We lost our favorite gymnastics teacher yesterday---she went from working part time at the gym to another full time job.
To tell the truth, last year at this time I had no idea that I would ever have a favorite gymnastics teacher. Miss Q, who teaches the 3 and 4 year olds, is great, but her job is more herding cats with a little bit of gymnastics thrown in. When Eleanor was ready to move to Miss J's class after she turned 5, we were warned that "Miss J is strict!". I was worried, since Eleanor is not typically well behaved (one of the cattiest of the 4 year olds. =)
However, while you might call Miss J strict, a better description would be having high expectations. She did not accept some of the shenanigans of the little girls, and so they stopped misbehaving. Eleanor had been prone to drastic mood swings about gymnastics, from overconfidence to despair when she couldn't do something right away. Eleanor tended to do something carelessly when she didn't like it. But Miss J made sure Eleanor kept at what she was trying to do, helping her gain confidence and expecting her to improve, not accepting the half tries Eleanor made.
As a result, Eleanor learned and grew. She is certainly better at gymnastics---she can do a bridge, a semi-decent cartwheel, a pullover with nice form. She also learned that in order to become better at something, you have to work at it. Miss J was a good companion and coach during that process. We'll miss you!
To tell the truth, last year at this time I had no idea that I would ever have a favorite gymnastics teacher. Miss Q, who teaches the 3 and 4 year olds, is great, but her job is more herding cats with a little bit of gymnastics thrown in. When Eleanor was ready to move to Miss J's class after she turned 5, we were warned that "Miss J is strict!". I was worried, since Eleanor is not typically well behaved (one of the cattiest of the 4 year olds. =)
However, while you might call Miss J strict, a better description would be having high expectations. She did not accept some of the shenanigans of the little girls, and so they stopped misbehaving. Eleanor had been prone to drastic mood swings about gymnastics, from overconfidence to despair when she couldn't do something right away. Eleanor tended to do something carelessly when she didn't like it. But Miss J made sure Eleanor kept at what she was trying to do, helping her gain confidence and expecting her to improve, not accepting the half tries Eleanor made.
As a result, Eleanor learned and grew. She is certainly better at gymnastics---she can do a bridge, a semi-decent cartwheel, a pullover with nice form. She also learned that in order to become better at something, you have to work at it. Miss J was a good companion and coach during that process. We'll miss you!
Comments
Love,
Steph
You are right. I'm sure that the gym could get in touch with her. Now, if I can only find the time... =)