Gymnastics For Special Needs Children?

Gymnastics For Special Needs Children?

Gymnastics can be a great outlet for activity and fun for special needs children. A properly structured class can allow them time to release pent up energy by running, jumping, bouncing, rolling, etc. It gives them another social outlet. It brings smiles and laughter.

For all children, a gymnastic class helps to build strength and flexibility. It also allows them to experience success as well as failure. Build core strength and grip, etc. But for special needs children the benefit of being in a gymnastic class are much larger and more towards life skills, such as walking, focus, and communicating. 

Gymnastics allows a special needs child to be in an environment that is not only physical, but cognitive as well. They that have to focus on small and large skills while working to place their bodies in the right position to maneuver the body through the gymnastic movement. After all, walking on a 4 inch wide balance beam is no easy feat (an act or achievement that shows courage, strength or skill) for anyone!

But lets look at what else gymnastic classes can offer a special needs child.

1. On the physical side of a gymnastic class, a special needs child can learn better balance and work on core strength that helps with day to day activities such as sitting and walking for any length of time. This in turn helps in attending school and OT therapy sessions.

They also get to experience flight by jumping on bounders and trampolines and when ready, the ability to land on their feet from a simple dismount and safely roll out. This is in hope that they will learn to do a safety roll if ever falling from a height.

Rolling itself is a vestibular  activity that helps us to understand the perception of body position and movement. It is why so many children, including myself as a child, will get in a swing and spin in it, instead of swinging back and forth, until you are nauseous. It is a necessary development need to develop this state of balance and being in space and time.

2. As an energy outlet, there is none better! With padded floors and equipment to land on, it is a great environment to start learning about success (which we highly praised) and failure (we praise the effort). The gym is a big open space that allows a child to move, run, work and train in. And with all of the colorful foam shapes such as wedges, octagons, trapezoids and more, you can't help by laugh and have a great time.

3. Gymnastics is also a social outlet. All children learn to wait their turn, walk in a line, respect other gymnasts, and develop friendships. They also learn to support each other with the demonstration of high fives, a pat on the back and sometimes even a cheer of "you can do it"!

4. Gymnastics is motor building fun! Brightly colored equipment make challenge courses, that develop gross motor skills, fun and entertaining. Learning to grip and swing on the bars can lead to better writing skills and arm strength.

5. Gymnastics is great for learning spatial and body awareness. It is great for increasing focus and controlling our movements. From walking on beams to bouncing on trampolines, they learn to control their landing on their feet.

Yes, gymnastics is great for special needs children. And yes, some may never do a back handspring or a tuck. They may never compete in a gymnastics meet. But one thing for sure, they will always steal a gymnastic coaches heart,



*Mary Myers is the owner and director of Academy of Fine Arts. They offer dance and gymnastics for special needs children.

Why Do Parents Really Need To Think About Dance For Their Child?

Why Do Parents Really Need To Think About Dance

For Their Child?

Every parent should consider dance classes for their child. But not because they get to dress up and twirl around on a stage once a year in a recital. Nor just because they are shy and you have heard it is a good "activity"  until your child is no longer too shy for other things.

Every parent should give high consideration of dance for their child because of all the different life skills that are taught from age two to eighteen years. Why for that many years? Because you are helping them to be successful in school, including college (yes, we know you think you have already heard this many times) and beyond. Because you, the parent, are helping to grow a focused, dedicated, committed adult that will be successful in life, thus relieving any stress and worry on your part as a parent as to whether they will be capable of "making it" throughout life. Yes, this is about you , the parent, as well!

Ages 2 - 6 years

Most parents will register their children ages 2-6 yrs in a dance class in hope that they will have an outlet for their energy, a place to build self confidence and learn to get along with others before starting school. What these parents do not realize is that they just  started their child in school!

