Videos for Home Learning: Gymnastics and More!

How is everyone holding up out there? My family has been doing our part in flattening the curve and haven’t ventured farther than our woods in days. We’re trying to adjust to this new reality while settling into a healthy, nourishing rhythm. It is a challenge for us. We’re a busy, always on the go type of family and we’re all jumping out of our skin just a little. Frustration, boredom, pent up energy, and mood swings have been regular parts of the past few days. However, there is also more snuggling, creativity, free play outside, squirrel watching, reading stories, and baking! And somewhere in between those extremes, there is far too much screen time. It’s one of the harsh realities of the situation! Parents still have to work and kids are home all day. If this were a real vacation with no work to be done, I could spend more of my day guiding them into activities and avoiding the screen time, but that just isn’t the current situation. I’m sure some of you are experiencing the same, so our ACM crew has been working hard on developing online programming for our community that will provide an engaging experience during that screen time. Hopefully it will also inspire some self directed, non-screen time projects along with healthy movement. Perhaps it can buy you some time to breathe, work, exercise (maybe with them if you’re brave enough), or have a glass of wine too early in the day. ;) 

We have an amazing group of people working at ACM and we are doing everything we can to make sure that we can continue to support them in the event of an extended shut down. In turn, they are doing an amazing job of supporting us by shooting videos on gymnastics instruction along with a variety of videos on crafting, juggling, cooking, Spanish, music and more. On our public Facebook page you will find videos for your kids that we posted today. Currently, we have three videos available: handstand tutorial, juggling instruction, and a bird feeder craft. For all of our customers who are enrolled for the spring session, we are also putting together a new Facebook group for social learning. This is where we will post the majority of our videos. We will continue to post new videos each day. 

For the most part, these are videos your children can follow independently. Some of the craft videos may need supervision for one or two steps, but can still mostly be done without supervision. In the gymnastics videos, we stick to gymnastics that can be done safely at home and stress that the kids choose a safe location to follow along. The most common injury for kids doing gymnastics at home is a broken toe from kicking furniture, so make sure they find somewhere with enough space. Outside in the sun is an awesome option! There are also strength and flexibility components in the videos. Our goal is that all of our gymnasts come back to the gym stronger, more flexible, and with a better understanding of technique so that they are ready to take off learning harder skills. These are the areas that we can never spend enough time on in the gym, so let’s take advantage of this extra time now! 

We will post a link to the new Facebook social learning group on Wednesday with instructions on how to join. For now, follow our public Facebook page here: 

https://www.facebook.com/ashevillecommunitymovement/

More to come. Stay well out there.

COVID-19 UPDATE: WEEK OF MARCH 16th

ACM Families,

As you all know, Roy Cooper announced a mandatory closing of all schools beginning Monday, March 16. We were relieved to hear his message as research shows that proactive school closures are one of the most powerful interventions we can employ at this time. We have been watching closely and agonizing over making the right decision for our community. Over the past ten days, it feels like we have read every article out there on COVID-19. What our research is telling us, without a doubt, is that the time to act is now. We all have an obligation at this time to use social distancing as much as we possibly can. We know that many people do not have the option to work from home and that our healthcare workers certainly do not have that option. This makes it even more important for those of us who do have the option to make the right decision at every opportunity. For this reason, we feel that it is our responsibility to close our doors for all programs for at least the week of March 16-22. 

 For now, we are taking it one week at a time. We are hopeful that North Carolina’s testing capacity will increase this week and that, by the end of the week, we will have a better understanding of the situation in our area. As we continue to navigate these waters, we will follow the guidance of the CDC and our local health department along with taking our own look at what is helping in other countries as they battle this pandemic just a few weeks ahead of us. We will update you on our decision each week.

 Our current plan is to postpone the start of our spring session and proceed with an 11 week session once we are able to re-open. We will maintain a liberal make up policy if you are not comfortable returning at that time or if you are not able to attend classes in the early summer. We will do whatever we need to do to make sure you get all of your classes. In the interim, we are working on creating short and fun lessons for your kids to participate in from home. We have lots of ideas for resources that will make your time at home more fun and will help your kids maintain a feeling of connection with their community. 

 

As you all know, this is the time we would normally begin preparing for Spring Show. Everything is currently too unknown to make hard plans regarding the show, but we have decided that we will continue planning and, when we are cleared to gather in large groups again, the show will go on. It may end up being a summer show, but we promise that it will be a fantastic party to celebrate making it through this difficult time. Let’s give the kids something awesome to look forward to. The online programming we are working on will include videos to begin learning the choreography. We predict that this will be an especially fun way to keep the kids involved while they’re stuck at home. 

 

Please know that closing our doors temporarily is the hardest business decision we have ever made. We are worried about how long we can sustain a closure but we are trying to be brave and make the best decision for our community. We’ve dedicated our lives to this business for the past eight years and it’s hard to imagine even a day with our doors fully closed. It is even harder when the timeline is so unknown. Please remember that there are so many incredible small businesses in our town and many of them are facing the same hard decisions. Let’s do everything we can to support them through this time and of course to support each other. Remember that the more we all stay home now, the shorter this time period may be. Spend some time in the sun and enjoy the extra time with your kids. We know first hand that they are fantastic at lifting spirits. :) 

 

Thank you, as always, for your continued support. 

