When trying to gain a child’s attention, say their name first, then say what you want them to do.

Clapping rhythms gains children’s attention and increases attention span.

To Gain children’s attention – change your voice inflection. Whisper, clap, snap your fingers.

Preparing children to solo in class takes a few weeks of preparation on the teachers part and the parents as well. Some indicators in the gym are: Can you get the child to be your helper in class and demonstrate stations?, Will they let you spot them on skills without the parents help? Will they stay on a carpet square and listen to some directions? If the answer is yes to these, then start preparing the parent to stay in the lobby. Have them talk about it at home and let the child know where the parent will be during class. What chair do you want them to sit in while they wait? Allow the parent to be close the first day if needed, and then move to the lobby when the child gets involved. This transition usually works when the child is 3 years old.

Of course it’s not the child’s fault they are late. Try to talk to the parent privately to see if maybe coming at a different time of day would be better, so the child gets the full time in class. He/she also will feel a better part of the group and know what the stations are. You can also do something really fun right away and let the children know they will miss it if they are late. This may light a fire under the parent who is slow to get organized.

One of the biggest errors we make as teachers is trying to do too much with young children at a time. Remember a 3 year old can remember 3 things, a 4 year old, four things. Look at the stations you set up. Did you try to explain too many things at a time? Did you use too many words? Did you demonstrate or just explain? If you break your circuit up into two smaller ones, you may have more success keeping their attention and your sanity! Good Luck.

The first rule of thumb is to always say the child’s name first before you tell them what to do. They aren’t listening until you say their name. If you are not getting any response when calling their name (they are tuning you out, or find something more interesting to look at), try to change your tone of voice. Whisper, make a funny noise, Start a clapping rhythm with your hands. Ask the parent after class what they do to get their child’s attention. You can also ask the parent to talk to them before class next week by saying, “When Miss Linda calls your name, you should look at her.”

Play Add On!

Start with all of them sitting on a shape or carpet square or Velcro line. Begin teaching with one station. Call each child by name, have them come to you and do that activiy, then have them run back to their spot. After each child has gone once and they are all back sitting down, add another station. Call them again one at a time, this time they will do the first station, then the second and run back to their spot. If they are 3 years old, add a third station, if 4, add a forth. With a class of 6 three year olds, you will eventually have several all moving through the circuit, one sitting down, and one getting up at the same time. The goal is to have all children busy. Repeating this procedure the first few weeks of class will help teach them how to take a turn, follow a pattern and stay busy!

Its best to group children with others of the same age group. Kids need that socialization and ability to work with friends. All students go through the same stages of development and by keeping them together one could help to positively push the other. Placing children by
ability may cause unneeded stress and it might take away from the enjoyment of the sport.  It would be a better idea to keep them
in age groups.  Eventually, if they are meant to be team gymnasts then they will be moved to a more advanced and challenging program, but for now let them enjoy the fun and social time.

Around 5 - 6 years old is a great time to have the child join the other classes.  The one area that we are trying to improve
with our website, is the fact that recreational classes need to be fun as well.  The number one reason children quit an activity is
that the fun is gone.  Make sure you use creativity, fun and positive reinforcement with your classes. Of course, safety is our
number one goal, but the positive aspect can really help a student to become a lifelong learner.  It would be great if we could
keep every child in a gymnastics program until they are 18 years old.  Take the time to make each and every child’s experience a
positive one!

Most gymnastic schools run a one hour class. Some schools may only run a 45 minute class. Either is fine, but there are
a few things you must keep in mind.  First, in today’s society calling the classes Mommie and me really isnt politically correct.
It would be best to use a more generalized term, that could cover all parents that attend.  I have had many classes where the
father brings their child.  Secondly, no matter how long you set the class to be, you must make sure that there is a lot of movement
happening.  Make sure that you have well planned classes. The more prepared you are, the better your classes will be!