take appropriate risks in order to be able to recognize a true risk in the course of their day. Taking, and successfully managing, risks also increases a child’s self-esteem and confidence. Even those occasions where it doesn’t turn out quite right can help a child develop resilience as they get back up and try again. There’s even evidence that teens who develop risk-taking skills as children are more likely to avoid risks as adolescents, especially in regard to sex and drugs.

Parkour Classes

One way to give your child the opportunity to meet these types of challenges is through a parkour class. Also called freestyle gymnastics, parkour classes allow a child to learn about risk-taking in a safe environment. He will have the chance to test his strength and coordination on obstacles designed for his size, while you can rest easy knowing that a protective mat will cushion his falls. Once again, critical thinking skills come into play as he evaluates the best way to tackle an obstacle. When he is successful, watch his confidence soar!

If you learned to ride a bike, skate or ski as a child, you’ll remember the thrill of accomplishment when you first succeeded. Parkour classes can give your child the same sense of achievement.

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What is that Trampoline/Vault thing? Double-Mini Explained

Many casual gymnastics fans are not aware that the Olympic gymnastics events aired during prime-time hours showcase only one aspect of the sport. These events are collectively known as artistic gymnastics, for the reason that form is an essential component. However, the sport also includes rhythmic gymnastics and a third group called Trampoline and Tumbling.

What Is Trampoline and Tumbling?

Tumbling and Trampoline, also called T&T, is pretty much what its name implies. There are three events within this grouping and they all involve flying through the air and tumbling. In addition to the trampoline, this sport also utilizes long and narrow floor areas for tumbling runs as well as an apparatus called the double-mini trampoline. This looks something like a slide for small children; built low to the ground, it features a flat platform and a sloping platform, both of which are trampolines.

Double-mini vs. Vault

The first time you watch a gymnast performing on a double-mini, you’ll probably notice that the routine is something like a vault in artistic gymnastics. The athlete begins by running toward the apparatus. He then jumps onto the sloping trampoline, instead of a vault’s spring board, and flies up, landing on the flat trampoline. This catapults him into the air again and then he lands on a mat. During both flights he performs moves involving somersaults and twists and the landing must be solidly performed on both feet without a loss of balance. In a competition, each athlete makes two runs and the scores are added together.

Double-mini Candidates

Not all gymnasts, especially young ones, are thrilled with the slow pace of routines in artistic gymnastics. Apparatus such as the balance beam, parallel bars, and even floor exercise may be too exacting for kids who love speed and dynamic action. As an alternative, the double-mini offers both speed and action, plus the thrill of flying. What’s not to like here? Admittedly, as a parent you may find it difficult to watch at first, but the huge grin on your child’s face says it all.

Of course, double-mini lessons offer all the same benefits to your child’s development as other forms of gymnastics classes. She’ll learn the social skills of waiting for her turn, the mental skills of problem solving that will give her a boost in school, and the love of physical activity that will help keep her healthy throughout her life.

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Rocky and Derrick Interviewing Josh Cates at Tumblebees Ultimate Gym

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Thank You For Choosing Tumblebees!

On the fourth Thursday in November, Americans will celebrate another Thanksgiving holiday. Although most of us would associate the first Thanksgiving with the Pilgrims in 1621, our nation has celebrated this as a holiday since George Washington created the first national Thanksgiving in 1789.  Prior to it becoming a holiday though, our Continental-Federation Congress had issued "national days of prayer, humiliation, and thanksgiving."  

Today at Tumblebees, we would like to just refer to it as a Season of Thanks.  We are humbled and thankful that you and/or your children give us an opportunity to serve you as we jointly work to increase and grow physical aptitude, fitness, sport and life skills! Our staff is grateful and we thank you for trusting us to teach and train you in gymnastics, tumbling, dance, diving, parkour and rockwall, whether it is in one of our gyms or on the Tumblebus. We also appreciate when you choose to celebrate special times like birthdays with us.  

For 30 years now, Tumblebees has had the privilege of teaching and watching kids develop physically, emotionally and socially as they participate in these recreational and team sports.  Equally it has been exciting to see these same kids grow in their confidence and achieve success in these physically demanding sports.  

Just a few months ago, we also had the privilege of watching our USA Gymnasts and USA Divers excel at the Rio Olympics.  Didn’t it give you a sense of pride watching them perform for their country.  You could probably even empathize when they had a bad routine.  One day, those same athletes decided they would start learning and competing at their local gym.  Just like these athletes, we hope you’ll agree that it was worth the effort and you’ll continue to support and urge others to become involved in these sports in their local gyms.

Yes, our Season of Thanks will no doubt include more than we need to eat, a football game and time with our family and friends, but we’ll also be reminded of your willingness to partner with us over many years and we say “Thanks!”  We look forward to seeing you back in the gym very soon!  Keep up the good work!

 "We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something we don't have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have."                                                            Frederick Keonig