Developing gross motor skills (3yo)

[zeewifeandmama]

What about a class like Mygym? My daughter does Mygym and I dont feel like they activities are "girly" or "boyish"...and there is a good mix of boys and girls in her classes.

[ijack]

I think gymnastics is a good idea. Some of the soccer leagues in our area are more game playing than practicing soccer - they do exercises that don't really relate to soccer other than they use a ball. Also I know they have exercise classes for kids too - running and jumping and things like that.
Do you guys have a trampoline gym or bounce castle area? Those would help as well.

[Monarch]

Our preschool gymnastics classes were always half boys. Not girly at all.

[slug*bug]

We just finished our first session of gym class this AM (we've been going for the past 5 weeks) and it was fan-tastic. Seriously, you will not regret it: we found a class that was perfect for us.

I enrolled DS b/c I wanted him to have fun and thought he'd enjoy the physicality of bouncing, tumbling, etc., but also b/c the structured activities would give him an opportunity to develop skills like listening, learning to take turns, participating in a group, etc.

They had a little event last week where the coach talks about each child, etc., in front of the group and recognizes them for participating, etc. She specifically talked about one little boy and how amazing the improvement in his gross motor has been in the last year: I don't know his complete backstory b/c we're newcomers to the class, but from her comments, I got the definite impression that motor skill improvement was a concrete goal for both the coach and his mom. (And this particular little boy? If he was ever behind, you'd never know it by watching him now.)

FWIW, I have no experience w/gymnastics and our kids probably won't be tiny enough to be gym stars (we're on the tall side), so we have no delusions of them going on to competitive gymnastics whatsoever. It's purely for fun (so no worries about it being 'girly' at all, and it wasn't.)

His particular class is at least 50% boys (and some weeks, more than 50, depending on participation.) It was a mom (or dad) and tot class (and actually our class had a couple of dads who were typically the one at class.) The activities consist of 10 min. of parachute play (running under, high fiving the coach, etc.), 20 min. of circuit time/free play (jumping into the foam pit, bouncing on trampolines, assistance w/practicing forward and backward rolls on inclined mats, swinging on rings, practicing balance beam walking.: nothing that resembles competitive gymnastics, for sure) and then another 10 minutes of singing songs and playing games that usually involve hula hoops or other big props. There was a ton of variety and it was really low stress: if a child lost interest in the group activity, it was fine for them to explore on their own and join up again when they were ready.

Sorry for the novel. Obviously I would give trying it out an enthusiastic thumbs up. We're moving next week and I full intend to find a new gym for DS when we arrive b/c he enjoyed it so much. His coach recommended gyms that participate in USA Gymnastics (she said they tend to have access to better insurance, etc.) but I'm sure the good programs aren't limited to actual competitive gyms, though that's where we took our class. GL!

ETA: I'm sorry your DH isn't green lighting the idea...I found myself referring to it as 'gym class' rather than 'gymnastics' b/c I think I was a little concerned that DH might not be into it (he's a hard core soccer guy.) I was pleasantly surprised that he was really on board w/the idea when I told him why I thought it would be good...he even took him to a class that I couldn't make and enjoyed being in there w/the other dads and jumping around, lol.

[Deleted]

Gymnastics is really good. DS3 is in gymnastics and has been for 2 years. His class has a fairly large group of boys. The skills he learns are basically all the things the private schools do around here for gross motor testing of potential Kindergartners.

At 4 he can do what resembles a cartwheel, walk on the balance beam backwards, etc.

[omalley]

My nephew has motor skills issues and my SIL has him in swimming lessons and horse back riding. Both were recommended by his therapists.

[Deleted]

Do you have a Little Gym nearby? They offer a sports skills class that your H might not object to. It combines an introduction to all kinds of sports (soccer, basketball, baseball, hockey, tennis, ect.) with gymnastics. DS goes 2x a week and really enjoys it.

[Willis Jackson]

Our Parks and Rec dept does gym classes. They do the parachute, songs, etc, but they also lead the kids through a couple of "skills", like somersaults, balance beam, etc. It's really cheap- $30 for 7 weeks (once a week class). The class we took was probably 75% boys.

I'm going to sign up DS for dance class and I'm worried about it being mostly girls, but only because I picture little girls in dance class being perfectly behaved and my DS acting like a maniac.

[Deleted]

My DH wants DS to do gymnastics when he's 3 or 4 to help improve his coordination for sports later on. DH coaches high school football and wrestling (and a bit of soccer), so he would definitely prefer his son to take up more manly pursuits later on.

[brit1017]

DS did a gymnastics class last summer when he was 3.5 and enjoyed it. They did things like somersaults, log rolls, and the balance beam, as well as sports stuff like obstacle courses and throwing balls. The class was about 50/50 boys and girls.

[SusanBAnthony]

Having just come home from an IEP meeting for my 4.5 year old boy, who we always thought was jut a little slow with gross motor stuff, I would say yes, you should get on that. Ends up William is in like the 4th percentile and will be getting PT now. I feel awful that I just assumed all along that he was a little slow.

They said swim lesson are on of the best things you can do, as it works the core which is often where the problem is. We do gymnastics at the Y and in DS's class, there are almost all boys. Then at age 5 they have boy only classes. They are 30 min classes that work on jumping, somersaults, agility stuff (or as agile as a preschool can be, lol), swinging from bars, and trampoline, so more jumping. DS loves it.

[rubytuesday]

This might sound bad but lately when I know I'm right about things that relate to our kids I just tell my DH the way it's going to be. I'm with them more than he is. I don't have the energy to do a song and dance to bring him around to my way of thinking.

[lishie]

Jen, there's a great gym in the area for toddler boys & girls. I keep trying to get my 3yo into the classes, but they're so popular they keep filling up before I can get DS into it. I'll PM you the message, as there's a location by you.

[nonsenseabound]

We just did two rounds of gymnastics with dd. the class was for three and four year olds and about half were boys. Your dh is being silly. Tell him to go watch a class and see the gender make up. Most of it is about obstacle courses, clombing and balance

[madringal]

My daughter started gymnastics at 3 and it is just a lot of tumbling and balance- so not girly at all. She was a little behind as well and it has really helped.