Meet Warren Johnson, owner and manager of Johnson Dance and Gymnastics, Inc. His gym is located in Valley View, about a half hour’s drive from our Preschool.
Warren is one of the great "silent" friends of our agency. Once a month he opens his gym exclusively for our Preschool. He has been doing this for fourteen years, starting out with just once a year visits and getting so much pleasure from it that we now go once a month! At the urging of one of our preschool staff, Keith Filip, I went last week. Keith said that as far as he knew I might well be the first Sight Center Executive Director to make a visit and say thank you. Warren thought I was.
What joy! For 90 minutes our children have the gym to themselves, using all of the equipment–a large matted floor to run on, a modified parallel bar to swing and, with some assistance, do a somersault, various low to the ground balance beams, and a 60 foot trampoline to jump back and forth on. Besides just sheer exuberance, this is a fantastic opportunity for large motor and balance activities, building confidence to try something new, and learning to listen and follow instructions in a group.
I have to admit I held my breath as I saw some of our kids jumping as high as they could just inches from the edge on a mat raised about a foot off the ground. What a big tumble that was just inches away–but that was the whole point–learning where that edge was and not going over. No spills occurred, by the way (big sigh of relief), and if someone had, the fall would have been onto another mat. Keith and Warren organize each session.
Why does Warren do this? Simple answer: “How could I not?” he says, “I had no idea how much these kids could do.”
Visit his website
www.johnsongymnastics.com. Drop him a note or give him a call and say thanks.