Join us for an evening of fun and professional development! With an emphasis on safety, individual development, fitness and fun, instructors of recreational gymnasts will learn age-appropriate skills, drills and progressions on all events. Information about lesson planning. class management, warm-ups and games will be provided, along with hands-on spotting practice.
Space is limited and pre-registration is required. Click here to reserve your spot!
Welcome to the delusional ramblings of a preschool coach. My only defense is that I have spent all together too much time figuring out the inner workings of the preschool mind. It can take its toll. The mind becomes foggy and the thoughts are sometimes random; escape mechanisms when the CHAOS becomes overwhelming. The resulting behaviors can appear to be insane, but I assure you, they have purpose. Yes, that IS scary.
Over the years, I have had the opportunity to talk to many coaches. I have learned much from them as well as commiserated with them about the frustrations of communicating with the seemingly alien minds of preschool students. The burning question among preschool coaches seems to boil down to, “HOW do we translate this stuff into understandable terms… And HOW do we keep the kids from running amok???”
There is good news and there is bad news.
The good news is we CAN translate our subject matter into understandable lessons. We CAN teach preschoolers gymnastics. It is possible as long as we are compassionate toward our students, consistent in our teaching techniques, and reasonable in our expectations.
The bad news is… YOU CANNOT eliminate the CHAOS. It exists. It is part of coaching preschool gymnastics. The best defense against it is acceptance and damage control. We must organize the mayhem and find our teaching moments within it. As long as we can maintain a sense of humor, practice patience and stay two steps ahead of the children…we have a shot at effective teaching.
This lecture explains the importance of movement in human development, the effects of movement on both physical and cognitive development, emphasizing the importance of fundamental movement in human development.
In this session, we will discuss the various learning styles and how to effectively use them to better teach or coach our classes. From creating lesson plans to interacting with the children in groups or individually, the use of teaching and coaching cues, which address the various learning styles, make classes far more effective. We will address eight learning styles, how to use them to our advantage and how to identify to which cues a child might best respond.
The foundation of every lesson plan should begin with a thorough understanding of the skills being taught. Fundamental skill elements are the building blocks we use to teach more complex skills. One of the best ways to understand a skill and to teach appropriate skill mastery and performance is through teaching the individual elements of each skill.
In this seminar, coaches will work together in groups, practicing deconstruction of commonly taught gymnastics skills and developing drills that will help them implement a broader focus for their preschool programs, such as movement education requires.