Benefits of Tiny Tots Tumbling

Tiny Tots Tumbling
The benefits include:

*Fitness – Experiencing fun associated with fitness activities early in life can create life-long positive fitness habits.
*Mental focus – Learning how to concentrate on a task and achieving goals.
*Balance – Walking beams can transfer later to riding a bike. 
*Social Skills – Taking turns, working with partners, sharing, making friends, and acknowledging the accomplishments of others.
*Strength – Climbing on bars and ropes develops muscle strength.
*Flexibility – Improved range of motion through stretching and holding body positions.
*Coordination – Hand-eye coordination improves writing ability while eye-tracking improves reading readiness.
*Burn Calories – Help jumpstart a life of fitness.
*The Sport of All Sports – Gymnastics prepares kids for all sports.

Tiny Tots Tumbling at Willow Tree Studios (ages 3-5)
Tuesdays from 2-3pm
Wednesdays from 12noon-1pm
73395 Sullivan Road, Twentynine Palms, CA 92277

5 Reasons Determination = Success

1. Failures prepare you for the positives and negatives in life. The world doesn’t give us many finish lines. Those who stay in the race until the very end, are always winners. Thomas Edison, for example, created 10,000 failed prototypes of his electric bulb before succeeding.
2. Winning is easy to integrate. Emotions that come along with a win are positive. When someone wins they are proud and enjoy sharing the experience. Not winning is harder. The emotions that come with not meeting your own personal expectations are usually negative. Not achieving the result you wanted the first time, doesn't mean your journey is over. Look at Steven Spielberg, who was rejected from his dream school, the University of Southern California, THREE times!
3. The experience teaches you how to handle the issue in the future. Sometimes an undesired result occurs because of a misstep you made. The more you learn, the better equipped you are for your next challenge. If you get everything you want the first time, you will actually lack crucial knowledge that can be gained in the absence of initial success. Winston Churchill failed sixth grade, was defeated in every public office he ran for, yet STILL became Britain's Prime Minister.
4. It's not over until YOU say it is. When you give your very best and you still don't get the award, the experience can be frustrating. When you understand that you've given your absolute best (you've put in as much practice as possible, you've gotten an adequate amount of rest, you have been eating properly), you can rest assured that it is not over. Keep trying and trying and trying. Fred Astaire, at his first screen test, the auditor wrote, “Can't act, can't sing, slightly bald, can dance a little.”

You discover your best self after experiencing rejection or failure. Character is key to success in life. When you don’t get what you want and worked hard to achieve, you discover your real self. Walt Disney was fired from a newspaper because he “lacked imagination and had no good ideas.”

WTS Open Gym

Willow Tree Studios

Open Gym Schedule

We are excited to announce that we will be holding an Open Gym where your kids can come and practice their gymnastics skills, play on the mats, dance to music, and just have fun.  Open Gym will take place at the GYM at 73395 Sullivan Road, 29 Palms.

For ages 2-5 – Friday, January 24^th from 11am-noon

Thursday, January 30^th from 11am-noon

Friday, February 28^th from 11am-noon

The cost is $5 per child – we prefer parents stay

Ages 6 and up – Friday, January 24^th from 7-9pm

Friday, February 28^th from 7-9pm

More dates to be announced soon

The cost is $10 per child – parents can stay, or you may drop off.

Did ya Know? (Holiday Dance Edition)

*A cup of hot cocoa with mini marshmallows a day keeps the injuries away.

*Santa's reindeer are known to have the best switch leaps EVER.

*Dancing in the snow gets you more presents.

*It’s considered good luck in the month of December to keep a stash of candy canes in your dance bag.

*Any Nutcracker in your house will dance while you are asleep.

*Santa is secretly a competitive dancer; he takes a couple of months off each year to fulfill gift orders.

*Carolers are actually dancers in disguise; it's just too cold for them to wear their costumes outside, so they sing instead.

