The Effectiveness of Using Educational Gymnastics skills on Motor Capabilities and Social Behaviour among Kindergarten children

Recently, I've read a study conducted by Aida Al-Awamleh called "The Effectiveness of Using Educational Gymnastics skills on Motor Capabilities and Social Behaviour among Kindergarten children" for Konstanz University, published in 2010.

It comes as no surprise to me that "Results indicated that motor capabilities, balance, agility, strength endurance; flexibility, explosive power, and muscular endurance improved significantly in the experimental group.Differences were also found between experimental and control groups with regard to social skills and problem behavior according to parents and teachers reports. Gender differences were noted in connection with motor capabilities, social skills and problem behavior. Significant relationships were found between motor capabilities and social behavior. Left-handed children had better reaction times than right handed."

What I found most unique about this study was it seems there was no coach in this study. The researcher designed a program that would was age appropriate with the purpose of improving basic gymnastics skills, loco-motor skills and social skills. The program was recorded on 31 DVDs of other gymnasts (aged 4-10). Each lesson was split into 3 sections: warm-up, the workout, and cool-down. It was an audio-visual program where, they watched and did with their regular school teacher.

If these children are simply imitating a screen, imagine how much more of a significant impact on the differences between the control group and the experimental group were to be if I were coaching them?  I would like to see future prospects of a study like this conducted with great coaches!

I love seeing these types of studies done to really drive in to my heart that what I'm doing is really making a positive difference in a young child's life.

Leotard Design Contest for the first Singaporean to qualify for the Olympics!

Singapore, April 20, 2012 – Singapore Gymnastics (SG) invites all interested individuals to take part in the Singapore Gymnastics Leotard Design Competition to design the leotard for Lim Heem Wei for the Olympic Games, London 2012.


Head over to their website for further details!


Leotard Design Contest

Post on GymMomentum.com

Shoot on over to GymMomentum, I've written a quick one.

Reflection

Only One Minute

In Open Gym last week, we decided to complete 800 cartwheels in only one minute! As you can see, we've got some practicing to do.


Yes, I participated too!

This was a fun collaborative effort and everyone was involved. I walked around and had each kid whisper their numbers so they wouldn't feel as if they were competing.

ADHD/ADD vs. Gymnastics

As an advocate for children living a drug-free life the topic of ADHD/ADD hits close to home. I've heard many children say they are on medications for this "supposed" disorder. I don't think that the parents really understand the risks. The Innovative Educator has been a great resource for parents looking for the truth on ADHD/ADD.

Interestingly, these are symptoms found from webmd:

• fidgeting, squirming when seated
• getting up frequently to walk or run around
• running or climbing excessively when it's inappropriate (in teens this may appear as restlessness)
• having difficulty playing quietly or engaging in quiet leisure activities
• being always on the go
• often talking excessively

This describes EXACTLY the type of kids I want in the gym! 

Happy Holidays!

Perfecting the basics is one of the highest priorities for me as a coach. I spend 70% of my pre-teams' work-outs on conditioning & flexibility, which is closely monitored like a hawk. The rest of the time is on basics, footwork, arm positions, etc. It's hard at times to keep them motivated but they are a fun group and we come up with ways to work on our skills and stay focused.

One way we work footwork on beam is by doing zig-zag walks in 5th position. More than half of these girls walked into the gym with that silly pigeon toe and these are helping establish a good turnout. We zig-zag forwards and backwards. Another way of mixing it up is by adding a relevé to change the levels and we add tendu to 4th position, lunge, etc. I'll let one of them pick out a sequence of 3 or 4 and we'll work on that for a pass or two then give another teammate a chance to come up with a sequence. 

On our last practice for the year, they came up with something even better...

As a coach I'm holding back as much as I can to stick to these basics, get it right and not to rush skills. These little ones make it easy for me because they enjoy doing it as long as I make it seem like we are doing different things every day. We have lots of work to do in 2012, but we're ready to go and I'm hoping I'll keep coming up with more fun and effective ways to teach them how to use their bodies like a gymnast. 

Open Gym, not just for the kids!

It's a great time for me to play with the kids, experiment with props and stations. I find most of the greatest ideas from my kids or just seeing something from a different view. Open Gym at our gym can get quite messy, balls, noodles, mats and equipment everywhere! In this case, I saw a Theraband hanging on the balance beam and there goes the light-bulb switch.

At first I thought of using an incline, but then I thought of the tire tracks that the wheels could roll on. This also makes them keep super tight! Wish we had more spring boards and more Therabands so I could make them roll under all 3 of our high beams.

I also use Open Gym to test out new ideas. In this next drill, I wanted to add a little more for my tactile learners. Most of the time, I'll just have the kids make fists and call it a day. But I find that they'll usually just open their hands & lose that sense of keeping tight the whole time. I made pairs of different textures for them to fit in their hands.


The girls really likes doing the sponges, I'm thinking there's more to the average dish sponge than we thought.