Our darling Emma is a vision in pink as she bounds down the
trampoline at the Wheeler Gymnasium.
Thanks to
”
Moms, Pops, and Tots,
”
a Gilroy gymnastics class for pint-sized tumblers who can walk
up to age 2, our 15-month-old has an outlet twice a week to cavort
with other toddlers and burn off some energy.
Our darling Emma is a vision in pink as she bounds down the trampoline at the Wheeler Gymnasium.
Thanks to “Moms, Pops, and Tots,” a Gilroy gymnastics class for pint-sized tumblers who can walk up to age 2, our 15-month-old has an outlet twice a week to cavort with other toddlers and burn off some energy.
About a month ago, I was thrilled to learn from a fellow mom that the city Community Services Department offers classes for kids as young as Emma.
While I consider myself to be a fairly resourceful and creative person on a good day after eight hours of sound sleep, it’s been a challenge to find enough activities to keep our busy bee occupied and out of mischief.
There are always play dates, parks, the library and Bonfante Gardens. But I was more than happy to add another activity to our little one’s “engagement calendar.”
I like the tumbling class because it’s designed to be fairly unstructured for the little ones. At the start of the class, the blow of the train whistle signals the kids to leap to the floor and start tumbling. The parents chase after them and monitor their movements.
Everyone has about 30 minutes of uninterrupted somersaulting, balancing, swinging, crawling and climbing.
All the while, instructor Nick Povio encourages the kids and answers parents’ questions about the various tumbling stations.
The second train whistle’s blow brings everyone back to the mats where the kids spend about another 15 minutes catching bubbles, playing with a giant parachute, playing musical instruments and participating in other group activities.
Often it’s hard to persuade my independent Emma to participate. She’d rather spend a few extra minutes catching air on the trampoline. But that’s OK.
The end of the class wraps up with each child being rewarded with a butterfly (or something similar) stamped on each hand in exchange for sitting quietly cross-legged.
Of course, Emma likes the class because she is having fun. (She has no idea that Mom also signed her up so that she could enhance her big motor skills, coordination and balance, and learn to play nice with the other kids).
What’s also great is that she can grow with the city’s gymnastics program. When she reaches age 2, she can jump to “Tumbling Tots” and then climb her way up to “Super Tumblers.”
The city’s Community Services Department offers gymnastics programs all the way up to high-school aged youths.
There are plenty of other programs for little ones, such as “Wee Tots,” featuring arts, circle times, stories and songs for 2-and-a-half-year-olds and “Happy Hands,” a crafts, cooking, singing, story-telling program for 3- to 5-year-olds.
For youths and teens, programs include free activities at the Gilroy Youth Center, after school programs, and drop-in Thursday nights at the Wheeler Gymnasium.
Seniors, age 55-plus, can choose from bingo, puzzles, choir, computers, bowling, billiards and more.
Special interest classes, such as floral arranging and dance, and performing/fine arts and sports/fitness programs for kids through adults round out the department’s offerings.
Gilroy Community Services also sponsors annual events, like the upcoming “Kids Discover Arts,” a free hands-on arts festival for children ages 5 to 11 on April 24 at the Wheeler Community Center, 250 W. Sixth St.
For more information on Gilroy Community Services, call 846-0460.
It’s a great place to explore and learn something new. Just watch out for the tumbling 15-month-old in pink. Once she hits her stride, she has a hard time stopping.
Kelly Barbazette lives in Gilroy with her husband, Chris, daughter, Emma, and miniature dachshund. She is the owner of Write Now, a copywriting and public relations company in Gilroy. She can be reached at kb*********@***oo.com.