*There is a direct correlation between the number of peppermints you eat and how many pirouettes you can do in a row.

Upcoming Recital Information

We will be having our annual recital in May 2014. We will have an exact date posted around the beginning of January. If your child plans to participate in the recital, they need to stay in their class from January on as routines begin and costumes will be ordered. Costume fees will be due by February 1st (plan for roughly $50 per costume, but we will try to make them less if we can.)

Why Competitive Dance?

Dancing can be casual, hardcore, amateur, or professional. In addition, a lot of dancing is predominately recreational. So what's the deal with dance competitions? What is to gain from placing students in dance competitions when they are having fun dancing for recreation alone? As a matter of fact, a dance competition can be a great thing for a child interested in dance, even if they are doing dance just for fun. Let's look at some of the reasons why a dance competition may be good for your young dancer!

Exposure to Performance

If your child takes dance classes, they have probably become more comfortable performing in front of their peers. Their peers can include other students, teachers, and parents of other students. While they are still learning to perform in front of others, they are only used to performing in front of an audience that they are somewhat familiar with. In a dance competition, a child dancer is exposed to many strangers and other competitors. Becoming comfortable performing in front of strangers and unbiased audience members can help increase the confidence of the dancer and get them used to performing under pressure. Eliminating fear of stage fright can help the dancers be comfortable being themselves through the rest of their lives.

Unbiased Criticism

In the dancing studio, the instructors are able to see the dancer's progress day by day. Even though this helps the instructor identify areas that require more work, it can also lead to biased feedback. For example, a student who has been improving a lot will receive a lot of positive feedback from instructors, even though they may require work in other areas of their technique. Participating in a dance competition will expose the dancer to judges and other spectators who can reinforce their ability or provide unbiased constructive criticism on areas that need work. This can help your dancer continue to improve and develop a humble sense of confidence about their ability.

Once Again, Confidence

We have previously discussed that dancing can build a good sense of confidence for kids. This is true for even casual, recreational dance. However, being in a competition and learning to perform in front of strangers is an experience unlike anything else. The confidence derived from such an experience can have a lot of other latent, positive effects later on in the child's life. Typical anxieties during class presentations and job interviews may end up being no problem for the child, as they have grown up accustomed to being in the spotlight.

Children who enter into dance competitions will have an edge over those that do not. They will be accustomed to showcasing their abilities, they can receive unbiased criticism on their technique, and they will carry confidence onward throughout the rest of their lives. 

http://www.pacificwestperformingarts.com/blog/archives/2013/08/20/why_do_competitive_dance

The Origins of Gymnastics

The sport of gymnastics, which derives its name from the ancient Greek word for disciplinary exercises, combines physical skills such as body control, coordination, dexterity, gracefulness, and strength with tumbling and acrobatic skills, all performed in an artistic manner. Gymnastics is performed by both men and women at many levels, from local clubs and schools to colleges and universities, and in elite national and international competitions.

History

Gymnastics was introduced in early Greek civilization to facilitate bodily development through a series of exercises that included running, jumping, swimming, throwing, wrestling, and weight lifting. Many basic gymnastic events were practiced in some form before the introduction by the Greeks of gymnazein, literally, "to exercise naked." Physical fitness was a highly valued attribute in ancient Greece, and both men and women participated in vigorous gymnastic exercises. The Romans, after conquering Greece, developed the activities into a more formal sport, and they used the gymnasiums to physically prepare their legions for warfare. With the decline of Rome, however, interest in gymnastics dwindled, with tumbling remaining as a form of entertainment.

