So our Eva is not the most coordinated of children. She's not a natural athlete, and she's always been a little awkward in her own skin...let's just say she falls down a lot. She's always resisted running and jumping and, well, pretty much most physical activity, and I've struggled quite a bit trying to find the right balance of encouragement and insistance that she try different activities. If I push too hard, she flat out refuses to even try, and if I just leave her alone, she's content to sit in one spot for long periods of time (not the healthiest of choices...)
Last month, I came across a class being offered through our Family Resource Center--a program called Young Athletes, which is actually run by the Special Olympics. It's a class that's open to kids of ALL abilities, with or without cognitive disabilities, and the entire point of the class is to introduce children to (and practice) different physical activities. [From the class description: "The activities consist of foundational skills, walking and running, balance and jumping, trapping and catching, throwing, striking, kicking and advanced skills."]
Here was a class, tailor-made for our not-so-athletically-confident girl, in which she could practice some basic skills without pressure. I thought maybe if the activities were being suggested by a teacher (her favorite sort of person), that she'd be much more open to trying new movements and hopefully have a chance to gain some confidence. I signed Eva up immediately. (And, since they rarely have one-on-one time, I suggested to Mike that this was a perfect opportunity for him to do some bonding with his daughter, and that I thought he ought to be the one to take her to her class each week. Happily, he agreed!)
So yesterday, Mike came home from work a bit early and headed with Eva to the YMCA for her very first class. An hour later, our back door banged open, and a laughing, crazy-excited Eva came bouncing in, talking a mile a minute about all the new things she'd learned. She headed directly to the family room, dropped onto her belly, and showed me how to crawl like an alligator. She described in great detail how they played with scarves, tossing them up in the air and catching them, and how good she was at it. And, of course, she told me all about her wonderful teachers--exuse me: coaches--and how she sat right up next to them while they were talking.
And Mike and I just beamed at each other...so proud of our little athlete.
Happy weekend, everyone!
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