new hobby (part 2)

as continued from part 1, i showed up the next day at skygym to be understudy for my new part-time job, at least at that time. i wasn't sure then if i would be up to the job, nor if i would enjoy it..
the first lesson was gymtots, which means the kids are around 2 years old! yes, very young, and were accompanied with their moms or dads or helpers, domestically.. mind you, if you work for an expat family long enough, your english would improve by leaps and bounds.. and with an accent!!
it was free play for the first half-an-hour where the kids were free to roam around and play with whatever apparatus they like.. like the trampoline, the big bouncy plastic balls, the mini flying fox with safety seat attached, etc...
my role was to ensure the tots don't get too wild and injure themselves, but sometimes they still do, when too many tots get onto the trampoline and bounce into one another.. it was really fun watching them run around, trying out the toys and fumbling all over, laughing in sheer enjoyment when you chase after them, giggling when tickled by their mothers or helpers.. i don't think any job get any better than that.. i mean seeing kids having fun is one very therapeutic session for adults, because we adults don't know what is true fun.. we tend to see things too pragmatically, we are too bounded by gains and losses that we missed out finding true happiness.. i would recommend you sign up for session with us just to hang around and you know what i mean..
the warm-up was just as fun, if not better.. all the kids would go get a fish-shaped mat to sit on, forming a circle with me and kevin in the front.. we started by getting the tots to introduce themselves.. their heavenly voices and cute responses just get to you.. they can be so wild when playing, but when you get them to say their own names, they become so shy, so hiding into their moms' bosoms for comfort..
the music came along and we did lots of warm-up exercises, like rocking side to side, cycling in the air, doing splits, forming table using their bellies, rolling back and forth.. its a feat if you can get 70% of them to follow you, with their moms' or helpers' help!!
following that is a sing-along session as they follow actions.. really cute how they imitate us.. after which, it was free-and-easy again for them for the last 15-mins.. me for the first time, i still lack the bond with the tots, as they tend to shun strangers, which is good in its sense.. sometimes i wonder around to see if all is okay.. don't know what to talk to the moms about, so i just smiled.. haha.. nothing much i could really do..
time is running out for me, at least for now.. i still haven't got to the play school session yet!! the wild level has gone from mild to extremely high.. that for the next time..
a+
(to be continued)

new hobby (part 1)

as of last saturday, i have started a new full-time hobby, it's called gymnastics coaching..

gymnastics has been one of my passion in life, since i started training for it competitively in primary three, and still is, in one way or another.. it was quite a coincidental start, since i just joined it under my mom's influence to try out one of its saturday's session.. my memories of it are quite sketchy now, but i remembered doing lots and lots of warming up, the straddles, bridges, push-ups sit-ups (yes, they are considered warming up exercises too, weird)... followed by lots of games for us, like forward-rolling through the hula-hoop and stuffs like that.. and the fun part: chilling isotonic drink. i mean, everyone would rush to queue up to get a cup of it after the long and strenuous warm-up..

anyway, back to my hobby, how did i get to know about it: i received a call from one of my secondary school gym comrades, ceying, asking me if i'm still doing.. insurances?? i went "what?
when did i ever started doing insurances?" i don't mean to be rude to my friends who are in the financial planning sector, i mean they are one the best guys in the world who could help you manage your money, and putting them wherever suits your current needs.. she went on asking me if i'm interested in doing coaching, so i said "how coincidental because i am currently employment-deprived but i'm still not too sure about coaching" especially when she said it's about coaching little kids.. i can coach bigger kids, but little tots? despite that, i promised her that i would go down the her gym, skygym, to take a look..

located in the old premises of the turf city, it has almost all facilities needed for competitive gymnastics training, but with more play-toys and all cushioned up.. well, when you are dealing with tots, you must ensure they don't go home with cuts and knocks on them, it is economically unwise.. so ceying was telling me what they do there, and i got to see how they run a session.. lots of laughing and cheering generally.. they have a 10-min warming up, going from head to toe while the coach teasing them, followed by a sing-along for the smaller kids (it was "head and shoulder" that week), then 3 stations focusing on certain parts of the body, and ending with some games..

interesting, fun and a good work-out for the kids.. kevin, another owner of skygym, invited me for a understudy session with him the next day, for me to have a feel of it firsthand and to see if i think it is something for me.. and i happily obliged..

(to be continued...)