First Day of Gymnastics

 Tuesday we took Ally to her first gymnastics class at United Starz Academy in Morton.  I have been searching for something active for her to get involved with for a while now and finally found something that is friendly for working parents.  Her class is on Tuesdays from 5:30 to 6:15 pm at a cheer/dance studio located about 15 minutes from home.  I went a few weeks ago to check out the place and I fell in love when I walked in the door. The building is large and has a nice reception area with tons of banners and trophies all over the place.  To the right is a giant spring floor with mats that can be divided into separate teaching areas, behind that is the smaller area with trampolines and gymnastics equipment where Ally has class and to the left is a hallway with two large dance studio rooms. It felt like home!
We gave Ally a few leotards for her birthday and she was so excited to start class. She has been doing the Tumblebus at school for several months but this was her first time in a big gym with lots of distractions. The age range for her class is 3-5 year olds and there were 15 kids or so. The teachers split them into groups and the younger ones did stretching, galloping, skipping, forward rolls, backward rolls, bridges, cartwheels and handstands.  She was one of the more engaged kids and did a great job listening and following directions (better than I expected anyway).  She got antsy with about 5 minutes left but all the kids did.  Karl and I both got to watch and she really didn't even pay any attention to us until right at the end.
It is a very strange feeling for me to watch Ally do things that I did and to see someone else work with her on skills that I spent so many years teaching.  Its hard to be away from home now that she is getting to the age where she wants to do things that I did because I want her to go to Julie's and be taught by kids I know in a place where I know how everything works.  While we were there, one of the competitive cheer teams was practicing for their competition this weekend and it was really strange to hear the coaches harsh criticisms of these little girls from the parent perspective. Definitely a change for me and something that will take time to get used to.  I might be more excited than she is about the whole thing though! 
Its a little early to get into any expectations but we want her to have fun.  We don't care what she decides to do as long as she tries a little of everything and learns to be a good listener and follow directions. Week 1 was a sucess and can't wait to see what she learns and likes to do.