Parents adjusting to school and gym

[littlegirlsdream]

We are adjusting to my DD first week of gym and school. She started kindergarten last week and has 12 hours of gymnastics a week. She handled pretty well, just the end of the week she seemed more emotional than usual. The rest of the family is worn out. Any suggestions on how to make this transition easier? Also, how long did it take your kids to adjust once school is in session?

 

[bogwoppit]

I always find the going back to school weeks a challenge for the girls. Juggling new school schedules and gym changes is such a challenge.

Make sure your little one is getting enough sleep, and maybe a little bit extra too. Make sure she is eating the best diet she possiby can, lots of protein. Make sure she is well hydrated both at school and gym as they quickly tire when they need water.

Learn to multi task with her, can she snack on the way to the gym in the car whilst reading a book or talking though her day with you. Get very organised, have a time for everything, so you both will feel less rushed and stressed.

Try to avoid non essential stuff for the first few weeks and you will settle into a more manageable pattern. Though if at the end of the month you are all still frazzled maybe she will need to cut back on a few gym hours.

My girls are back to school tomorrow and we still don't know our gym scheduale beyond oldest goes on Monday and youngest goes on Tuesday, they could be going on opposite day, different times, who knows. THat is a bit stressful too as I have a 45 minute drive to get them home each time!

Good luck, you know all the parents here get where you are coming from, life is one big juggling act!

 

[gym law mom]

Thats alot to handle. I know every year my gymmie starts back at school(now in 8th grade) that 1st week of gym and school is a little rocky. You little one had quite a week of 1sts!!! Does she do 1/2 day or full day kindergarten? Homework should not be an issue for awhile.

It is alot for a 5yo to do even 1/2 day of school and 12 hours/week in the gym. Bog had great advice on sleep and diet. Keep a careful eye on her and if she seems overly tired, emotional, grumpy then you should look at cutting back some gym hours until she adjusts to her school routine.

 

[ginnymac]

My dd is always like that at the beginning of the school year. If possible, I try to get her into bed 15-20 minutes earlier than usual and find that it makes a big difference by the end of the week.

Also, have her do as much of her morning routine as she can the evening before. Then hopefully she can have a few extra minutes of sleep in the am!

Good luck

 

[mariposa]

I think that is normal. We homeschool and Abby had a hard time at 5 adjusting to the increased hours. I know she would have struggled had she been in school. Everyone had some great ideas on ways to make things easier. I bet she adjusts after a few weeks. Hang in there!! Definitely watch for signs that she isn't adjusting and maybe they could decrease her hours a bit by letting her go home 1 hour early or something?

 

[littlegirlsdream]

Thanks for the advice. We are getting her to bed earlier now and the diet advice is so true, we will be watching that. Unfortuneatly the cutting back on hours is not an options, this gym is pretty serious and if you cant hang you just cant do it. Her kindergarten is full days and the gym is about 30 min away so it doesnt leave a lot of time. On the other hand, only 2 day practice hit on the school nights, the other 2 are weekend practices. She did practice that much all summer so she at least adjusted to that before we added school

 

[NotAMom]

I don't think you mentioned whether she is on the competitive team. Based on the hours you stated, I assume that she is.

IMHO, that is a lot to handle for a 5yo. It's not so much the hours because if she wasn't in practice she would be active doing other things no matter what. Being on the team (even on the pre-team) puts an extra stress on the young child. There is an underlying expectation and there is a natural contention with others on the team. The down time and other activities taken place in between practices will let the child free herself from this stress.

Ample rest and proper diet are always important and that's a given in my books. I believe active kids are highly energized once rejuventated (it doesn't take much), so make sure you let her do things outside of the gym. That includes having outtings with her friends and spending time playing as a family. Taking on another sport/activity casually would also be a good option.

Other than that, like others have said, keep a close eye on her. Watch for signs. Definitely do not hesitate in skipping practice if she or the signs indicate a needed break.

 

[littlegirlsdream]

I had similar thinking..about an outside activity. So, she is joining a daisy troup this year too.

She is on team this year, last year she was in pre k and pre team so its not totally new but the hours did double in both school and gym. I know many of your kids faced the same thing so I appreciate the support and guidance.

 

[gymnut1]

12 hours gym is a huge amount for a 5 year old. I cant see that is really necessary for L3. Sorry that sounded abit harsh - it wasn't meant to be I am just abit shocked!

 

[Blackie6]

My DD was also a Kindergartener on L4 team & did very well with the transition. I think she only did 10.5 hrs though to start. She loves being in the gym, and when she's not, she's doing handstands & floor routines at home. I made sure she had plenty of water with her at practice, fed her something right before practice, and gave her a snack (granola bar, cereal bar, piece of fruit) to keep in her gymbag/locker for a quick pick me up if needed. made sure dinner was ready for her either in car for way home or as a soon as we got home. Homework, the bulk of it was done before gym, I usually left any reading for PJ's & bedtime together as a quiet time activity. You would think that after being in the gym a couple hours at night/couple times a week they would be tired and go right to sleep...most are oppostite (like mine) and are extrememly hyped up when they get out of practice. We tried to stick to the dinner, bath, PJ's and reading in bed routine....it seems to work! DD also did Daisy scouts and teener ball. Hard to squeeze in, but we did to allow her to experience other activites as well. It's hard this year because now she is a L5 and practice is now about 15 hrs, so I did have to put the kabosh on field hockey this season. School starts this week for us so I'll let you know how the transition goes for us, but her new gym has earlier practice times and no 4 hr practicies, they are max at 3 hrs so I am liking that.

