Well, I got out on the track yesterday (ran a 6:50 mile, thank you, thank you very much) and tried to show Josh (and by proxy the rest of the kids) how to do a penny drop.
[I realized after sending the original email that I should explain what a penny drop is. You hang upside down with your knees, hands free, from a bar. You swing back and forth and, at just the right moment in your back swing, you let go with your knees (legs), tucking them in, and as your head goes up, your feet go down, landing in the perfect position. It looks really cool. You can even finish with the traditional gymnastics pose, or just say "ta-da!"]
Back to my story:
First problem, I can't do one myself. My back just isn't flexible enough at this point. I'll work on that. Second problem, I spotted Josh by holding his hands, thank goodness, because when I said, "Drop," he dropped without tucking his knees. I should've told him that part. Bad teacher! Fortunately, I had his hands, so he didn't land belly first on the ground. Unfortunately, it took his bravado away. :-) I couldn't even get Caylea to try it with a spot (thank goodness she didn't continue in gymnastics, huh?) Chloe wouldn't even hang upside down on the bar. She was chasing bugs.
So, as I ran my incredibly fast mile, I let them play on the bars. There are 3 of varying heights. The first one is like the one we had in Rocky Branch, about 6 feet high, just over my head. The second is probably 6 1/2 feet high and the third might be 7 feet high. By the end of my run, he was hanging upside down, hands free, off of the tallest one. That's a good sign. I figure I'll let him get comfortable playing on it, and then try to teach him again. Maybe, in the meantime, I can work on my back and see if I can get to where I can do one again. Did I ever do that as a kid? I just can't remember.
I gotta run...school, school, school. It's going well. Can't wait until Joey gets home.
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