At Corianna's other school she was always the slowest child when running and was not very physically active because she knew she didn't excel at it (something we see academically also and hope to help her develop skills to deal with this). When she was three and four, in dance class she would sit along the wall and play with the smaller children who didn't dance because the girls her age could do things better than she could. There was a special needs child in her class who had much difficulty in physical activities and Corianna would come home sad and say, but Mommy- even "so and so" runs faster than me.
Ms. Delany has done a FANTASTIC job working with her! Corianna had 2-3 years of swimming lessons and still couldn't swim when she came to Countryside. In one summer, Ms. Delany taught her how to swim. More importantly, she made Corianna feel comfortable with her abilities and was able to push her to do better without letting Corianna hide from trying new things. Corianna must feel safe and secure in her class and not feel intimidated by the fact that other people are doing better than she is otherwise she would not be doing as well! I would never have enrolled Corianna in gymnastics anywhere other than Countryside because I knew that Ms. Delany would create an emotionally safe learning environment, rich with excellent physical education training, in order for Corianna to develop her skills. Had she gone anywhere else, she would have tried to hide in the background and not push to improve. Her grandparents visited about a month ago and one of the first things they commented on was how much stronger she is and how amazed they were with her gross motor improvements!
Corianna was so excited about her award that she made a tower of boxes next to her bed for it to stand on and she fell asleep last night watching her trophy.
Once again, I find myself incredibly grateful for your teaching staff! Thank you!!!!
Countryside Parent
