Kindergarten Readiness Through Gymnastics

By Gail Troussoff Marks

Did you know that a preschool gymnastics class can help prepare your child for kindergarten?Along with being a fun movement class, preschool gymnastics at gyms use shapes, colors, numbers and letters to engage the children. Recognizing patterns and sequencing is necessary to climb through obstacle courses and perform gymnastics skills. Gymnastics is about making shapes with your body and using your mind to understand where your body is in space. That body awareness develops motor planning and sequencing which are important in coloring, reading, and moving confidently. Colorful mats of many different shapes fill the gym, and while teaching the instructors talk about colors.
Gymnastics classes teach to different learning styles.Skills are explained, so auditory learners listen to the explanation. Visual learners see the skill demonstrated. Kinesthetic learners get to experience the feel of doing the skill. The visual senses are engaged when numbers, letters and shapes are used to decorate the balance beams. Instructors count jumps and kids count as they stretch, thereby using the auditory sense. Singing the A, B, Cs is a part of parachute games. Watching other children and trying skills for oneself are important learning experiences.
Classes provide practice with hand eye coordination, gross and fine motor skills, and concepts such as over and under. When a child steps over a shape on the balance beam, he is hearing the instruction to step over, experiencing the step, and observing the shape. Gymnastics is also an excellent way for children to build strength and build the core stability necessary to sit in classroom chairs.Balance beam and other balancing activities build confidence. Structured activities, taking turns, lining up and walking from place to place are all practiced in gymnastics class.
Beyond the academic aspects of school, the playground is the social network.Kids make friends during their play time.Gymnastics classes teach the locomotor skills needed to be competent on the playground.Walking, running, jumping, hopping, skipping, sliding, galloping, and leaping are all practiced in gymnastics and are part of having fun at recess.These are fundamental movement skills and while seeming basic, they need to be mastered. Some children pick up these locomotor skills easily, while others have to consciously learn how to hop, jump or skip. Gymnastics also exercises the upper body. Upper body strength and control is necessary for writing as well as playing on the monkey bars at recess.The timid girl who has worked on monkey bars in gym class may feel confident enough to try them on the playground. The boy who is always wiggling in class can release that energy during recess. Children who feel competent on the playground also feel confident in school.