 

[Megley]

My dd was also 5yo and in the gym 12 hrs for Level 4 when she had full day kindergarten. It definitely took some adjusting. I mostly noticed it by the end of the week, when she would be really tired. Our practices were M,W,F for 4 hours so you should be better with only the two practices during the week and the shorter practice times. I think it took her at least three or four months to totally adjust and to this day, she still has better practices on Mondays than any other day of the week. Try your best to get her to bed early (though have to LOL at what Blackie posted, because it so true - my dd is a total night owl) so that she gets enough sleep and get the post-gym dinner to bed routine worked out. Let her sleep as much as she wants on weekends too. I don't recall homework being at issue at all. There just wasn't much of it and what she had could be accomplished easily in the time before we left for gym. This year at L6 is going to be rough with 16 hrs and T,W,Th, Sa practice times. Terrible terrible schedule for school (2nd grade). I anticipate missing alot of Wednesdays.

Anyway, I am sure your dd will adjust. It just may take a couple of months.

Meg

 

[littlegirlsdream]

Yeah, she is slowly adjusting as we all are. I am trying to get her to bed early but it is very difficult. The big challenge seems to be Fri night practice then sat am practice, that is killing all of us 3-4 hour practice would at least give us the weekend to rest but o well not much I can do I guess. Thanks for all the helpfull suggestions I am sure this is a road many, if not all of you, have been down.

 

[littlegirlsdream]

She is actually level 4, I guess I didnt specify. Yes, I agree it is a lot as I said it is a serious place.

 

[nettyinpa]

Don't be surprised if she has a minor melt-down now and then. I remember my dd crying a few times while out on the floor. I think it was all just an adjustment to the new routine and being a bit tired. Once they settle into the new routine you'll be amazed at how she does it all, even in Kindergarten! My dd's starting 3rd grade next week and she'll be in the gym 12-weekday hours and 5 hours on Saturdays (including dance). So, it should be interesting to see how she deals with the increase in homework, different school, different classes and at the gym ~ new coaches, more hours. Heck, it will be interesting to see how I handle it! I also have to take ds to his karate classes, which are about 15 minutes away from her gym. We live in my taxi, oops I mean van during the school year! Plus I work full time so it is a juggling act for all of us! But she still loves it and never complains so we'll stick it out another season.

 

[cher062]

I had similar thinking..about an outside activity. So, she is joining a daisy troup this year too.

She is on team this year, last year she was in pre k and pre team so its not totally new but the hours did double in both school and gym. I know many of your kids faced the same thing so I appreciate the support and guidance.

Being organized and sticking to your schedule is the key. When "surprises" come into your routine thats when things get crazy.

Scouts is a great balance activitiy for gymnastics. My DD is a cadette scout and has done scouts since daisies. the best part is you don't have to be the best to succees just do YOUR best.

I think the hardest part to adjust to for my DD was when she first started getting homework. it took her awhile for her to figure out that she could do it at lunch break and on the school but and on the trip to the gym. She knows if homework isn't done then she will be late for gym. there are exception if it isn't due for a few days etc. She has brought some homework to gym to do during break etc. but usually School comes first. She has learned the art of using all her free time wisely. 5 min here 5 min there duing school gets most of it done before she comes home. It doesn't happen over night but they do get into their own pattern.

I also find that most kids on the team are honor students and I think that dicipline in gymnastics contributes to that

 

[cathiann]

Glad she's adjusting to the new routine. I can imagne that Saturdays will be tough--after school all week and back-to-back practices. Our gym does Friday night-Saturday morning practices too--it's tough even on the older girls! And I'm with Cher--I have four kids--two of which are honor students and do an excellent job in school. Those two are my two gymnasts

 

[bogwoppit]

We also have the Friday night/Saturday morning thing. Last year they would leave home at 7:45 am to get on the school bus, they would go straight to the gym at 4pm on the bus, we would pick them up at 7:30pm for the 30-45 min drive home. Only to leave the next morning at 8:15am for a 9am -12:30pm practice. It was exhausting. This year the Staurday practice has moved to 10am, so we get an extra hour in bed. Yahoo.

 

[NotAMom]

That prompts me to start a new thread on the weekend practice thread...:idea:

 

[taximom]

Sounds like you are getting great advice! My DD used to fall asleep on the way to gym at age 5. We also had a 30 minute drive then. I would leave her for a few extra zzzz's and then she could join her group.

 

[munchkin3]

Seems like a lot of hours for a 5yo but then again this is GYMNASTICS!

We have had the same stress but I am realizing it is more stress on us parents!!!!LOL

My attitude has a big effect on my kids....If I convey comfort and relaxation with the new # of activities then my kids are more relaxed.
If I am completely spazzed then they begin to think it is to much and too hard...

I am always surprised about how much my kids can handle...The question is How much can I handle!!!

I totally agree with the nutritional advice....BIG FACTOR!!! Keep her as healthy as possible....LOTS OF SLEEP...