Bloggers Go Olympics: Move Like a Gymnast

Have you been watching as much Olympics as we have?

We have it on every night and are so inspired by all the swimmers, divers, runners, soccer players, and every other athlete.

The girls have been running races, pretending to dive… synchronized diving nonetheless… and learning how to run relays.

But, by far, our favorite events have been the gymnastic events. While admittedly, we’re not able to turn flips on a balance beam or go launching ourselves off of a vault, we still had fun moving like a gymnast.

There are many simple ways your kids can get moving in the style of a gymnast. Here are a few we tried.

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Balance Beam: I found a couple of scrap boards and set them out in the grass for a balance beam. We practiced walking forward and backward and turning around. We tried balancing one foot and doing small hops. We even tried carrying our hula hoops over our heads.

Balancing: Can you balance on one foot? Can you stretch your leg out behind you and balance that way? How can your arms help you balance? Balancing is an integral skill in gymnastics and an easy and important skill that your kids can practice in their own backyard.

Floor Exercise: Design your own floor exercise routines. Tumble, leap, balance. Combine it with music and try adding your own choreography. Can you get a perfect score?

Rhythmic Gymnastics: Create a routine using a hula hoop or ball. Can you balance with a hula hoop held over your head? Can you spin the hula hoop on your arms? Can you twirl with a ball held over our head? Wow your family with your rhythmic gymnastics routines!

And when you’re done, throw your arms in the air and wait for the applause. You deserve it!

Have fun with the Olympics and use them to help promote movement and fun. Almost any event can be used as inspiration for your own movement games.