Gym Magic Sports Center & Preschool
has brought magic into
the lives of thousands of children since opening its doors in
1993. We’ve grown and developed from only a gymnastics
school into a year-round multi-sport program that now offers
gymnastics, swim, dance, cheer, full day and half-day preschool,
aikido martial arts, summer and holiday camps, and fitness programs
for children and adults.
We are an educationally-based center, developing and implementing
weekly curriculums for our programs. Our goal is to continually
improve because we believe all of us are happier when we’re
learning and growing. We believe children learn more effectively
when placed in a playful, engaging environment and that through
our sports, we can teach that learning can be FUN, exciting and
rewarding. Once kids internalize that learning is fun,
their futures can explode with possibilities! Building positive
learning attitudes that set the stage for a life-long pursuit of
learning is a very important issue that ties directly into success.
The hope of every parent is to have happy, successful children,
and we believe we can assist in this great endeavor!
OTHER BENEFITS OF OUR PROGRAMS Many
of the benefits of our programs are not readily or even immediately
apparent because they work internally. Smiles and laughter are
always great clues for parents that let them know their children
are having fun and enjoying themselves, but there’s
another very important side to all of this that isn’t so
visible but is extremely important. This relates to brain development
and what neuroscience has learned about movement and sensory
integration. Let me quote from a noted neurophysiologist, Dr.
Carla Hannaford:
“The more closely we consider
the elaborate interplay of brain and body, the more clearly
one compelling theme emerges: Movement is essential to learning. Movement
awakens and activates many of our mental capacities. Movement
integrates and anchors new information and experience into
our neural networks. And movement is vital to all the actions
by which we embody and express our learning, our understanding
and ourselves.”
It turns out the movement and the stimulation of
the vestibular system in early childhood actually helps
prepare and develop the brain for what we term “higher
learning” (focus, concentration, problem solving, speech,
language, reading, writing, and social-emotional maturity).
Movement (rolling, climbing, spinning, jumping, etc.) helps
organize and facilitate the flow of information within the
brain and lays the foundation for the development of “higher
learning”. John J. Ratey, MD, had this to say about movement
and brain development, “Mounting evidence show that
movement is crucial to every other brain function, including
memory, emotion, language, and learning…Our “higher” brain
functions have evolved from movement and still depend on it.”
Although we at Gym Magic believe learning
to perform a flip, a turn or a backstroke are great ways to
learn new skills and develop self-confidence in the process,
there’s really
much, much more going on during this process. And as our children
spend more time sitting (watching TV, using the computer, playing
computer games, etc.), it is imperative to balance these activities
with a steady supply of movement activities that stimulate the
brain in different ways and promote proper brain development
for later “higher learning”.
OUR PROGRAMS GYMNASTICS
Gymnastics is the foundation of our center
and was our first sport! We have been teaching gymnastics since
1993 and have instructed thousands of Las Cruces youth over
the years. We begin upstairs in TumbleLand where we teach TumbleBugs,
our toddlers and preschoolers, in their own private center.
This separation from the main gym offers a safer and less hectic
environment for our little ones. We also have a private observation
room for our parents and grandparents to be able to sit back
and enjoy! Classes begin at 12 months of age for the Baby & Me class, which has mom or dad on the
floor also! You don’t want to miss this opportunity!! For
3 years and older, parents are no longer required on the floor
as the little ones learn more independence and get to show their
parents what they can do “all by myself”! (Parents:
don’t fear; you are only a few feet away in case you or
your child have some separation anxiety.)
After TumbleBugs, we start our program
for boys and girls in the main gym downstairs with “Over the Rainbow”,
a six level progressive structure that teaches skills in small,
incremental steps. This provides the greatest success for the
student as they approach skills in small steps that eventually
lead to more complicated skills.
We also offer USA-Gymnastics Jr. Olympic
competitive teams for boys and girls. For those not wanting
to compete, we also have Exhibition Teams that allow you to
perfect your skills and perform
at various local events.
SWIMMING
We are the only dedicated learn-to-swim program in our area and
the only US Swim School Association Member in our area. Our
swim program has 16 separate progressive levels that gently introduce
children to the wonderful world of water! We start at 6 months
of age in our WaterBabies classes where moms and dads join
our teachers for games and songs as the babies become comfortable
in the water environment. We even have a separate WaterBabies
pool that provides added security and comfort for all of our
WaterBabies!
We offer year-round classes as this has been found to be the
best method for long term success. Once a child is 3 years old,
they are invited into the main pool and start classes without
the parent in the water. (Never fear, we have a glassed in air-conditioned
observation area for parents!) We keep a maximum of 4 students
per teacher, which provides individual attention while still
promoting social skills. We have beginner classes for all
ages followed by intermediate and advanced classes for stroke
development and technique. Our teachers are specially trained
and certified to teach in our program, so there is consistent
teaching from one level to the next level.