Dance school can be your child's first experience of school. And since you can enroll your child in dance classes at a younger ages than most preschools, it has a profound opportunity of setting the pattern later in formal academic education. It probably is the first time they learn about standing in a line, or other formation, with others. It is the first place your child learns to attempt weight change from foot to foot in a patterns such as skipping, galloping, sliding, hopping on one foot, jumping from two feet, leaping over an imaginary line and much more.

Dance school can be your child's first social avenue to make friends, learn to get along with others, wait their turn, develop patience and understand that another person (child) is just as important as they are to completing a group project. Dance school is an opportunity to discover and share interests, thoughts, experiences and dreams with others in a setting that they would never be laughed at. You do not see "bullies" in a good dance school. Why? Because dance school offers free expression from all participants in a class, and bullies do not want to share that with anyone. Therefor, they are the ones that do not fit in.

Besides all of the physical side of learning, dance school also is a young child's first experience in following patterns, moving in sequence, expanding their thought processes so they can work towards and see ahead to the end of a project (after all, dancers have to think ahead of the music a bit to be on time with their movements, or the moment has passed them). This then sets your child on a great course for adding music training, enhancing their math skills and visionary skills for the future.

Ages 7-11 yrs

No matter if you are just beginning dance school after age 6 yrs or continuing from the younger ages, there is great growth during the seven to eleven years in dance school. It is during this time that children start sensing a stronger connection to their friends. Over the many years, we have been told many, many times by a child "I like my friends at school, but I really like my friends at dance better". Why is this? We believe it is because at dance school, your child finds acceptance at this age. It does not matter if your child is the best dancer in class or not. What matters is that they have friends by their side that are constantly reminding them (and hopefully great teachers) that they "can do this", and in turn, the child that was encouraged to try, openly and willingly encourages their friends as well in class. Special memories are created at this time, that carry forward to adulthood.

Dance school is also a great place to start learning that everyone has strengths. Not necessarily physical strength that can always be developed by just working out in class. But strength in character, mind and heart. It is during this time that students start feeling like the dance school setting, and the ones in class with them, are more than just classmates, they are a  dance family. They may even ask to take more classes just to expand their time at the school, to be with their friends.

Another reason that they may start asking for more classes or time at the dance school may be that they are beginning to discover their own personal strengths and work towards a higher level of confidence and self esteem building. They start seeing themselves as a performer. Someone that knows that there are times that we fall, but all we have to do is get up and try again. And again and again.

Beyond social and personal skill advancement, this age starts to expand their memory skills with across the floor progressions that change from one class date to another. Each week, the progressions may be added onto, thus training the brain to recall the previous weeks sequence and add new information to it. Keep in mind that this is all done to music and counts, so the child is also having to count and think ahead in time. This is just one of many reasons that dancers are able to do very well in academic school work.

Ages 12-18 yrs

It is at this age, that peer support is very important. And you will find it in a dance school, because as we stated before, there are no bullies in a good dance school. In a class of this age group, you will see and hear encouragement and peer coaching from those boys and girls that have accomplished a skill or movement, to help those that have not accomplished it yet. You will also see and hear laughs of joy and clapping when someone is finally able to complete a skill. This means that your child has an opportunity to "network" with their peers to achieve higher levels and networking is another great skill to learn for adulthood success.

It is also at this age that we see the dancer mature tremendously. They become more intense and focused on the dance training and strive towards correctness of movements as well as determination to meet completion of work. If they are driving, then they know to not be late to class, but be early to prepare the body for class. This helps to develop better time management skills that carries over to college and work that professors and employers love. Being in dance classes from a young age to 18 yrs (high school graduation) also trains a child for long term commitment and dedication, again success skills to complete university studies and hold down a job long enough for advancement.


So Why Do Parents Really Need To Think About Dance Training For Their Child?

