Gymnastics-1, Swimming-Zip

There's a running joke in our family that I'm purposely steering Avery away from the pool and into the foam pits. I don't believe that's an entirely true statement. But I suppose when you get right down to it, gymnastics does seem to be edging out swimming in Dunker family sports category. But I think it's really just because of great timing and good ole' fashioned D-N-A.

So maybe I took her to a gym in NY at the age of 2. I swear it was only so that I could jump on the trampoline and mess around on beam every so often...bones and joints willing, of course. And it wasn't my fault that in NJ, after attending a gymnastics birthday party she asked me to sign her up again. I also take no responsibility in the fact that the best gymnastics club in the UK is a short 17 miles from our house (I'll send you a UK treat to the first who can can guess how long it takes us to get there). I can't help it that after one assessment session, that gym offered her an immediate spot, springing her ahead of a 9-12 month waiting list. Also, as most of you know and have graciously pointed out on more than one occasion, I pretty much sat on the bench when it came time for the bulk Avery's genetic make up. It's sad but true. She's easy going, never loses her temper, is a total genius, doesn't cuss like a sailor and has more patience than a pregnant elephant...can you see where I'm going with this? To further my claim of blamelessness Avery happens to be a girl. And since we females play absolutely no role in determining the sex of our babes, Dunks really has no one to blame but himself. I mean seriously, if Avery was a boy, would we even be having this little sports rivalry? But I digress, back to genetics. Most of the time I resign myself to the notion that I was merely a host for 9 months. However, the genes I did impart on our dear Avery I'm quite fond of. She'll never have the chance to look over someone's head while standing in line, she'll do more pull ups than all the boys in her class, she always be in the front row for group photos and in the back right corner of any military formation and her jeans will always be too long. So I can't help the fact that her strong little body was built for a gym instead of a pool.

I have to be honest here and say that I'm thrilled Avery loves gymnastics. It's what I know. And as ridiculous as this may sound, I'd rather tear all the skin off the palms of my hands from working uneven bars than walk around with legs that haven't seen a razor in 8 months. Okay, okay...the little Dunker in my head is telling me to "hold on a minute!" there are more potential issues with gymnastics than with swimming. So, I must admit a few things. Yes, I realize I'm ignoring the fact that she's got to flit about twisting and turning in a skimpy little leotard number but it's no different than a bathing suit, right? And there is that small possibility she could land on her: head-back-neck-arm-leg-stomach-side-shoulder-hip- bum-knee-thigh-ankle-elbow-wrist-and last but not least...pretty little face and cause serious bodily harm. But in the pool she could...drown!? And there has got to be some long term effect of all that chlorine on the skin, the lungs, the hair (mmmm...maybe that's the "root" of Dunker's hair loss?? ha!). Okay, so fused vertebrae, broken limbs, torn tendons, ripped palms, strained muscles and pulled ligaments aside...it's all part of the intrigue, the mystery, the danger and the fun of gymnastics. It hurts when you fall in the gym. When you fall in the pool you just get...wet. Where's the fun in that? Who wants to willingly jump into freezing cold water at 4am in December when you could wait until the afternoon and spend your entire practice in long sleeved spandex & sweatpants wishing your gym had the air conditioning on!? And why would anyone want to swim back and forth and back and forth for what must seem like an eternity when in 1 minute 30 seconds you can have finished your entire floor set. Finally, just about everyone on the planet knows how to swim. Boring! How many people can say they tried a full-twisting double back on floor? All right, enough of the pot shots about how gymnastics is a tougher therefore cooler sport than swimming. Here's the real point of this blah-blah-blah-blog:

Avery is really good. Last week her gym, Heathrow Gymnastics, held a Club Championship for all the members. It's a way for the girls to show off the new tricks and routines they've learned. It also gets them in front of a judge and allows them a few minutes in the spotlight. Keep in mind, she just started there in January and only goes once a week for one hour but out of over 50 little girls, Avery placed 6th (and that's after a fall off the beam). She was so excited about the meet, the night before it was all she could talk about. She wanted her leotard clean and her hair done with gel and glitter. Trust me, it wasn't the sparkles in her hair that made her shine. After the meet she was shocked that she placed and received not only a medal but a ribbon as well. Now we can't seem to get her to quit doing handstands against the living room wall, cartwheels in IKEA and round-offs in school.
These pictures are terrible so I apologize. My camera had a brief encounter with a bottle of Sprite over our last vacation.


Avery is the tiny one right above the white-haired lady's head.
She's the one with the red ribbon in the middle.

