 |
| Preparing for a forward roll |
With the Olympics in full swing. I thought I should post an update about our mobility program. We continue to give Arden as many opportunities as possible to be active through the day, and she definitely takes advantage of them. When people meet Arden they say one of two things. Either: "she is the happiest baby I've ever seen. Does she ever cry?" or "Wow! She is really active!".
Some of her favorite activities including climbing up the ladder, jumping on the trampoline, walking up and down stairs, and doing forward rolls.
We have continued to use a mobility program based off of the "How To Teach Your Baby to Be Physically Superb". She is currently in Stage V. The best part of stage V is the introduction of early gymnastics. Arden has loves this! She had been watching her brother do forward rolls and when given an opportunity picked it up right away. Now we will often catch her doing them on her own. We also have some 4x4s that she enjoys using as a balance beam.
My number one recommendations for teaching forward rolls (or anything with younger children) is get someone they look up to to do it first. Anything her brothers do is instantly tantalizing, and if mom does a forward rolls she finds it hilarious and can't wait to copy. We started off by having her "touch [her] toes" and then helped her roll over. It didn't take long for her to start rolling down the hall on her own. Here is a video of her forward roll. I love her head tuck and arm swing. I can't watch without smiling.
