Active Start
Active Start Classes
Active start classes are for young gymnasts 5 years and under. Placement into an Active Start class is determined by age range and not prerequisites.
Active Start 1: 18 months to 3.5 years
Active Start 2: 3 to 4 years
Active Start 3: 4 - 5 years.
Active Start 1
These are 45-minute classes where an accompanying adult will participate in the class with their toddler who is between 18 months and 3 years of age.
Participants will explore various gymnastics equipment safely with the guidance of our instructors and the support of their accompanying adults. Fun activities and training aids will be used to help participants explore and develop basic athletic abilities (the ABCs - agility, balance, and coordination) and foundational gymnastics movements.
Active Start 2
These are 45-minute classes for children ages 3 to 4 years old where they will participate independently.
This entry-level class will focus on fundamental movement patterns such as stationary positions, locomotion, swings, rotations, and are the foundational movements of gymnastics. Fun games and activities will be incorporated to support the development of foundational gymnastics skills.
*Please note that all participants are required to be toilet-trained in order to take part in the independent classes.
Active Start 3
These are 1-hour classes for independent 4 to 5 year olds who may already have some experience in gymnastics. If your gymnast is 4 years old and just starting out, start in the Active Start 2 class to help them integrate into the sport easier.
This classes will continue to refine the fundamental movement patterns and will introduce participants to some intermediate gymnastics skills with safe progressions.
*Please note that all participants are required to be toilet-trained in order to take part in the independent classes.
Active Start Practice and Play
These are 1 hour, single day classes that are non-instructional, meaning that gymnasts (ages 1.5 - 5) get the opportunity to practice and play as they want in the gym space. Parents must accompany their gymnast in the gym to ensure that they are safe and to offer support if needed. A coach is available and will supervise throughout the hour and offer recommendations but will not be instructing, nor providing a curriculum. You can sign up for one class, or pick and choose which ones you want to attend with your gymnast by registering through your account.
*Please note that you must register for programs before attending them including Single day or drop in classes.
20 Reasons Your Preschooler Should Do Gymnastics
By Anne Josephson, President of JAG Gym
Updated June 23, 2015
What if Johnny never learns a cartwheel? Or how about if Janie never masters holding a handstand? Would there still be any value in putting your preschooler in a gymnastics class?
Yes, I say.
Absolutely, yes.
In addition to how much fun she'll have, here are 20 reasons your preschool-ages child should do gymnastics -- that have nothing to do with learning gymnastics.
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Separation.
Learning to leave your parent or caregiver in the lobby while you go into class is the beginning of learning how to separate before a child goes to school. The ability to adjust to new situations is an important part of a preschoolers' education. -
Following directions.
Gymnastics teaches kids to follow multi-stepped directions. Going around the obstacle course and remembering what to do at each station is far more than gymnastics training. -
Following safety rules.
Listening to the rules of how we keep ourselves safe in the gym helps children learn how to follow rules at home and school. It places an importance on the concept of personal safety that is relevant for life. -
Patience.
No one liked waiting -- especially 3, 4 and 5 year olds! Practicing standing in line for short periods of time and containing your excitement as you wait for your turn on the trampoline are just a couple of ways gymnastics teaches patience. -
Working cooperatively.
From partner drills to moving a mat together, gymnastics teaches kids to work together for a common purpose. -
Responsibility in cleaning up.
Learning to put your carpet spot or cartwheel mat back into a pile is an important skill and one that many parents will be grateful to have their preschooler master next time there are Legos all over the house! -
Conflict resolution.
It's not easy when you don't get to be first. Or you don't get the pink poly spot. Or you're unable to stand next to your favourite friend in line. Gymnastics teaches these lessons and helps children learn appropriate ways to resolve their conflicts. -
Interacting appropriately with adults and peers.
Learning to have good manners and speak in a way that is respectful is an important sill for preschoolers to learn. Gymnastics class helps a child learn to treat the teacher with respect and how to navigate social dynamics with their preschool peers. -
Persistence.
Gymnasts must try and try again to achieve even the simplest of skills. Gymnastics teaches kids to stay with an activity until it's completed. -
Discipline.
Combining listening, respect for rules and patience leads to discipline. When a child has the basics of discipline, self-discipline is the next step: the ability to self-regulate behaviour. -
Coordination.
Gymnastics is the basis of all sports. The building blocks for athletic pursuits down the line are laid in gymnastics. -
Asking for help.
Young gymnasts learn how to ask for help from their coach and their classmates. -
Coping with jealousy.
Inevitably another child will learn a skill more quickly, run a race faster or be chosen to lead the line for the day, and your preschooler will not like it. Gymnastics class gives your child an opportunity to cope with those yucky feelings and express them appropriately. -
Character.
Gymnastics stresses the importance of doing the right thing, even when the teacher isn't looking. Preschool gymnasts begin developing this important skill in class. -
Resilience.
A four-year-old falling down and getting back up while trying to master a cartwheel is learning resilience, the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties. -
Grit.
When you learn to keep trying in order to achieve a goal, it is called grit. Educators around the nation understand the relationship between achievement and grit. Watching that same resilient four-year-old persist at learning a cartwheel is laying the groundwork for a child who possesses grit. -
The value of effort.
Gymnastics is not an easy sport. However, is children try hard they will see progress. They will understand the relationship between effort and success. -
Ambition.
Setting lofty goals and believing that you have the capacity to reach them is the core of what it means to be ambitious. Watching oder kids fly around the gym and thinking that someday, if you work hard, that you can do that too, is the beginning of ambition. -
Courage.
Gymnastics can be a scary sport. It is when we face something that pushes us out of our comfort zone that we have the opportunity to develop courage. Courage is not only being brave when we fear something but it is also a trait we can call upon when we have to do something that we do not wish to do, like chores or homework, all things that a preschooler will be learning to cope in the not-too-distant future. -
Self-confidence.
Is it any wonder that a child who develops all of these traits also develops self-confidence? Self-confidence is, simply put, your belief in yourself. If you are able to do class on your own, following the rules and directions, getting along with your peers, understanding that you are an able learner and that failing is ok because you are ambitious, have courage and grit is it any surprise that you are self-confident?
Anne Josephson is President and CEO of JAG Gym in Los Angeles -- which serves more than 2,000 kids per week, making it among the largest gyms in the Unitied States. Anne holds a B.A. from Barnard College, Columbia University and a M.S. Ed. in Educational Psychology from USC, where her focus was on how children and adolescents learn best. She's also a parent to four daughters ages 21, 20, 18 and 17. The Jag Gym Blog can be found at annejosephson.wordpress
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