So when you boil all of this down, I'm proud of the genetic blueprints I've donated and I'm forever indebted to Matthew for those he provided. She will, without a doubt, end up fiercely competitive, she'll set her goals high and she won't quit until she reaches them, she constantly push herself and she'll never give up on anything. I think Dunks and I made a good team in terms of genetics despite not being able to agree on what sport we think is "tougher". Avery of course will be the deciding factor in what she ultimately wants to do. But for now, I wholeheartedly lay claim to and take comfort in her ability to flip, flop, twist, hop, spin and contort her itty-bitty frame in unimaginable positions. I am comforted because I know how fun and challenging it is for her right now. She's got her whole life to swim. As they say in all the athletic departments, it's one of those "life-time sports". And anyway, after all the pounding her body may do as a gymnast, swimming just might be the only thing that doesn't hurt every creaky bone in her body. :)

A day in the life of Avery...why does this feel like college?

So, many of you at home are probably wondering to yourselves: "What is it like in London for a 5 year old?" I thought it might be nice to be able to give you a little overview of how she spends her days in the UK.

She attends a private school in an area adjacent to ours. I would have loved to get her into one of two schools that are in walking distance from our house but there just aren't any spots open. As selfish and screwed up as this sounds, the desire was merely because I wanted to check out Jude Law or Ewan McGregor drop off their girls at either each day. Can you imagine? Excuse me...Jude...do you think your daughter would like to have a play date...like every day of the week? Then again, I don't have a nanny so I'd probably be turned down. Damn. That's all right, there's something not quite right about men in skinny jeans with pointy shoes. Eck!!

Her school is very small but she's blended in really well with the other children. Maybe blended isn't the right word since she is one of the few non-ethnic Caucasian children there. Her classroom is chock full of different nationalities, cultures and backgrounds. When you walk into her class, it's as if you stepped foot in the UN. Her teachers are from South Africa, India, France and of course all over the UK. A few months ago, she was allowed to dress up in a "National Costume" to support UNICEF's Day for a Change campaign. Unfortunately, the only thing I could come up with for Avery was a cowgirl, and that wasn't even my idea.

So back to her day. In school they are incredibly busy. They do reading, writing and maths in the morning. The afternoons are reserved for more of a "play" atmosphere (if you could call drama, swimming lessons, french and art, "play"). To offer some perspective, if Avery was at home in New Jersey right now, she'd be attending a pre-school for 4 hours a day, Monday-Friday. Then in September she'd attend kindergarten...half days. Here...Avery goes to school from 8:30 until 3:15pm, 5 days a week. She's already reading books and has picked that up so quickly it constantly shocks me. They've already started working on addition, subtraction and are in the early stages of fractions.

In the UK they focus the children very very early. For instance, Sloane will start attending a nursery program this September for 3 days a week and then in April she'll attend full day nursery. Crazy huh? They begin learning letter sounds and other things that get them ready to start reading. They do not learn letter names here. Instead they learn what the letter says: A says 'ah', C says 'ca'. It's very irritating for the UK teachers when the American children arrive writing in all capital letters. It was a small hurdle for us at first, but Av jumped it quicker than we imagined she would.

Currently, Avery has 5 workbooks at school. One for maths, another for 'Topic' which is where they write their sentences, a third for art, a fourth for more letters and a fifth with handouts consisting of maths and writing. On top of that she has two homework workbooks that must be done each evening. They have also started with spelling tests on Fridays. They get 10 words and are quizzed on how well they spell them as well as how well it's written. Quite a lot for one so young. Thankfully Avery doesn't stress about it and enjoys doing her work. She's very studious and has won two Head Teachers Awards already. Talk about a proud mommy!

It's not all work and no play for Avery and her classmates. They have PE twice a week and on one of those days they all get on a bus and head to a pool for swimming lessons. Often they can be found playing on the local playground. We also have jazz and gymnastics during the week as well. It's quite busy around here to say the least.

We'll be at the current school for two more years at which time, Avery will be given standardized UK tests. Those will evaluate her abilities and are mandatory in order to get her into another school. We have our eye on one school not far from our house that is supposedly really good. Already we've had to put her on the waiting list to be put on a waiting list for 2009. Yes, that's right...a waiting list to be put on another waiting list. If she performs well enough on the standardized tests, we'll receive a formal application in late 2008 at which time we'll have to immediately fill it out and return it the same day. That's so that we secure one place of 250 for this particular school. Then if her application makes it on the list of 250 applicants, she'll be brought in for more assessments. Depending on how that goes, she may or may not get a place in that school. Here's the kicker...there are only 24 spots available. It's ridiculous isn't it? Applications for school equals college in my mind...NOT GRAMMAR SCHOOL!!! It's a good thing they don't test the parents!!