Parents Any advice??

[caligymmom]

My 8 year old is competing 5 and wants to go 7 in the Spring. For those moms who have already been down this road, any advice?

Right now DD is doing 5 days, and school/homework has been a challenge. She's very committed to maintaining her hours, so we're giving it a few weeks to settle. How do you all manage the homework plus making sure they get enough sleep??

I don't want to hold my gymmie back. She's in love with the sport and has big dreams, which I will always support. I also want to make sure we're making the best choices for her future. Any input from moms who have already done the 5-7 year is appreciated.

Thank you in advance gym moms!!

 

[ascarter1]

Let's be honest...they DON'T gat enough sleep! It's sad but true!

Dd made the jump from lv 3 to lv 6 several years ago. It's tough but do-able. Dd has a study hall which allows her to complete some homework and luckily she gets out of school at 2:15 so she has a little time after school. She will sometimes have to complete something after gym, which is hard to watch, and will sometimes get an extra study in on the ride to school.

It not easy...but she is learning some great time management skills!

 

[profmom]

I have two optionals, one in high school and one in junior high. It's tough, but they are both maintaining acceptable grades in advanced classes. Here is what has worked for us.

1. A little encouragement to get things done early, especially big projects. They need to know when big things are due and get them done ahead of time. No gymnast has the luxury of starting a book project two days before it's due, because if they wait that long, I guarantee it's gonna hurt. Ask me how I know. (But see also point #5.)

2. Homework has to happen on weekends. There's no way around it. Even if it's just a few hours here and there, weekends are critical for getting ahead on what's coming up that week. Yes, meet weekends too.

3. Know when your child works best. For my daughter, getting off the bus and jumping right in works well. My son needs transition time after school and gym, so unfortunately that means he often gets in his most productive work between 10-11 PM. Once they figure this out, let them work with it. Trying to make them do things that go against their grain in terms of work style is pointless.

4. Give them at least one day a week to sleep in if possible. Yes, this gets tough with meets if they are also in religious school, but they need that time to catch up a bit.

5. No matter how much you're tempted, don't rescue. Let them screw up, let them forget their trumpets and don't bring them to school for them, let them make bad decisions to watch TV here and there instead of jumping into homework, let them blow something off until the last minute a time or two. And then -- let them deal with the consequences. Most ambitious gymnasts are perfectionists who don't like to fail at anything. They will learn to manage themselves.

6. No matter what, preserve that gym night off during the week as down time. Don't schedule stuff, don't load them up with chores, don't make it a big deal social time. Let them finish up whatever homework they have and then do something quiet with them. Read, watch TV, cook together, play a game. It's critical for emotional balance.

 

[LizzieLac]

DD is a junior, does gym 14 hours a week and dives for HS. She is a straight A student and overachiever. I encourage her to slack off! It is ok to put in less than 110% sometimes. But in the end she has always been the one driving this bus! I talk through how to prioritize if she needs it and yes when a big project or test is coming up I tell her to skip gym.

 

[l.c.o]

Well, my DD has done double seasons before, though not compulsories to optionals.

It's tough, I won't lie. As others have suggested, we let our DD sleep in every Sunday until she naturally woke. Sometimes this was as late as noon or 1pm. Bummer for family activities, but it really helped her, and on the few days we couldn't accommodate this (little brother's meets, etc), it really seemed to have an effect on her overall. We also cherished her one school night off practice - Friday nights - at most we would go out to dinner or see a movie as a family. DD did not add in any regular activities on Fridays, and usually skipped any school events, etc. Sometimes she'd have a sleepover with her gymnastics teammates.

She stayed on top of her school work, using any class downtime to work on homework and finishing up after practice. She didn't do much other than practice, eat, and do homework on practice nights. One day per week we let her stay up a bit later than usual to watch a TV show (Dance Moms, ugh), but that was literally all the TV she watched during the week. She kept her grades up in her average 6th grade curriculum (As and two Bs), but did not do any extra clubs or classes that added on additional homework or practice time (like math club or band).

My DD is a perfectionist though, and still felt like she was behind her classmates. Now, keep in mind that my DD also has a moderate degree of anxiety that affected her at school in general, she asked to homeschool this year. For her, so far it seems to be a good choice, but not every kid has her personality and not every home can homeschool. But she's way less stressed overall and is making a lot of academic progress in areas we didn't have time to target before (like grammar, and studying WWII/Anne Frank because she wants to).

So, it's definitely doable, but yes, the reality is, they don't sleep and probably don't study as much as their peers. This can be a great lesson in prioritization, though. Not just in homework load and such, but balancing school events, friends, and gymnastics - the nice part is I think they learn pretty quickly what seems most important to them.

