Welcome to Gym Magic!
If you’re looking for a wonderful place for kids to LEARN, LAUGH & GROW, you’ve come to the right place!!!
We offer a host of wonderful programs geared just for children because we know they are the future; they deserve the very best we can provide! All of our programs have a strong focus on developing and perfecting physical skills within our various sports, but most importantly, we specialize in the ‘whole child’ because we believe every child is a champion! Every child is unique; every child can succeed. We build muscles, yes; but we also build a child’s self worth.
We believe in excellent training; we believe in fun and challenge. Our sports are also used as ‘tools’; tools to develop life skills such as persistence, self-reliance, dedication and responsibility. Because our sports are fun and also challenging, we have a wonderful opportunity to teach life skills while our students are simply ‘having fun’.
Once kids internalize that learning is fun, their futures can explode with possibilities! Building positive learning attitudes that set the stage for a life-long love of learning is the foundation of our program. We believe success and the processes involved in success are learned, and we believe our programs (that are steeped in FUN combined with challenge) help teach children about success. The hope of every parent is to have happy, successful children, and we believe we can assist in this great endeavor!
IMPORTANT BENEFITS OF OUR PROGRAMS
Many of the benefits of our programs are not readily apparent because they work internally. Smiles and laughter are always great clues for parents to let them know their children are having fun and enjoying themselves, but there’s another very important aspect that isn’t so visible but is extremely important. This relates to brain development and what neuroscience has learned about movement and sensory integration. Let me quote from a noted neurophysiologist, Dr. Carla Hannaford:
“The more closely we consider the elaborate interplay of brain and body, the more clearly one compelling theme emerges: Movement is essential to learning. Movement awakens and activates many of our mental capacities. Movement integrates and anchors new information and experience into our neural networks. And movement is vital to all the actions by which we embody and express our learning, our understanding and ourselves.”
It turns out the movement and the stimulation of the vestibular system (3D canals in the inner ears) in early childhood actually helps prepare and develop the brain for what we term “higher learning” (focus, concentration, problem solving, speech, language, reading, writing, and social-emotional maturity). Movement (rolling, climbing, spinning, jumping, etc.) helps organize and facilitate the flow of information within the brain and lays the foundation for the development of “higher learning”. John J. Ratey, MD, had this to say about movement and brain development, “Mounting evidence show that movement is crucial to every other brain function, including memory, emotion, language, and learning…Our “higher” brain functions have evolved from movement and still depend on it.”
We’ve come full circle in this riddle of learning, movement and education. In the past, learning and higher thought were considered to be entirely separate from movement. Play and movement were relegated to second place when it came to the process of learning. We now know that communication within the brain improves when it is organized with movement. There is also plenty of evidence showing the positive effects of movement and exercise on behavior and our mental states. So at a time when our society is spending less time and money on movement (exercise & active sports) and more on computers and technology, we find that the process of learning is actually connected to movement and exercise. Our challenge now is to merge and balance the needs of our technological society with our biology, which has developed using movement to properly integrate our brain’s communication.
Although we at Gym Magic believe learning to perform a flip, a turn or a backstroke are great ways to learn new skills and develop self-confidence in the process, there’s really much, much more going on during this process. And as our children spend more time sitting (watching TV, using the computer, playing computer games, etc.), it is imperative to balance these activities with a steady supply of integrative movement activities that stimulate the brain in different ways and promote proper brain development for later “higher learning”. And now the best part – your kids will want to participate because our activities are just naturally FUN! They won’t even know that something deeper is actually taking place; they’ll just know that they are having fun! And IF they aren’t having fun, we offer a full tuition, money-back guarantee for first time students.
Our Programs
GYMNASTICS
Gymnastics is the foundation of our center. It was our first sport, and it has laid the groundwork for all of our other programs. We have been teaching gymnastics since 1993 and have instructed thousands of Las Cruces youth over the years. Gymnastics is truly a “super sport” in that it develops the body, the mind and the emotions.
Gymnastics is a super sport because of the strength, agility and flexibility it develops over time. And the beginning “time” for our program is at 12 months of age in our parent and child classes called Magical Moves. Magical Moves is a fun exploration of movement in its many, varied forms for kids from 12-35 months old.
All our preschool classes take place in TumbleLand, a richly decorated, dedicated space for preschoolers. TumbleBugs, our program for 3 to 5 year olds, also meet upstairs in their own private gym. This separation from the main gym offers a safer and less hectic environment for our little ones and also allows us to provide “preschool-sized” equipment for the smaller hands and feet.
After TumbleBugs, we start our school-aged gymnastics program for boys and girls in the main gym downstairs with “Over the Rainbow”, a six level progressive program which teaches skills in small, incremental steps. We love the “Wizard of OZ”, so you will notice many themes based on this famous movie because we also believe in ‘heart, courage and brains’!
Progressions provide the greatest success for the student as they approach skills in small incremental steps that eventually lead to more complicated skills. This also has built-in safety factors as skills are developed in small manageable steps. Our school-aged programs follow USA Gymnastics Level 1 through Level 3.
We also offer USA Gymnastics Jr. Olympic competitive teams for boys and girls from Level 3 to Level 10. We are a USA Gymnastics Member Club and follow USA Gymnastics guidelines. For those not wanting to compete, we have a Performance Teams that allows one to perfect skills and perform at various local events without competition.
SWIMMING
We are the only dedicated learn-to-swim program in our area and the only US Swim School Association Member in New Mexico. Our swim program has 10 separate progressive levels that gently introduce children to the wonderful world of water! We start at 6 months of age in our WaterBabies classes where moms and dads join our teachers for games and songs as the babies become comfortable in the water environment. We even have a separate WaterBabies pool that provides added security and comfort for all of our WaterBabies!
