Orlando Gymnastics: A Quality Gymnastics Program in Central Florida

Elisabeth on the Balance Beam @Orlando Gymnastics

Jonah doing a handstand @Orlando Gymnastics

When we first relocated to central Florida from North Carolina, we were living in our RV at a resort in the Kissimmee area. In an attempt to get the kids acclimated to the new area, I wanted to get them started in a regular activity. Gymnastics was something in which they were familiar and they both had an interest. I found out about Orlando Gymnastics and took them to a trial class. Afterwards, I immediately signed them up for the weekly class - that was in January of 2014.

At the end of March 2014, we moved to the north side of Orlando. Despite the much longer drive, typically 45 minutes, we continued to be loyal participants. Jonah quickly advanced to the intermediate boys class and Elisabeth made a lot of progress on balance. I felt the program offered quality instruction and I wanted to provide some continuity for the kids considering our recent move and travels. Therefore, we stuck with it - even when I-4 traffic made me crazy and lengthened our commute to 90 minutes. (I often would take the longer toll road just to avoid the possibility of this.)

Finally, this June, I decided I just didn't want to do the drive anymore. So with several summer trips on the calendar I withdrew them, but with the intent of getting them into another program closer to home at a later date. In the 18 months they trained at Orlando Gymnastics my kids learned a lot and they developed muscle that they would not otherwise have. At their last summer showcase in June, we were able to see them demonstrate all that they achieved in their time there. This video highlights some of the skills they were working on.


I can't say enough about the coaches at Orlando Gymnastics - in particular, Coaches Val, JC, Toni, Antonio, and Calum. Coach Val was great at motivating my son and really knows how to speak the language of young boys. JC has amazing strength in supporting the tumbling and flips. Antonio, Toni and Calum were great with my daughter - very encouraging. Coach Caitlyn keeps the whole show moving with a great smile and positive attitude. In my experience, there are a lot of great folks here and great value for your money - just a great overall program. I hope we can find something comparable closer to home this fall.

Chalk Mandalas

I had never heard of a mandala until a month ago when my daughter got a very cool Ravensburger Deco Mandala-Designer Drawing Machine for her birthday. We both had fun creating designs with it. Then a homeschool group we just joined had a chalk and nature mandala making event today. (It's funny how once you are introduced to a new idea it seems to pop up again and again.) I'm not very good at coming up with ideas for art activities. Having been just introduced to this art form, I doubt I would have thought to create them with chalk. (When I refer to mandalas here, I simply mean art with radial symmetry.) So it was nice to jump on the bandwagon of someone else's idea who has a lot more art knowledge than I. We came up with our own unique designs and then bailed due to the heat. I do hope to do more art and art appreciation this year for all of our benefits. I love learning new things with my kids and this is a subject in which I feel particularly deficient.

ART soothes the SOUL

(somebody get me a coloring book.....)

Jonah's white chalk mandala

Elisabeth and I worked on this mandala complete with mushrooms and a few leaves

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Beating the Florida Heat in Cape Canaveral

An rainbow over the Jetty Park Pier

Florida summers can be brutal and this one is no exception. Instead of spending all summer hibernating in air conditioned buildings, we decided to schedule some trips near water. My husband works remotely and thus it is a little easier for us to take in a change of scenery. The downside is that he only gets to fully enjoy our locale in evenings and weekends.

This past week was spent a mere hour away from our homebase at Jetty Park in Cape Canaveral. The campground is decent and the beach and pier are walking distance away. So I was able to take the kids to the beach most mornings and the hubby and I got in a little fishing from the pier in the evenings. The afternoon sun in Florida is blazing hot, but it is often followed by some fairly intense thunderstorms sometimes lasting into the early evening. While the storms themselves can be a nuisance, their remnants make for dramatic sunsets. On this trip, the evenings were my favorite part of the day particularly near the water where the cool sea breezes keep the bugs and humidity at bay.

Elisabeth inspecting a spadefish

Sunset from the Jetty Park Pier

Besides swimming and fishing, we were fortunate enough to witness the launch of a Delta IV Rocket during our stay from Cape Canaveral Air force Base - the launch site is only 6 miles away. The coming and going of various large ships from Port Canaveral especially the massive cruise liners provided a novelty for us as well. To top it off, we just happened to arrive at the inlet in time to see a trident submarine enter and then 30 minutes later depart the base across the inlet.

Watching a Delta IV launch from Jetty Park

The view from our campsite of a Carnival cruise liner leaving Port Canaveral

There are other great destinations in the area some more kid-friendly than others. We ventured out to the Brevard Zoo - a 30-minute drive from Jetty Park. The Dinosaur Store in Cocoa Beach provided some entertainment during one particularly rainy afternoon. There is a mall and movie theater in Merritt Island and a free Air Force Space and Missile Museum thought daddy was more interested in that venue.