 

[caligymmom]

All great advice! Thank you so much!!

 

[thefellowsmom]

We did the three to six jump as well. It was the right move for my dd and all worked out great. Was that six season great, nope. It was a growth year. But she has been very successful since and is right on track for her goals.

My one piece of advice would be to not have too high of expectations of the level seven season.

This will be a long season and probably a gymnastics stretch. Just take it one day, one week, one meet at a time. Tell her how proud you are of her hard work and remind her how far and quickly she is going. Win or lose, this season is a huge accomplishment.

As far as as school and sleep goes, everyone has given you great advice. I would add only to try and figure out what replenishes your child. For some it is sleep, for some down time and others social time with friends or getting out in the world.

I used to try and pack in social time with friends on her down days since I felt she was missing out on that part, but i found out that what she actually needed was time by herself and if she needs that social time, she asks for it. Most weekend mornings she sleeps late or if she wakes up earlier she will lay in her bed and watch YouTube or read.

Third grade was the hardest year for school. After that she seemed to figure out what she needed to do to keep up and do well and it has improved ten fold since then. I really don't have to intervene much anymore.

I think that communicating all the time about how things are going and what is working and not from her perspective and helping her to come up with tools to manage things is really helpful. Don't be afraid to switch up the system if it isn't working.

They are all different and need different things to cope. Just listen and try things out. Keep talking and you guys will work it out and if she really loves it she will figure out how to make it all work.

 

[thefellowsmom]

We did the three to six jump as well. It was the right move for my dd and all worked out great. Was that six season great, nope. It was a growth year. But she has been very successful since and is right on track for her goals.

My one piece of advice would be to not have too high of expectations of the level seven season.

This will be a long season and probably a gymnastics stretch. Just take it one day, one week, one meet at a time. Tell her how proud you are of her hard work and remind her how far and quickly she is going. Win or lose, this season is a huge accomplishment.

As far as as school and sleep goes, everyone has given you great advice. I would add only to try and figure out what replenishes your child. For some it is sleep, for some down time and others social time with friends or getting out in the world.

I used to try and pack in social time with friends on her down days since I felt she was missing out on that part, but i found out that what she actually needed was time by herself and if she needs that social time, she asks for it. Most weekend mornings she sleeps late or if she wakes up earlier she will lay in her bed and watch YouTube or read.

Third grade was the hardest year for school. After that she seemed to figure out what she needed to do to keep up and do well and it has improved ten fold since then. I really don't have to intervene much anymore.

I think that communicating all the time about how things are going and what is working and not from her perspective and helping her to come up with tools to manage things is really helpful. Don't be afraid to switch up the system if it isn't working.

They are all different and need different things to cope. Just listen and try things out. Keep talking and you guys will work it out and if she really loves it she will figure out how to make it all work.

 

[thefellowsmom]

Eek! Sorry for the double post. LOL! The new app on my iPad is hard to post on

 

[caligymmom]

Great advice! Thank you

 

[Committed]

My DD did the exact same thing last year (8yo and did the 5/7 double season). Honestly, I'm glad she did it last year, as a 3rd grader because the homework was pretty light. She would do it right when she got home from gym, while I made dinner. Sometimes she would have to wake up a little early to work on it, but not often. This year, 4th grade homework seems to be much heavier and much more complex.

DD had a great time last year. She scored much better in L7 than she did in compulsories. However, by the end of the season, WE were exhausted! There was so much traveling involved. It really was a whirlwind!

Like the PPs have said. Make sure she has a "rest" day. Seriously.....lounging in front of the TV (or book) and doing nothing. By the time Wed/Thur rolled around, I could see the dark circles starting to form underneath her eyes. The end-of-the-week practices were emotional for her and her whole group.

Good luck!

 

[CMA25]

We went through this exact situation, and it was exhausting on her and the whole family! Her first level 5 meet was in August, and the season didn't finish until regionals in May. The stress of the long season was probably harder on me than it was on her!

For school, I did talk to her teacher at the beginning of the year. She agreed to give DD the homework packet on the Friday before it was assigned to the class. This allowed her to complete all the homework on the weekend. The school also allowed her to be released with the bus riders 15 minutes early. This allowed me to skip the carpool line and save time before gym. Hopefully her school will work with you. It is hard at this age because they are too young to qualify for the off-campus pe and study hall options that most of their older teammates use to lighten their school commitment.

 

[raenndrops]

I would suggest, if she doesn't get it already, that you talk to the school about getting all of her homework either at the beginning of the week OR at the end of the week for the following week.
At our local school, they already do this through 3rd grade and are willing to in 4th and 5th if they understand the reason why.

