Alan's Winter Gymnastics Showcase

Last night, Alan had his winter gymnastics showcase. Lon luckily was able to get some time off of work this time around so he, Anna and I all went to watch. Alan was so excited to have the three of us there supporting him! He did so well with performing his skill list but he was very hyperactive and wiggly lol. I chalked it up to him just being so gosh darn happy that his whole family was there lol. They performed five skills total: the pike position, tucked position, the hurt puppy (progressional step to handstand skill), the monkey hang (progressional step to the Skin the Cat move) and the Forward flip on the single bar. I got some pretty good pictures and video too!

Warming up before the showcase

Miss Alyssa explaining the skill list to the class

Alan's expression in this photo is priceless! He looks a mix of irritated and confused lol. Had me giggling when I first saw it! Love him so much! Here are the skills he showed us, in order (pray that the videos post properly on here):

The Pike Position

Look at those pointed feet, Aunt April! I am quite impressed by the little man! Wow! This is the perfect execution of the pike position, I swear I am not just being biased.

The Tucked Position

So I just love this… Here is Alan in his tucked position (first photo) and Miss Alyssa testing to see how strong his tucked position is (second photo). She called this the Egg Game, you had to make sure you egg was strong enough so that it didn't crack when she picked you up and wiggled you. I love it, Alan giggled when she lifted him and he held strong! Good job little man!

The Hurt Puppy

This skill is a progression step to prepare them for a handstand. Alan does these hurt puppies all over the house already lol and it has been his "Cool Pose" for I don't know how long. He did a great job, obviously lol. 

Monkey Hang from the Bar

His teacher said that this pose is a skill progression step for the Skin the Cat move that is performed on a single bar. She said this one requires a ton of ab strength to be able to lift your lower body up to the bar, not all children can perform this right away. However, Alan immediately did this, he had no problem with his little ab strength lol. We were so proud of him!

The Forward Flip on the Bar

His teacher also said that this was a somewhat difficult skill for preschoolers, that some children are not comfortable with falling forward over a bar right away. I was a little apprehensive about this skill because Alan had previously mentioned to us that he hadn't ever practiced the forward flip before (he must have missed that class) but he still went a head and did so well! It was like he had tried it many times before, he is a natural at being inverted. He is just so stinking brave! Future double bar gymnast here! We were so proud of him!

Good job Alan! We are so glad that you are learning gymnastics and loving every minute of it! Half the time the silly guy gets mad at me for being late (even if its just by the two or three minutes like we occasionally are) and never wants to leave when its done! He loves gymnastics and cannot wait until he is "old enough to go into the big boy's team like Uncle Kalvin" lol. Miss Anna is totally into gymnastics now too! I will be looking into signing her up for her first set of classes, hopefully at the same time as Alan's classes. She would just love it!