First, so that you do not have to worry about them as an adult.....ever! You have made sure they are trained to ...........
1.Be where they are suppose to be in a timely manner.
2.Be organized, committed and able to follow through on everything they do.
3.Be socially committed and encouraging of others.
4.Be able to process information in an organized fashion and follow through to the end.
5.Be able to see value in long term relationships.
6.Be a person that takes on responsibility willingly.
7.Be a person that understands how to break down problems and rebuild to success.
8.Be understanding that learning high level skills means time commitment, personal energy and
   dedication to seeing things completed.
9.Be the best that they can be. They set the level of accomplishment through their long term
   commitment and hard work.
10.Be able to work as a member of a team and committed to the teams success.
11.Be committed to family and work hard towards success.
12.Be willing to coach and train others in skills they have high achievement in. Be a teacher.

And The List Could Go On.......

But we think you can see where all of this is going. Parents selecting long tern dance classes over other activities that can distract from training to be an adult, know and will see that your child does not have to have a dream to be a professional performer to benefit from being in dance class. We are very proud to say that we have had the opportunity to train many public educators, several nurses, a pediatric surgical nurse, many business owners, several business managers, a Chiropractor, a mental health expert, dancer teachers, a band director, a minister, a special needs advocate, and thousands of committed and dedicated parents that love their children and family. But of course, all when they were ages 2-18 yrs. And the majority for over 12 years of their life right here at our dance school.

We want parents to know that when they are at our dance school, our objective is to teach them great skills that will help them be successful in life. If a professional dance career is their goal, then we are more than happy to train and coach them towards that direction and hand them off to higher level training when the time comes. But in the mean time, we are happy to train young people to achieve the highest level possible for them in life, while having fun and being a part of our dance family.

* Mary Myers is the Owner and Director of Academy of Fine Arts in Woodward , OK. 



We Are Back!

We are back online and ready to blog! So much to tell you so be sure to keep checking back! It has been way to long since we last posted on our blog. 

Five Benefits From Dance Classes You May Of Never Known

5 Benefits from Dance Classes 

You May Of Never Known

Most families enroll their children in dance classes because it is something fun to do. It is only many years later that they find out that the classes were actually a great training ground for the future, no matter what or where the future leads their child.

Parents are happy when their children find an "activity" that they enjoy. But they are even more thrilled, that after many years of struggling and encouraging their child to continue with their classes, they find out that their child has actually developed stronger life skills than the children of friends and family that were never in dance training. So what can your child learn beside to count 5,6,7,8 or to leap and fall to the floor without getting hurt?

Let's talk a bit about the physical side of benefits from dance classes in this particular post.

1. Physical activity is the most recognized benefit for anyone that dances, young or old. Since dance does use the whole body for movement, it is a great exercise towards whole body fitness. When you add the stretching and warm up, with the actual dance steps, a total body and mind fitness routine is now created. It has also been stated that dance classes are a great way to set the direction for a healthier lifestyle throughout life.

2. Kinesthetic memory is created by repetitive movements and barre work in dance. The value of this is a higher level of coordination and the ability to change directions quickly. This is just one of many reasons that professional athletes either pick up dance classes to improve their athletic ability, or they trained in dance prior to being a professional athlete. When you look at only less than 1% of high school athletes play professional sports, children that dream of playing in professional sports need as much help as possible from ages 5 to 20 years of age. But is also helps us throughout life in being more agile as we age.

3. Balance is another skill that is important throughout life. Some studies have indicated that the balance we achieve by age 10 is the level of balance we carry with us through out life. Of course you still develop balance after age 10 years, but it is this balance after age 10 years that we loose as we age. So best to develop great balance at an early age.

4. Falling correctly and getting back up quickly is a skill that we all need. No matter if the fall is a physical one, or a situation one in life, school or business. Have you ever wondered how dancers can leap high into the air and land down on the floor, almost seemingly floating to the floor? Then roll and come up on their feet with great power and grace at the same time? It is because of the hours an hours of training each individual part of the body as to how it contacts the floor and travels through space and time. Then when it is time for a level change (or change in life), the total body just responds naturally (again another reason why professional athlete decide to pick up classes in dance to improve their athletic abilities).