Planning is important.

Other than that, everyone else has given great advice. Good luck.

 

[purpleleomom]

Yep, some creativity is a must. For example, my DD eats dinner in the car, cleans up right away, and goes to bed, usually in her clothes for the next day, sometimes with a leo underneath. She has her snack and reads in the school to gym ride. In the morning, we leave early and wait in the drop off line where she does her homework. This way she's fresh, it's quiet, and I'm not stressed out because I avoid the traffic. On her free night she catches up homework and lounges around. Friday nights are lazy with maybe dinner out as a family or visiting a friend. She is in 5th grade and has lots of homework. She's slowly learning time management.

 

[caligymdad]

Hello fellow Cali gym parent. We also have an 8 year old that is level 5 and the gym informed us recently that she will move to level 7 in spring. There is a lot of great advice in this thread and I appreciate you asking the question. We made the decision to homeschool for multiple reasons, but honestly the early realization that DD was good and loved this sport played a big part in the decision. As many have stated, the hourly demand of this sport and tradional school don't really mix like oil and vinegar. I mean you can keep shaking it up or stirring it up but eventually the two just won't blend together unless you constantly do things to make it work. We decided to constantly homeschool. Today is actually a prime example of how it benefits us because DD has TOP's at 2:30. We have worked on multiple subjects already and now she is icing while reading. If she were in tradional school I would be picking her up early from school where she would 'miss some instruction' and then have about 1hr of homework to do. She isn't done at the gym tonight until 8 so obviously that type of schedule would be detrimental to our DD as her academics and physical development would be delayed due to a lack of proper sleep. Just something else to think about. I know how tough these decisions are and the reality of this sport is that the window is so small that you don't want to 'hold them back' as you put it. Good luck and congrats!

 

[SurpriseGymMom]

You don't necessarily have to forgo traditional schooling. My DDs training this year (and from now on as she is in the upper Optional level training group) begins at 2pm. Middle and high school gets out at 2:25. We talked to her guidance counselor and she simply adjusted her schedule, moved a few things around and voila, she is now "missing" two of her electives (art and home ec, both are things she can do at home for fun whenever she wants) and her last period is cleared, every day. She is not missing anything important and she is getting to practice on time. If she continues through HS (she is in 7th grade now) I will hopefully be able to make a similar arrangement there (other girls on her team obviously have managed). She gets done at 6pm every night although most evenings she is stuck at gym until between 7-9pm depending on the day (I coach there). There is a lounge at gym where she can do her homework if needed.

 

[profmom]

My two gymnasts are not going to the Olympics, but they do a lot of hours in a school district that does not readily permit exceptions, early departures, etc. They both started competing as seven year olds. One is now a sophomore in high school and the other is in eighth grade, both in our home district's public school. My daughter plays violin in the school orchestra, and my son is in the band, the jazz ensemble, and the chorus. Two of my son's level teammates are also in public school and are excellent musicians. Thus far, every boy from our gym who's recently competed as a high school student has gotten the academic recognition that USAG provides to high school gymnasts in the men's programs, and with but one exception, they have all been in public school or traditional private school.

Homeschooling is not necessary for all upper level gymnasts to succeed while doing enough training hours to be competitive.

 

[Mish]

It's so interesting how much flexibility many of you all have in your school day. Where we live you cannot make these kinds of arrangements in public school. I've heard of many of you getting exemptions for gym class; cannot do that here. Likewise, leaving early on a regular basis. We also do not get to choose which public school you go to, it's determined by where you live. We have a fantastic school system, but I would love some of this flexibility. I guess we are stuck with the mad dash each day as long as my DD continues in this sport

 

[Mrs. Puma]

It's so interesting how much flexibility many of you all have in your school day. Where we live you cannot make these kinds of arrangements in public school. I've heard of many of you getting exemptions for gym class; cannot do that here. Likewise, leaving early on a regular basis. We also do not get to choose which public school you go to, it's determined by where you live. We have a fantastic school system, but I would love some of this flexibility. I guess we are stuck with the mad dash each day as long as my DD continues in this sport

This is us too. We're doing fine so far in fourth grade, but it's crazy that optionals training 20 hours a week still need to take high school PE. That could be time to get homework done. Or sleep! Oh well, it is what it is I guess.

 

[GymDad9.9]

This is us too. We're doing fine so far in fourth grade, but it's crazy that optionals training 20 hours a week still need to take high school PE. That could be time to get homework done. Or sleep! Oh well, it is what it is I guess.

What a joke. You should be able to at least test out of PE.