First Gymnastics Exhibition

Lucy's been in gymnastics since age 2.  So has Elliot.  But we've resisted these exhibitions for a over a year.  Something turns me off about the whole "everybody gets a medal" thing, especially at such a young age, when I want our kids to think gymnastics is a fun thing to do--not an arena of competition.

Lucy, making her "what the heck are we doing" face during beginning stretches

But having said that, it was fun seeing Lucy and Elliot participate in their first gymnastics exhibition!!



Lucy had been referring to this event as "the gymnastics party," I think because she had heard each participant would receive a goodie bag.



I had to correct her a couple times -- that it is more like a fancy gymnastics class with all the parents present.



Still, I think she wasn't sure what to expect.



Elliot seemed to really enjoy it.  Apparently the instructors reminded the kids frequently throughout the exhibition that only kids who sat patiently on their bottoms between events would receive goodie bags.




All the kids were quite well behaved!  Even some little friends who frequently have a hard time in class did really well at the exhibition.



Lucy was awarded the "special acknowledgement" trophy for the four year olds.

Elliot accepting his medal and ribbons

I'm not 100% sure what criteria is met for the awarding of a trophy at this age, and Lucy didn't seem to understand why one might want a trophy.

Lucy with her trophy, making her slightly embarrassed "this is silly, I'm getting off of here" face

But we were excited for her nonetheless.



Daniel was a champ with Oliver.  I held Charlie a lot of the time.




Oliver was a pretty good sport for most of the exhibition, but it's kind of long - - almost 2 hours.  And Oliver and Charlie were both ready to go when it was over.



The three year olds were also awarded traditional gymnastics straw fedora hats and windmills.  They were pretty pleased with their winnings.  Overall, the kids seemed most excited about the candy in their goodie bags.

But Lucy did seem amused with her trophy, as well.  We took a picture of her with it that night to send to the papas, the nonnis, and the mimis who weren't able to make it.