5 Important Reasons Why Parents Should Introduce Gymnastics to Kids

Gymnastics offers kids an opportunity to stretch outside of their comfort zone and learn new skills. At first, it can be scary to watch your child leap and flip using gymnastic equipment. However, every new lesson is carefully designed to build upon a child’s existing skills as they use floor mats and other safety equipment under the guidance of a professional instructor. Introducing gymnastics to your child at an early age will provide these benefits in addition to giving your child an opportunity to just have fun.

Safe Risks Build Confidence

It is always exciting to watch the expressions on a beginner gymnast’s face as they watch their peers with advanced skills perform tricks such as a back handspring. Gymnastics gives kids the chance to turn what seems like an impossible feat into an accomplishment. Since gymnastic lessons break complicated tricks down into simple steps, kids gain confidence with each new skill they master.

Exercise Eases Challenging Behavior

Kids today are often forced to sit for hours in their academic classrooms, which sometimes leads to behavior problems. In gymnastics class, kids get to burn off their energy while learning how to harness their ability to focus on completing a routine. They learn to respect their coaches, and looking forward to gymnastics after school gives kids motivation to stay on their best behavior.

Flexibility and Balance Decrease the Risk of Injury

Stretching is a primary component of every gymnastics class since limber muscles help a child maneuver through complicated elements as they perform their routines. Children also learn balance as they work on equipment such as the balance beam, and they build core muscle skills that give them control over their movements. Flexibility and balance are two important parts of physical fitness, and they make kids less likely to sustain injuries such as sprained ankles during other sports activities.

Visualization Positively Impacts Academics

Often, while watching a gymnastics competition, you will see competitors take a moment before they begin to visualize the routine in their mind. Children are encouraged to practice mentally working through their skills during times when they are not in class since that impacts their ability to achieve a perfect score. Memorizing routines and strengthening body memory also help kids stay focused in school. Children who struggle with paying attention in class learn to apply these same visualization skills toward accomplishing both academic and athletic goals.

Foster Desirable Character Traits

Every parent wants their child to learn the value of teamwork, independence and perseverance. Gymnastics stands out from other types of sports because it allows kids to compete individually while also working as a team. Mastering a new skill, such as a dismount on the vault, takes multiple efforts that teach children how to overcome failure to reach their fullest potential.

In a gymnastics gym, it may look like chaos as children are flipping on bars and jumping on trampolines. Yet, every lesson in gymnastics class is strategically planned to give kids the support they need to become advanced gymnasts who can compete with confidence. While learning how to support their peers celebrating a perfect dismount, setting their eyes on a goal and making it happen influences every part of a child’s life.

Let your kids experience gymnastics at Maplewood Summer Day Camp. Experienced staff will keep your child both safe and busy with arts and crafts, games, water sports, gymnastics and more. Visit the site at http://maplewoodyearround.com/year-round-programs/school-year-programs/ to see the fun your child will have at Maplewood Summer Day Camp.

Why LEGO is the Best Toy for Kids

From big, toddler friendly DUPLO block towers to the intricately designed pirate ships and race cars of regular LEGO sets, the super-cool LEGO brand of construction blocks has been a timeless favorite of kids and kids-at-heart for over fifty years. 

Tots and teens and everyone in between have spent happy hours building cities, playgrounds, spaceships and castles to house enchanting miniscule astronauts, knights and Harry Potter characters, creating unforgettable imaginary worlds. 

Whether sprawled on the living room floor on a rainy day or taking a happy construction break with pals at summer day camp, kids around the world have enjoyed decades of building bliss and imaginary adventures with these incredible toys.

Fine Motor Skills

While they’re absorbed in the kinds of creative play that experts adore, totally unconnected to their various techie screens, kids are developing the fine motor skills and dexterity that will serve them well in everything from academics to art. 

From the moment your two-year-old first gets the red and blue DUPLO blocks to connect to the day your pre-teen actually completes his treasured Harry Potter castle, kids are improving these all-important skills while having a building blast. 

As anyone who has built a LEGO Star Wars spaceship can attest, it’s not easy to figure out how to build these intricate buildings and vehicles. Kids have the option of following enclosed instructions, much as an engineer would follow a blueprint, or they can strike out on their own, designing and building boats, skyscrapers, Ferris wheels and wagon trains of their own. They can plan, design and figure out how to build endless, delightfully detailed little worlds.

