This week our classes are celebrating Pirate Week in honor of National Talk Like a Pirate Day coming up on Friday, September 19th. We are practicing walking the plank at our skill stations and being human cannonballs for our weekly ride.
So in honor of this silly little holiday, our skills of the week are stork stands and scales!
Scales help with balancing and focus, but more importantly they work on strengthening the ankle and lower leg. When we think about strength we usually talk about upper body and core body strength; however, lower body strength and coordination is what children tend to lack. Kids love to run, jump, climb, and skip around as they play both inside and out. All of that requires ankle and leg strength to support their bodies as they move around.
Stork Stand (Peg Leg Scale)
Help your little one by holding one of their hands or their hips.
Front Scale
Back Scale
After mastering the basic scales, try a few other things to help strengthen up those legs.
Try:
Holding each scale for 3, 5, or 10 seconds
Doing all of them without putting down your foot (the supporting leg will feel the burn!)
Doing them all without putting your foot down for longer periods of time (3, 5, 10 seconds each)
Have a family balancing contest with your child and see who can hold each position the longest
Try lifting your leg higher and higher to also strengthen the lifted leg
Happy strengthening!
My Gym Lake Mary 