5. Changing directions quickly is important in so many ways. Ever seen anyone change directions quickly and then claim they are dizzy from the abrupt change of direction? More than likely, they never took dance classes. The vestibular system is the sensory system that provide the leading contribution about the sense of balance and spatial orientation for the purpose of coordinating movement with balance. Vestibular disorders can include vision and balance disorders or difficulties.
The constant work of turning, rolling and changing directions abruptly in dance classes can help the vestibular system to be stronger and more balanced for better health and life.

These five benefits are generally not ones that are listed on studio websites or brochures they pass out to the public. But they are there for every child, teen or adult that trains in dance classes long term. These five benefits are just as important, if not more so, than the ones you will find listed on any of their marketing materials. So when in line registering for classes, know that you are signing your child up to learn life skills that may enhance their adult life. Dance classes are an investment for their future.


*Mary Myers is the Director and Owner of Academy of Fine Art in Woodward OK 

Sampling

With school starting and the fall season coming, many parents are now actively trying to figure out their family schedule for the year. Hours can be spent on this as they try to "get everything in". Some reflection may be needed at this time of year to discover why families select their children's experiences they way that they do. After all, it is very hard work and management on the parents part for sure.

Parents are always seeking great experiences and events for their children. So much so these days that children are now in the habit of only attending classes and training, such as dance, gymnastics, swimming, music, martial arts, sports, etc, for a short time before going off to the next adventure. The major excuse that they give is "all their friends are doing something else and they want to be a part of it".

If children are constantly wandering from experience to experience, never staying long enough to learn the full scope of the experience and only sampling, the world will change drastically and not necessarily for the good. After all, if little Michael Jordan wanted to play every sport and only sampled basketball, he would of never of been as great as he was when playing for the Bulls. Same for Kevin Durant of the OKC Thunder. If Tiger Woods only sampled golf instead of putting hours of training in, he would of not made such an impact on the golf world at such a young age.

Think about it, no more Misty Copelands, Travis Walls, Maria Tallchiefs for the dance world. No more Michael Phelps of Nancy Hogsheads for the swimming world. No more Nadia Comaneci or Gabby Douglas for the gymnastic world. How horrible would that be?

Our world needs heroes and leaders in all parts of our lives. If Mozart or even the Beatles only played around at composing music, instead of working hard at mastering it, there is no telling what we would be listening to today.

Can you just hear Mozart saying "but mom.......everyone else is doing soccer". Or how about  Shirley Temple crying "but mom..... Sally's mom says she can pick and choose what ever she wants to do".

The point is this. Children will sample at everything they do if they are allowed to, and are not guided towards finding one or two things they can become great at. Children will continue to want to follow their friends, not because they really want to do what the friends are doing, but because they are afraid of being left out of the group. Children will do this because it is what they do. Unless they are guided towards those experiences that have the greatest life value, they may continue the pattern even as an adult.  Parents have a choice of guiding them towards possible greatness, or allowing them to wander from one thing to the other, never becoming great at anything.

Becoming great at one or two things, instead of mediocre at many things, is how leaders and heroes are trained for the future. Finding experiences that teaches self esteem, self confidence, self trust, team work, cooperation and yes even  how to be an individual that is not afraid to go out on their own may be a better direction for our children. This means selecting one or two experiences and helping them to dive in and swim around for years so that they have time to fully train and develop into great leaders and possibly even heroes of our world.

Sampling may be fine at a buffet to find out what you would like to eat, but over sampling many different experiences with no direction and guidance may be just as detrimental as over eating at the buffet in the long term.

Progressive parents, and parents of grown children that are now doing fantastic things with their adult lives, know and understand that if the adults of our world cannot guide and set standards to follow, children will never grow up to step forward to take leadership of their lives, business, country or world.

Guidance is a good thing. Learning to be an individual that can make strong choices they can follow through with is even better. Let's leave sampling to the buffet.

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.