By Llynden Singh, ellaslist explorer

My 4 year old loves to jump, skip and hop. She is constantly on the move - I love finding activities that tire her out while helping to improve her coordination and strength. So we were both excited to try out a gymnastics class at Macquarie Uni Sport and Aquatic Centre.

A Class for All Ages

Macquarie University Gymnastics offer classes for all ages and levels. We went along to a Junior Gym class for preschool aged children on a weekday morning. The Kinder-gym program (for kids aged 18 months to 5 years) provides the opportunity for children to develop gross and fine motor skills, balance, strength, flexibility and coordination.

After wandering down into the depths of the Uni gym, I was pleasantly surprised to walk into the gymnastics area. There is a spacious waiting area that includes a number of tables and chairs and a gated play area. While we were waiting for our class to start, we were able to look through the glass windows right into the gymnasium. It’s a great space to wait for classes to finish, particularly if you have other siblings to occupy.

Warming Up

When it was time for our class we were welcomed by the lovely instructor. Miss 4 was a little uncertain about being in a new place, but she was quickly included and engaged in the class. The class started with a warm-up, where the kids stretched, moved and balanced to music.

Circuit time

Next up, the kids went on to a circuit on a padded soft mat area. They wobbled across a low balance beam, fell backwards onto a padded mat, forward rolled down a sloping mat, and jumped, hopped and climbed across mats. It was funny watching my 4-year-old attempt to do a forward roll, but she loved learning how to do a roll properly.

Gymnastics Apparatus

The class then moved on to another rotation, this time using the gymnastics apparatus with lots of padded cubes and supports. They swung from the uneven bars, climbed up onto the pommel horse, and climbed across the parallel bars. All the kids seemed to love swinging from the bars and jumping down onto the mats.

An Action Packed Class

The class wrapped up in another area of the gym. Here the kids used a big swing to fall into a foam pit. This was one of the highlights for my 4-year-old. She was very proud of herself for using the ‘big swing’! The Junior Gym class is action packed – I was really impressed with how many activities the kids were able to experience in 45 minutes. The kids are able to practice all the basic gymnastic motor movements in a safe environment and use all the apparatus in the gym.

If you have a child who loves to hop, skip and jump, they will love this class. They will get to jump and swing and move straight away, while having fun and developing new skills.

To find out more, take a look here.