Our pools each have state-of-the-art
equipment that is routinely serviced and maintained. Our water
is kept between 88 - 90° for
the added comfort necessary to promote the very best environment
for learning. If kids have shivers and goose bumps, it’s
really hard for them to pay attention. So even though the cost
of heating our pools is great, the outcome for the student is
so much better that it justifies the additional cost.
DANCE
Our Dance ‘til Dawn program starts at 24 months of age
for Magical Movement Classes (Baby & Me format). We also
have gym/dance combo classes available. Our dance studio offers
classes in Pre-Ballet, Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Hip Hop and L.A. Salsa.
Our studios have state-of-the-art wood floors with added cushion
to protect those young joints. Our teachers bring fun and excitement
into each dance style whether classes are for beginners or advanced
students. We have two separate dance studios that are hopping
with pink tutus!
CHEER
We offer beginning cheer in our Cheer Academy, which begins instruction
with Kinder Cheer for 4 to 6 year olds. We also have Tumbling
classes and Cheer I and Cheer II for the grade school age students.
Our teachers will bring cheer to life with fun moves and motions
for each student to learn. For the serious cheer student, Xtreme
All-Star squads are a competitive year-round cheer program. Students
must try-out for positions on each All-Star squad. Our teachers
will also create a custom cheer class for a school cheer squad
that wants help on any area of cheer.
PRESCHOOL
Ashley’s Garden is a private, preparatory preschool for
3, 4 and 5 year olds that offers an unsurpassed curriculum. We
believe our students get the best of the best! Not only
do they receive a well-rounded educational experience, they also
receive the benefits of weekly lessons in gymnastics, swimming
and dance, which we now know are extremely important to brain
development and future learning (see above). Students must be
potty-trained and sign-up for either full day or half day.
TUTORING IN READING AND LANGUAGE ARTS (K through 5)
Gym Magic has been selected as a Title I SES Tutoring program
for 2008-2009. We’re excited to offer a multi-level approach
to learning, which combines the traditional reading format
with complementary integrative movements from S’cool
Moves®. Contact your elementary teacher or principal for
more information and to sign-up. THIS IS FREE TUTORING FOR
ELIGIBLE STUDENTS!
KIDS FITNESS & ADULT FITNESS
Somewhere along the way, we found it necessary to add classes
for basic fitness. Many kids are simply not getting the exercise
they need to stay fit, and they want something different than
gymnastics, dance or swimming. Our Oz-some Fitness program
is designed to fill the need for those students that need a
little extra help in developing strength and agility. Never
boring, these classes will keep you moving – no flipping
required!
ADULT WATER AEROBICS & FITNESS
Adults may attend water aerobics (warm water!!), water stretch
classes, yoga, pilates or circuit work-outs. If you have a
student in any of our other programs, the adult registration
fee will be waived and there is no annual contract as in many
other facilities. You pay monthly tuition without a contract.
HOMES’COOL MOVES
After many, many requests from families who are home schooling
their children, we are offering this special program to meet
the needs of home schooling familes. We were asked to address
physical education in age-appropriate classes and to provide
greater socialization opportunities. Hence, HomeS’cool
Moves offers daytime classes in beginning gymnastics, swim
and fitness in age-appropriate groupings.
STROLLERMAGIC
For the new moms, we offer a fun experience: StrollerMagic provides
a unique exercise program for new moms that are looking for
exercise and socialization. Class requires a stroller (babies
must be 6 weeks of age and be secured safely in a stroller),
good walking shoes and exercise bands for the moms! This is
a great opportunity to meet other moms and explore the excitement
of motherhood – what better place to share and learn
from one another while getting the needed exercise to lose
those extra pounds from pregnancy.
NUTRITION
We’re all about health and fitness, so it was only natural
that we would eventually get involved in products for health
and well-being. There seems to be thousands of products on the
market that make it very difficult for people to know what is
really best. Everyone is different with different needs and desires,
but we’ve never seen any product that compares to Himalayan
GoChi juice. So stop by the gym for a taste of this marvelous
anti-aging juice or visit our website at www.gymmagic.freelife.com.
For more information you can also go to www.sharegoji.com.
GoChi is the best health juice that we have come across in over
30 years – go to www.pubmed.gov and
look up Lycium barbarum to find the research
on this amazing berry from the Himalayans!
Gym Magic’s office is open Monday through Friday, 8am
to 8pm and Saturday 9am to 1pm. Stop in to have a look around,
observe classes or take a tour! We’re located at 2341 Entrada
Del Sol, Las Cruces, NM, directly behind Best Buy (off Lohman
Blvd.). Need directions? Call our office at 575-523-1616.
Thanks for visiting our website! We
understand that families and kids have lots of options available
to them these days, and we appreciate your interest in our
center and our programs.
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