Why Gymnastics is Great by Debra Em Wilson, MA, Reading Specialist, Founder of S'cool Moves, Inc.

Parents, we found this article and thought you might have some interest in reading it. It is well worth your time investment in reading it!  Debra Em Wilson is spot on with her information in the article. Be sure to share it with your family and friends! Enjoy!

Why Gymnastics is Great
By Debra Em Wilson, MA, Reading Specialist, Founder of S'cool Moves, Inc.
Spring 2011 Newsletter
With the sport of gymnastics now on video games, children may think they are experiencing the wonder of gymnastics from a two dimensional TV screen, but what does a gymnastics club have that the boxed video version lacks?
Of course there are the obvious answers. Real people. Real hands full of chalk. Real precarious landings. Real twists and flips. The brain wires for learning through whole body movement that video games cannot begin to replicate.
Flip on Focus
Any time a child participates in activities requiring the movement of large muscles and the compression of joints, this is referred to as heavy work. Heavy work is a term used in the therapy world to describe the types of activities that help focus the brain. The number one prescription for children who need to improve focus control is exercise that includes heavy work activities. Dr. John Ratey, author of Sparks, calls exercise "Miracle-Gro" for the brain. Vaulting, hanging, flipping, climbing, and leaping are examples of phenomenal heavy work opportunities for children. Focusing with ease leads to learning with ease. Gymnastics not only improves focus but also builds the foundation for academic skills like reading and writing.
Hang Ten for Handwriting
Observing children swinging on uneven bars seems as far away as one can get from observing a child trying to write a paragraph, but actually, the two require remarkably similar skills. For children to have good handwriting skills, they must have strong muscles that work together for a common cause. Mighty abs, back muscles, shoulder muscles, forearms, wrists, and fingers are essential for good writing skills. When children have poor upper body strength and weak core muscles, they have trouble sitting upright at a desk, holding a pencil, and writing legibly. Bar work strengthens all muscle groups responsible for writing with ease. A video game cannot begin to provide the strength and stability that a real workout on the bars provides.
Roll Into Reading
Ever see a child do a forward roll using a video controller? It just can't be done. Without the actual motion of rolling, important brain connections are missed. These connections cannot be made without activating an important system that lies deep within the inner ear. This system is called the vestibular system (ves-tib-u-lar) and is the Olympic gold winner when it comes to brain development. Working in tandem with the brain, the vestibular system integrates auditory, visual, and tactile input. Specific types of movement common to gymnastics help the vestibular system develop properly. These include the back and forth movement in swinging, the rotational movement as in twisting, and the up and over movement used for rolling.
A fully functioning vestibular system leads to:

• Awesome self-regulation skills
• Strong integration of the auditory and visual systems for reading
• Excellent coordination, balance, and motor skills
• Great sense of spatial and body awareness

Children who struggle with ADHD, developmental delays, reading failure, or sensory processing issues benefit enormously from participation in gymnastics, preferably non-competitive initially.
The next time you watch children doing somersaults, remember what amazing neural connections are going on inside their developing brains. Connections are being made at a rapid fire pace providing the foundation for academic, behavioral, and emotional success.
Rolling as an Advantage
One might think of rolling as something done only while performing skills at a gymnastics club, but rolling is a life skill! It's not a coincidence that one of the more famous lines consistently quoted in every day language is, "Roll with the punches." When life hands us our ups and downs, having learned how to roll, literally and metaphorically, is an essential skill that helps us stand on our feet after taking a tumble.
H. Stephen Glenn, inspirational author and speaker, struggled in school with dyslexia and ADHD. All his teachers said that he wouldn't amount to much, with the exception of one. Insightful Mrs. Hardy, Stephen's fourth grade teacher, said to him, "You will always be a round peg in a square hole, so your responsibility is to organize things so rolling is an advantage."
Real life, not the video version, requires us to roll with the punches and learn how to land on our own two feet. Let the lessons begin inside your neighborhood gymnastics club!

Untruths or Truth.......that is the question.

Today, I read a front page article of our local newspaper in Woodward. It was quite amusing with inaccurate information that makes the business that the article is about to look like a standout. But in truth, it is very, very sad. I say this because it is the owner of the business that makes the inaccurate quote and the paper turns it to make them look good.

At first reading the article seems to be one that promotes the business to the public. In the second reading of the article it is evident that the business owner is just trying to make them more accomplished than they actually are.  Unfortunately, many people of the public reading the article will think that this business has made great achievement in what they do. So the public is mislead.

The newspaper is truly at fault. The writer is very much at fault. Not verifying the information given by the business owner, has now allowed them to publish untruths about the past history in our town. This history involves the hard work of children and their efforts to compete. It also leaves out the efforts of a long standing business in this town and the accomplishments.  The newspaper should be embarrassed.

So why this article on our BLOG? To remind us all of a few actions. First to remind us that when we decide to publish something to the public, we should check the facts. Second, that as writers, we only publish after all facts have been checked and verified.

But this goes a bit further. We should remind ourselves that not everything we read is always truthful. And when untruths are published, it causes hurt, anger and many more emotions from various people. Those of us that have BLOGS should also always be careful of making sure that what we write is fully the truth and we have done our due diligence in verifying it.

As a business owner, we should also be very careful of our statements to the press and the public. Untruths told can sometimes blow up into large rumors that can then deteriorate a business or harm a human. We must also remember that businesses are ran by humans. And so we must always be cautious in building ourselves up by using untrue statements, which will actually turn and bring us down.

Businesses, such as ours, should be sure to work hard for truth in our words and actions because we are a strong role model for our many young students. Using untrue information  to promote our business, is not being a great role model for young minds and bodies and creates a culture that parents do not want their children involved in.

To my fellow studio and gym friends that own such businesses, I encourage you to make a stand with us in being cautious with our words to not build ourselves up at another's expense.

To our students and families that trust us with their child for many hours a week, we need to pledge a wholesome environment that enables them to grow in their skills, knowledge and love to the best of our abilities and true teachings. It is only this method that creates lifetime memories and connections.

Our pledge to our families should be TRUTH in all areas of our business for the sake of their children. And THAT is the pledge to our families here at Academy Of Fine Art.