Modern Gymnastics

In 1774, a Prussian, Johann Bernhard Basedow, included physical exercises with other forms of instruction at his school in Dessau, Saxony. With this action began the modernization of gymnastics, and also thrust the Germanic countries into the forefront in the sport. In the late 1700s, Friedrich Ludwig Jahn of Germany developed the side bar, the horizontal bar, the parallel bars, the balance beam, and jumping events. He, more than anyone else, is considered the "father of modern gymnastics." Gymnastics flourished in Germany in the 1800s, while in Sweden a more graceful form of the sport, stressing rhythmic movement, was developed by Guts Muth. The opening (1811) of Jahn's school in Berlin, to promote his version of the sport, was followed by the formation of many clubs in Europe and later in England. The sport was introduced to the United States by Dr. Dudley Allen Sargent, who taught gymnastics in several U.S. universities about the time of the Civil War, and who is credited with inventing more than 30 pieces of apparatus. Most of the growth of gymnastics in the United States centered on the activities of European immigrants, who introduced the sport in their new cities in the 1880s. Clubs were formed as Turnverein and Sokol groups, and gymnasts were often referred to as "turners." Modern gymnastics excluded some traditional events, such as weight lifting and wrestling, and emphasized form rather than personal rivalry.

Modern Competition

Men's gymnastics was on the schedule of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, and it has been on the Olympic agenda continually since 1924. Olympic gymnastic competition for women began in 1936 with an all-around competition, and in 1952 competition for the separate events was added. In the early Olympic competitions the dominant male gymnasts were from Germany, Sweden, Italy, and Switzerland, the countries where the sport first developed. But by the 1950s, Japan, the Soviet Union, and the Eastern European countries began to produce the leading male and female gymnasts.

Modern gymnastics gained considerable popularity because of the performances of Olga Korbut of the Soviet Union in the 1972 Olympics, and Nadia Comaneci of Romania in the 1976 Olympics. The widespread television coverage of these dramatic performances gave the sport the publicity that it lacked in the past. Many countries other than the traditional mainstays at the time — the USSR, Japan, East and West Germany, and other Eastern European nations — began to promote gymnastics, particularly for women; among these countries were China and the United States.

Modern international competition has six events for men and four events for women. The men's events are the rings, parallel bars, horizontal bar, side or pommel-horse, long or vaulting horse, and floor (or free) exercise. These events emphasize upper body strength and flexibility along with acrobatics. The women's events are the vaulting horse, balance beam, uneven bars, and floor exercise, which is performed with musical accompaniment. These events combine graceful, dancelike movements with strength and acrobatic skills. In the United States, tumbling and trampoline exercises are also included in many competitions.

Teams for international competitions are made up of six gymnasts. In the team competition each gymnast performs on every piece of equipment, and the team with the highest number of points wins. There is also a separate competition for the all-around title, which goes to the gymnast with the highest point total after performing on each piece of equipment, and a competition to determine the highest score for each individual apparatus.

Another type of competitive gymnastics for women is called rhythmic gymnastics, an Olympic sport since 1984. Acrobatic skills are not used. The rhythmic gymnast performs graceful, dancelike movements while holding and moving items such as a ball, hoop, rope, ribbon, or Indian clubs, with musical accompaniment. Routines are performed individually or in group performances for six gymnasts.

Scoring

Gymnastic competitions are judged and scored on both an individual and a team basis. Each competitor must accomplish a required number of specific types of moves on each piece of equipment. Judges award points to each participant in each event on a 0-to-10 scale, 10 being perfect. Judging is strictly subjective; however, guidelines are provided for judges so that they can arrive at relatively unbiased scores.

Usually there are four judges, and the highest and lowest scores are dropped to provide a more objective evaluation. Gymnasts try to perform the most difficult routines in the most graceful way, thus impressing the judges with their mastery of the sport.

Bibliography

Bott, Jenny, Rhythmic Gymnastics (1995); Cooper, Phyllis S., and Trnka, Milan, Teaching Basic Gymnastics, 3d ed. (1993); Feeney, Rik, Gymnastics: A Guide for Parents and Athletes (1992); Karolyi, Bela, Feel No Fear(1994); Lihs, Harriet R., Teaching Gymnastics, 2d ed. (1994); YMCA Gymnastics, 3d ed. (1990).

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/history-gynastics-ancient-greece-modern-times