Amazing for Academics

Kids who play with building blocks and other construction toys are also hard at work developing creative problem solving talents, spatial skills and mathematical abilities. 

Once your little one decides he simply must modify his LEGO pirate ship to add a mast or a few canons, he has to figure out the design and how to make it work effectively, an absorbing, sometimes frustrating and (hopefully) ultimately rewarding task. 

She learns to be persistent and think outside the box (literally), skills that translate well into the academic world. The design and construction process itself is of course a super and fun-filled way to build on working with shapes, configurations and measurements.

Endless Creativity

Particular in today’s digital age, when kids spend hours glued to computers, televisions and smart phones, LEGO toys have managed to survive and thrive with their timeless appeal to the creative creature that lurks somewhere in all of us. 

Whether your youngster wants to build a whole town of his own design or follow the steps bit by bit to the perfect working robot, these inspiring toys that appeal to the child in all of us.

Wonderful World of Imagination

Whether they’re building a futuristic world of their own or re-creating the otherworldly adventures of Star Wars, kids at day camp and in playrooms around the world are exercising their imaginations in a big way when they pick up these tiny blocks and their equally tiny people. 

Anyone who has watched a child chatter away while playing with the little worlds of LEGO knows that the toy can magically transport young and old to the world of long-ago kings and castles, into the pages of a favorite novel or far out into the futuristic world beyond the stars.

Let your kids enjoy the Lego Experience at Maplewood Summer Day Camp. Experienced staff will keep your child both safe and busy with arts and crafts, games, water sports, gymnastics and more. Visit the site at http://www.maplewoodyearround.com to see the fun your child will have at Maplewood Summer Day Camp.

Bicycle Safety Tips for Kids

Warm weather is coming up, with all the wonderful promise of sunny days spent playing at overnight summer camp, building sand castles at the beach and getting outside to enjoy the magical freedom of bicycle riding.

While everyone can agree that bikes and kids go together like peas and carrots, as Forrest Gump would say, it’s vitally important that kids of all ages learn and adhere to basic cycling safety rules. 

Injuries incurred while riding a bike account for more injuries in youngsters between five and 15 than any other sport. Don’t let your child be a statistic; teach him the rules of the road and have a safe, fun-filled summer.

Always Wear a Helmet

Not even the shortest little cruise around the driveway should taken without a properly fitting bike helmet. You can buy them at discount stores, sports outlets or bike shops; however, at a cycling shop you’re more likely to get some help with proper fit. If a helmet’s too tight, your child may just sling it over the handle bars once you’re out of sight, and if it’s too loose, it won’t provide proper protection.

Light It Up

Lights and reflective gear are another important part of bike safety, especially at the dangerous times of like dusk and after dark. Bikes should be equipped with reflectors and both white front and red rear lights. Estimated to reduce the risk of being hit by a car by roughly 85 percent, reflectors are cheap and easy to install. A pulsating rear light is a great safety feature, as it’s immediately visible to cars approaching from the rear. A headlamp will help your child avoid obstacles; even a tiny bump can unseat a rider.

See and Be Seen

Even if your child’s bike is properly equipped with lights and reflectors, bike clothing itself should be highly visible. Contrary to popular wisdom, white hasn’t been found to make a rider more visible; bright, neon or fluorescent colors are much better options whether riding in daylight or darkness. Clothing should also have light reflecting components like reflective markings, tape or even flashing lights.

Make Adjustments

Make sure your child’s bike is property adjusted to height and arm length. Have your youngster stand over the bike; there should be one to two inches between child and top bar on a road bike and three to four inches on a mountain bike. Seat should be level and the knee should be slightly bent when the leg is extended, and the handlebars should be at the same level as the bike seat.

Tune It Up

Especially before the first ride of the year, make a safety check of your child’s bike, or teach him how to do so. It’s a great idea to take the bike into your local bike shop for a spring-time tune-up; mechanics will make sure everything’s in working order so there won’t be any unpleasant surprises on that first trip down the hill to the playground. Make sure tires are properly inflated and brakes are working.

Take a Class

As spring approaches, many police departments, fire districts, schools and community centers conduct bike safety classes, so keep an eye on the local papers for a class in your neighborhood. Most are held in spring, so you can squeeze it in before your youngster heads off to sleepaway camp. Kids bring their own bikes and instructors go over rules of the road and other safety guidelines.

