Op here. She os doing swimming and ballet now. She will continue swimming in the fall. She decides not to do ballet, but she likes music and dancing freestyle randomly. Rec classes are mostly 6-8 weeks , and most studio wants parents' obligation & commitment to sign contract. She likes those pom pom and mini skirt, that's why I think cheerleading maybe sound interesting to her. We are not planning to do competitive route, just for a few years of fun unless she insists on it. Thanks for recommendation of some gym recommendation , do they have open house for me to check out? She wants to learn cartwheel, tumbling, fliping, or holding a bar flipping. Does that sound more gynmastic?

She is into singing but she does not sing well. Any kid chorus or fun singing group for this age?

Lots of head injuries in both. Stick with swim and dance.

Why on earth are you signing a one-year contract for anything for a 5 year old? Try both -- find a gym (a lot in the G'burg area) to do a session of rec gymnastics class. See how she likes it and if she wants to try cheer, find a rec class for that.

And she may switch sports as she ages, most girls do drop out of competitive gymnastics when they get to HS, it's just much too time-consuming at that level. But it provides an outstanding foundation to move into any sport.

Gymnastics because they take safety precautions. Cheerleading can end traumatically with severe injuries because they do not.

Plus think ahead. As a former cheerleader thru HS, I am embarrassed by this and don't/won't admit it. I would be proud to be a former gymnast, but saying I was a cheerleader? No thanks

Cheerleading because it is compatible with a wider range of body types that your DD might grow into. Your DD might get "too big" for gymnastics too quickly, you never know. If you say she's already tall for her age...

Gymnastics

Anonymous wrote:DD is tall and skinny with long arms/legs. She has 2 years ballet background, but it was all more for fun than for real. She is done with ballet. She is going to be K in the fall, and I need to register in the summer for 1 year contract either for gynmastic or cheerleading. I am looking at twister for cheerleading and undecided yet for gynmastic (any recommendations in the gaithersburg/rockville/germantown area for girls only? ). What are the main big differences between these 2? I want her to learn hip hop, but she hates those baggy clothing.

So she’s 5 and has done some rec ballet…could go any way. You do sound like you would be a good fit for cheerleading though.

Is she not interested in other sports? Swimming is a more important skill than back handsprings in my opinion.

Cheer has a ton of gymnastics in tumbling and floor routine, which was my daughter's favorite part about gymnastics.

Gymnastics - Hills

Cheer - Dream Allstars

Both are off of Airpark in MoCo

Gymnastics is a better baseline for cheerleading than vice versa. However: what does she say she wants to do!? Surely at five she has an opinion?

a 1 year contract? That is crazy. I wouldn't sign that.

Find a place that will let her try it for a few months or sessions. She is in K, and signing a 1 year contract when it doesn't sound like she's tried it is a lot.

So... she's 5? She does not have a "ballet background." She took a movement class for a couple years. Which is good! But preschool ballet isn't really ballet and is fairly indistinguishable from other dance classes at that age.

I personally worry about kids getting hurt in cheerleading. I also worry about that with gymnastics, but if you pick a good gym, the level of stuff they do at this age (5-7) is generally not that dangerous. In cheerleading, I feel they push the tricks too fast without proper technique/training beforehand.

Instead of hip hop, sign her up for jazz dance classes. Easy to move into hip hop later and will give her a better basis for technique than just doing hip hop classes right away (I'd also consider dong more ballet, honestly, but only if she likes it).

Um…how about tennis?

DD is tall and skinny with long arms/legs. She has 2 years ballet background, but it was all more for fun than for real. She is done with ballet. She is going to be K in the fall, and I need to register in the summer for 1 year contract either for gynmastic or cheerleading. I am looking at twister for cheerleading and undecided yet for gynmastic (any recommendations in the gaithersburg/rockville/germantown area for girls only? ). What are the main big differences between these 2? I want her to learn hip hop, but she hates those baggy clothing.