Two weeks ago we took another big step together towards leaving toddlerhood. Along with several other kids in her tumbler sport group, she graduated up to the next group. No longer randomly running around with daddy jumping and climbing, now there is a structured program…with only the two trainers….and kids up to 5 years old.
No daddy’s or mommy’s aloud. Preferably you should leave or not be seen. (which is understandable)
Even though on the way to the first day she adamantly proclaimed that she was still a baby and needed to be in the old group, she really knew she was ready.
To make sure everything was okay, I watched half hidden from the sidelines. As we walked in a half a dozen kids called out hello to Stella. Some were worried when she didn’t show up to the earlier group. Others were excited that she would be in their group now.
I quietly found a seat on the sidelines. One parent of a new child had to hide behind a pillar; another just had to leave as her son started crying. Out of site out of mind…it works.
The trainer called all the kids to the circle to sing the welcome song. I sat back and proudly watched as the learning and integration manifested itself before me. The situation was somewhat familiar but new.
Stella pulled back a little but not all the way. She watched the first round taking it all in. A child stands in the middle of the circle and they sing a song about a giant and dwarves with hand gestures. At once everyone disperses and a giant game of tag starts. The “giant” the one in the middle has to catch a dwarf. Then they all come back to the circle and repeat the sequence with a new giant in the middle.
At the second round Stella was in. She had about a half a second lag time between everyone else but she was catching on. By the third and fourth rounds she was totally in.
Every now and then during the hour she would look over to me, making sure I was still there and wave and then go about her business.
The next big game was to climb a series of benches and then jump down. Stella showed those big kids how she could fly.
For the last 5 minutes the trainers released the kids to do what ever they wanted. There was a wild frenzy as little kids ran round, grabbing balls, jumping, screaming and letting the last bit of steam out. In the midst of this Frenzy, Stella found herself and started dancing by herself. I could envision in her head a field with butterflies swarming around sniffing the flowers.
At the end, the kids carry what they can to clean up and the parents help put the big stuff away.
The last thing to go be put away is a pile of mats on a cart. Standing over 6 feet tall all the kids jump on for a ride as the mats are pushed into the storage area. Purely the highlight for all the kids adding a nice closing touch to a great experience.
ps. Pictures are from a day trip to Travemünde.
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