How Can Cheer Gymnastics Support Young Learners to Develop Important Skills?

We have all heard of cheerleading and gymnastics but how familiar are we with the term cheer gymnastics? How can cheer gymnastics support young learners to develop important skills?

Cheer gymnastics is a programme that helps young children in their development of many other areas of the body and brain whilst developing their physical strength and mental strength.

Here are some of the areas of development that cheer gymnastics support in the development of young children:

Gross motor skills

Gross motor skills involve the larger muscles in the limbs and trunk of the body. Gross motor activities include crawling, walking, hopping, throwing and kicking. These skills relate to one’s awareness of the body, reaction to speed, coordination on the different parts of the body, balance and strength.

Spatial awareness

Spatial awareness involves moving around a space and being aware of the position of self and items around the self. This activity begins in one’s life as soon as one has the freedom to move and explore. When a baby starts to crawl from one place to another, it starts to be aware of space and how to fit or maneuver the space. Spatial sports enhances this development.

Vestibular balance

The vestibular system involves parts of the inner ear and brain that help control balance and eye movements. Any damage found in the vestibular system often results in dizziness and imbalance which in a young child, may cause them to knock into objects while walking or running or even not being able to walk in a straight line or on a balance beam.

Builds confidence and trust

Cheers are often loud and filled with expressions so it is a great platform for young children to release their energy through words and movement. The louder they are, the more they get noticed and this creates a different outcome in how they view themselves. In cheer gymnastics, when the participants shout out words in their cheer while moving, it enforces their confidence level whilst building their linguistic skills. They get to practice in their communication and showmanship. Cheer gymnastics involve paired work and team work so trust in the team mates is also established in the process.

Rhythm and movement

Musical skills are being developed in cheer gymnastics as the participants move along with music or chants. This enhances their musical intelligence whilst developing their rhythm and movement.

What happens when some of the skills above are not developed?

All the above skills are important foundations that would prepare a young child towards more complex activities for a child’s learning.

When some of the skills above are not developed, a young child may not be able to proceed to the next level of development.  He/ she may not be able to carry out a task or achieve a goal for his/ her age.

It is known that the development of the brain is closely related to the movement of the body. When a child gets the right activities and exercises to develop himself/ herself physically, the neuron of the child’s brain connects at a faster speed, which again builds the foundation to support a young child towards more challenging tasks.

To find out further on how young children or preschool children can develop the skills above through cheer gymnastics, join us on Zoom this Saturday, 27 March 2021 at 10.00am