We offer YEAR-ROUND classes as this has been found to be the best method for long term success according to the foremost experts in the swim industry. Once a child is 3 years old, they are invited into the main pool and start classes without the parent in the water. (Never fear, we have a glassed in air-conditioned observation area just a few feet away for parents!) We keep a very low ratio, 4 to 5 maximum students per teacher, which provides individual attention while still promoting social skills.
We offer beginner classes for all ages followed by intermediate and advanced classes for stroke development and technique. After mastering the strokes, we offer a Pre-Team.
Our teachers are specially trained and certified to teach swim lessons, so there is consistent teaching from one level to the next level. We are able to offer this consistency because we teach “year round” instead of just in the summer.
Our pools each have state-of-the-art equipment that is routinely serviced and maintained. Our water is kept between 88 – 90° for the added comfort necessary to promote the very best environment for learning. Swim school owners across the country emphatically state that warm water is critical for swim lessons. If kids have shivers and goose bumps, it’s really hard for them to pay attention and actually learn. So even though the cost of heating our pools is great, the outcome for the student is so much better it justifies the additional cost.
DANCE
Our Dance ‘til Dawn program starts at 3 years of age with dance / gym combination classes. These are fun exploratory classes that offer some gymnastics with some dance (ballet or tap). Our dance studio offers classes in Pre-Ballet, Ballet, Tap, Jazz and Hip Hop. Our dance studio has state-of-the-art wood floors with added cushion to protect those young joints. Our teachers bring fun and excitement into each dance style whether classes are for beginners or advanced students. We have a performance each May or June to showcase our young dancers.
CHEER
We offer beginning cheer in our Cheer Academy, which begins instruction with Kinder Cheer for 4 to 6 year olds. We also offer Tumbling classes geared especially for cheerleaders. Cheer I and Cheer II offer beginning to advanced cheer for grade school aged students. Our teachers will bring cheer to life with fun moves and motions for each student to learn.
For the serious cheer student, Xtreme All-Star squads are our competitive year-round All-Star Cheer program. Students must try-out for positions on each All-Star squad where tumbling is a must. (If you need to learn how to tumble, join our Cheer Academy first and take our Tumbling classes.) Our cheer coaches are credentialed through the US All Star Federation (USASF) plus they are the state certifiers for New Mexico. Safety is always number one here.
We offer numerous camps throughout the year for cheer, so keep an eye out for the next one! Our teachers will also create a custom cheer class for a school cheer squad that wants help on any area of cheer.
PRESCHOOL Child Development Center
Ashley’s Garden is a private, preparatory preschool specializing in 3, 4 and 5 year olds. Ashley’s Garden is distinguished for its learning foundations. We offer a Montessori-based curriculum combined with a large slate of physical activities (remember, movement and brain development go hand in hand).
We believe our students get the best of the best! Not only do they receive a well-rounded educational experience, they also receive the benefits of weekly lessons in gymnastics, swimming and dance, which we now know are extremely important to brain development and future learning (see above).
We utilize S’cool Moves, an integrated movement program designed to address sensory processing and ‘promote the ease of learning’. In addition, we also utilize Zoo-phonics™, a fun multi-sensory introduction to phonics and literacy. In short, Ashley’s Garden provides a wonderfully well balanced program for children aged 3 to 5 years of age.
We believe it’s important not to ‘throw away’ almost 60 hours each month (2:30 to 5:30 Monday through Friday). This is equal to almost another 10 full days of school even though it’s ‘After School’. We want to use this valuable time to develop more social skills, more team work, work on one’s homework plus have time in the gym and pool to also relax and have a little fun!
We also utilize a special movement program, S’cool Moves, which helps promote the ease of learning as we have noticed many students do not have all the fundamental movement skills connected to learning.
Our hope is to finish homework during our After School Program so our families can enjoy their evening without the added stress of unfinished school work.
ADULT WATER AEROBICS & FITNESS
Adults may attend water aerobics (warm water!!), water stretch classes, yoga, or land circuit work-outs. If you have a student in any of our other programs, the adult registration fee will be waived and there is no annual contract. You simply pay monthly tuition.
CAMPS
We host awesome summer camps, holiday camps, cheer camp, dance camps & gymnastics camps! We have offered fun, safe camps since 1993. During the school year if school is out, you can count of us because we’ll have day camps for the kids!
Summer is a special camp time, and this is where we really shine! We offer over 25 different theme-based camps so summer is never boring! And most importantly, our seasoned staff is trained to provide a safe, nurturing environment for our campers. We have a number of field trips during the school to add a little something special.
Summer camps are also important as they impact the dreaded ‘summer brain drain’ if kids are left at home to simply watch TV. Studies have shown that coordination and motor skills are the best predictors for success in reading and math which is why our camps are so important while the kids are not attending school they can still be working on coordination and motor skills!
Proshop & Concession
We have a small Proshop in-house which features a host of great leos, suits, swim diapers plus seasonal items! Our concession is open during the evenings during school and all day during summer camps.
Gym Magic’s office is open Monday through Friday, 8am to 8pm and Saturday 9am to 1pm. Stop in to have a look around, observe classes or take a tour! We’re located at 2341 Entrada Del Sol, Las Cruces, NM, directly behind Best Buy (off Lohman Blvd.). Need directions? Call our office at 575-523-1616.
Thanks for visiting our website! We understand that families and kids have lots of options available to them these days, and we appreciate your interest in our center and our programs.
With warm regards,
Nancy L. Bates, PhD, MT (ASCP)
President, Gym Magic, Inc.