Follow the Rules of the Road

Kids should know to ride in the same direction as other vehicles, following the flow of traffic, and obey all traffic roads, including traffic signs and signals. At least one hand should be on the handlebars at all times. Teach your youngster to use signals, look before turning and watch for parked cars. Happy cycling!

Let your kids enjoy the experience of summer day camp at Maplewood Summer Day Camp. Experienced staff will keep your child both safe and busy with arts and crafts, games, water sports, gymnastics and more. Visit the site at http://www.maplewoodyearround.com to see the fun your child will have at Maplewood Summer Day Camp.

How Drama Classes Positively Affect Kids

One of the favorite activities for kids at day camp, drama classes aren’t just a ton of fun; they help kids grow, gain self-confidence and learn to function as a team. Although drama classes are offered in after school programs, at magnet schools and at community theaters, many kids find it especially fun and laid back to take the classes at summer day camp.

Let your kids enjoy the experience of summer day camp at Maplewood Summer Day Camp. Experienced staff will keep your child both safe and busy with arts and crafts, games, water sports, gymnastics and more. Visit the site at http://www.maplewoodyearround.com to see the fun your child will have at Maplewood Summer Day Camp.

Why You Should Send Your Kindergartner to Summer Camp

Why You Should Send Your Kindergartner to Summer Camp from Kay Frenzer-Zeeh

Let your kids enjoy the experience of summer day camp at Maplewood Summer Day Camp. Experienced staff will keep your child both safe and busy with arts and crafts, games, water sports, gymnastics and more. Visit the site at http://www.maplewoodyearround.com to see the fun your child will have at Maplewood Summer Day Camp.

Benefits of Drama Classes for Your Child

One of the favorite activities for kids at day camp, drama classes aren't just a ton of fun; they help kids grow, gain self-confidence and learn to function as a team. 

Although drama classes are offered in after school programs, at magnet schools and at community theaters, many kids find it especially fun and laid back to take the classes at summer day camp.

Artistic Development

A great way to spark a child’s interest in the arts, drama classes introduce youngsters to a wide range of theatrical activities. They learn about writing, directing, performing, auditioning, designing and building scenery and maybe even dancing, singing and choreography.

Working as an Ensemble

Kids in drama classes benefit greatly by learning to work together in a cooperative venture, taking others’ ideas into consideration, working through creative differences and learning to accept feedback. Not only do actors need to work cooperatively, but all members of the theatrical ensemble have to figure out how to work together toward the best possible production.

Academic Benefits

Though some parents worry that getting involved in theatrical arts will impede or take important time away from academic pursuits, studies have found quite the opposite. In general, students involved in the creative arts tend to do better academically, and a study by The College Board showed that these students scored nearly 100 points higher on the SAT than those not involved in artistic endeavors.

Developmental Development

The benefits of drama classes include opportunities for improvement of communications skills, particularly public speaking and projecting the voice. Kids in drama classes can also develop emotional skills such as empathy when they try to relate to their character’s feelings and motivations. The ability to walk in someone else’s shoes and see things from a different point of view are skills that will be useful throughout your child’s life, and by learning to understand their character’s emotions they can become more in tune with their own.

Social Skills

You’ll probably find that taking drama classes will result in a noticeable improvement in your child’s social skills. Your youngster will meet and bond with new friends in class, developing a sense of camaraderie with them as their characters interact during rehearsals and performances.

Improved Confidence

Contrary to what you may think, drama classes are not just for the outgoing child. Kids who are on the shy side may find that playing an ensemble role like a face in the crowd or a voice in a chorus can let them indulge their theatrical side without feeling too intimidated. As time passes, they may even gain enough confidence in their own talent to pursue more of a leading role.

Where to Find Drama Classes

If your child has expressed an interest in the theater, there are a variety of places to find classes. On the budget end, you may find instruction at community centers and town recreation centers or as part of summer camp programs. Kids who are more intensely interested in the theater may benefit from classes at a professional theater group where they can study the art with professionals in a real theatrical environment. Performing arts schools offer classes in musical theater, voice, singing and dance as well as drama.

Let your kids enjoy the experience of summer day camp at Maplewood Summer Day Camp. Experienced staff will keep your child both safe and busy with arts and crafts, games, water sports, gymnastics and more. Visit the site at http://www.maplewoodyearround.com to see the fun your child will have at Maplewood Summer Day Camp.