Part of the job.

"A preschool activities fun class to develop the foundations of physical activities such as running, jumping, climbing and balancing. Tumbling Tots aims to increase children’s confidence and self-esteem through physical challenge and achievement and to encourage co-operation and interaction with other children".

From the Feeling Great website

When we first started Tumbling Tots at Karori Rec Centre about a year ago I was impressed with the fact that the leaders demonstrate the equipment. I could see my daughters watching them carefully and trying to perform the same actions, which raised their level of performance, and therefore confidence and achievement considerably simply through clear understanding.

However I've been getting progressively more disappointed with my children's Tumble Tots classes at over the last year. Usually there are two leaders, one of each sex, and the man demonstrates while the woman describes what he's doing. This teaches that appropriate female behaviour is sitting and talking instead of doing, which is not why we pay to come to a gym with our daughters. Originally I used to go on a Thursday morning and when I talked about how much I would appreciate them sharing the demonstration the female half of that team said her back was too bad to demonstrate, and once a different woman came and she did demonstrate. We rescheduled our lives in order to go on a Saturday to avoid the woman whose disability prevented her from being an active female role-model.

But Saturdays have been no better and today was worst of all. There were two women leaders and neither demonstrated. They both sat in the circle with the children and one described the circuit in words. They then stood together and chatted while the children tried to guess what they were supposed to do in each spot. It's hard to feel confident when you don't know what you're trying to achieve.

This lack of respect for their own programme isn't good enough. They need some attention from management and a workshop that includes the importance of modelling in the role of teaching young children and a refresher about the importance of showing rather than telling.

But I don't think I have the patience to wait for them to improve.