 

Becca and Angie

CLOSED FOR FUN NIGHT MARCH 13th & 14th

As most of you are probably aware, the City of Asheville declared a local state of emergency on Thursday, March 12 and put a limit on gatherings of 100 people or more starting today. In addition, the state’s health department has requested that all gatherings with more than 100 people who will be within six-feet of one another be canceled and has recommended we all practice social distancing. While Fun Night does not draw a crowd of 100, it does typically include 50 or more. In hard hit areas in our country, where testing is more available, gatherings have already been limited to 50. Asheville is currently waiting on the results of COVID-19 tests and, as of March 12, due to limited resources has only been able to test a total of 9 people. This tells us that the level of outbreak locally is entirely unknown. Until we have more information regarding the situation in our city, it seems prudent to act as we would if the numbers were high and move ahead with strategies that are proving effective in the hard hit areas. This includes limiting gatherings and practicing social distancing. While we can implement social distancing in our structured classes, it is impossible to enforce it within our current fun night structure. We feel that out of a need for an abundance of caution it is the responsible and ethically correct decision to cancel fun nights for this weekend.

For now, we are only canceling Fun Night for March 13th and 14th. We will continue to watch the situation unfold and will update you as soon as we make a decision for the following weekend. Please know that this decision is extremely hard for us. We know that both parents and children rely on Fun Nights and the program brings us so much joy, but it is important that we make decisions that are in line with countries that have been able to slow the spread of COVID-19. In all of these countries, measures were put in place early. It is easy to feel out of control in this situation, but the truth is that we can all help contain this and flatten the curve. The only way to do that is by making these hard decisions. If we all work together and make the hard decisions now, maybe we will be dealing with the fallout for a shorter period of time. We encourage you all to avoid crowds and do whatever you can to slow the spread of COVID-19. These strategies will protect our most vulnerable population and will keep our healthcare system from becoming overloaded and unable to help those who need it.  

Please continue to check your email and follow us on Facebook for faster updates. Thank you for your continued support and please stay well. 

Becca and Angie

ACM COVID-19 UPDATE

Dear ACM Families,

Like you, we are keeping up with the latest news regarding the spread of COVID-19 and trying to decide how best to prepare and plan for the inevitable arrival of the virus in WNC.  There is enough known information to expect that our community will be severely impacted but not enough information to know when and for how long. So, like you, we are playing a guessing game and, at this time, are continuing our regular schedule while knowing that we might have to shut down temporarily in the near future. 

We apologize for not getting information out sooner as we’re sure it has been on everyone’s mind. We jumped into action as we watched cases pick up in the U.S. over the past week and have been using every spare minute to put new policies into place and plan for the next few weeks. This is what we are doing to minimize the chance that transmission of COVID-19 will occur in our facility:

  1. All students must wash hands before entering the gym for classes and we encourage them to wash hands before leaving our facility

  2. We are not using stamps as a reward at the end of class (we are trying to find an alternative as we know the kids love the stamps)

  3. Staff must wash hands upon entering the facility and between each class they teach

  4. Disinfecting of door knobs, tables, benches, light switches, counters, bathrooms etc is completed several times a day

  5. Mats and other gym equipment are sanitized daily in addition to regular cleaning

  6. Ball pit, tunnel, and foam pit are now off limits 

  7. Staff who are not well will not work and will be allowed sick time

  8. We are implementing a very liberal and flexible makeup policy.  We will allow as many makeups as classes missed and makeups can be extended into the summer or will be scheduled in classes with extra space.  If needed, we will create make up opportunities at the weekends later in the Spring. This will make it easier for parents to feel comfortable keeping kids home when they are sick.

What you can do to support:

  1. Don’t bring your child to class or practice if they are not feeling well or if anyone in your family has COVID-19 symptoms.

  2. If your child has been sick, they need to have been fever free for 48 hours before returning to class. If you have any reason to believe your child’s symptoms were due to COVID-19, please follow the two week quarantine. Remember that symptoms are mild in children.

  3. Send your child with a water bottle – the water fountain should not be used

  4. Make sure your child’s hands and face are clean before they come to class

  5. Please drop off your child instead of waiting in the lobby during your child’s class unless they are preschool or kindergarten and you feel they need you to be there.  This will reduce the chance that adults are spreading or contracting the virus. (we will implement a drop off and pickup system to eliminate the need for parents to come into the lobby)

  6. Encourage your children to not touch their nose and face and to refrain from touching others (this is a hard one as I think we have the most loving group of kids in Asheville!)

  7. Make sure your children know to wash their hands using the CDC method.  They need to wash for at least 20 seconds and thoroughly dry their hands.

  8. Carry hand sanitizer (if you have it) in your car and have your child use it before entering and after exiting. Hand washing is better, but this might help limit the spread of the virus on and from our front door.

  9. Remind your children to catch all coughs and sneezes in their elbows.

As we all go through this together, we will try our best to communicate in a timely manner and respond to your questions and emails. Please have patience with us as we navigate these uncharted waters. Our concern is for our community and we want to do what is best for our ACM families and staff. We know how important it is for children to have consistency in their lives and the opportunity to exercise and expend their energy. We hope to continue to provide that opportunity but will also need to follow CDC and governmental regulations that will decrease community risk.  We will notify you immediately if we make changes to our current schedule. Please continue to check your email frequently and follow us on Facebook to get faster updates. 

Thank you for your continued support of ACM.  We appreciate all of our families and hope you all stay well.

Sincerely,

Angie and Becca and your ACM staff


2018 Spring Show Schedule

Please find your child's performance time before registering for the show. If your child absolutely cannot participate at their scheduled time but wants to do the show, please contact us. We can't make any promises, but if at all possible we will make it work for your child. For Ninja classes, you will receive an email with your child's scheduled time. If you have a Ninja along with another child in a different class, they will perform in the same session. For Advanced Gymnastics, Session 5 is open to any advanced gymnastics student who would like to perform a second time. 

Please look for an email this evening about registering for the spring show. Registration will be online and must be completed my Mon, Apr 23. Thank you!!

 

 

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