If your child has expressed an interest in taking gymnastics, your local gymnastics center will have all sorts of classes for you to consider. While there will likely be some classes that provide an introduction to the many types of gymnastics, you also have the ability to enroll your child in a class that focuses on one specific discipline. For many children, floor gymnastics can be an appealing choice. This is an activity that will teach your child a wide range of moves that can be challenging to learn but empowering to master. Here are some moves that your child will learn in floor gymnastics.

Cartwheels

The cartwheel is a popular move in floor gymnastics, appearing in many gymnasts' routines at numerous points. This is a move in which your child will drop their hands to the ground on either side of their body, kick their legs through the air so that they're momentarily doing a handstand, and then land their feet on the ground and stand back upright. Your child will learn how to perform cartwheels to their left and right, and repeated practice with this move will allow your child to perform multiple cartwheels in quick succession.

Handsprings

Whereas your child will use a cartwheel to move to either side of their body, a handspring occurs either going forward or backward. There are some functional similarities between handsprings and cartwheels — namely, the fact that your child will place their hands on the ground and kick their feet overhead. Your child will start by learning front handsprings, but can eventually build up to include back handsprings in their repertoire. A lot of gymnasts use this move immediately before another move, which is something your child will learn as they gain experience.

Leaps

There are several different leaps that are popular in floor gymnastics, so you can expect that your child will get to learn many of them in their classes. A popular type of leap is a split leap. As its name suggests, this is a leap in which your child will jump into the air, perform the splits so that their legs are parallel to the ground, and then land. Eventually, your child will be able to get their split leaps higher off the ground, as well as be able to combine them with other moves in quick succession. Contact a local gymnastics center to learn more about its children's gymnastics classes.