Spotlight on Tumble Bee Gymnastics in Nanuet

Tumble Bee Gymnastics

Website - www.tumble-beegymnastics.com, Facebook - tumblebeegymnastics Phone - 845-623-2553

Owner: Cheryl Holm

How Long in Business: Tumble Bee started in Pearl River NY in August of 1986. This is our 35th school year in the county.

Primary Service of Business: Gymnastics and fitness for children 10 months - 12 years old and Private Birthday Parties! We specialize in programs for young children, parent classes & preschool classes. We have a Fun & Fit progressive program, and we also have our special needs class which we started 25 years ago.

What inspired you to choose this type of business: My daughter was 3 years old when she was invited to a Birthday Party in Pearl River when Tumble Bee first opened. I loved the whole concept, atmosphere, and excitement of the program. I love kids, and watching them having fun, exploring, and building confidence. A year later I started working part time and never left!

Was there any background you had that help in starting this business: I took Dance for 13 years and started tumbling at 3 years old, I was always playing some sort of sport growing up which continued as an adult. I always thought I would be a phys ed teacher but shocked everyone by going into retail management. So I was thrilled when I first walked into Tumble Bee. I knew this is where I was supposed to be.

Did you need certain skills/education: I have always loved working with kids. Starting as a day camp counselor in 6th grade & babysitting. After having my own children, I became very involved working with their co-op nursery school, teaching Sunday school, coaching & joining the elementary school & high school PTO's. My friends and I would take turns watching each other’s kids so we could work part time. When I started at Tumble Bee, the gymnastics part was easy. The rest was on the job training, procedures, coaching and safety certifications.

What makes your organization/ business special/different: Our Tumble Bee families and our fantastic staff. Without the support, love and confidence in us from our families and the warm, caring dedicated staff, we would not still be here. We put a lot of thought, time and energy into our lessons plans, theme weeks, and decorating, to keep the program challenging, safe & fun! We are the only gym in the area teaching the Fun & Fit progressive gymnastics poster reward program. Children learn much more when they are having fun, and gymnastics offers more physical and mental challenges than any other sport. We incorporate each piece of equipment into the learning process, which help to develop parts of the body as well as the mind. Each skill requires different levels of strength and flexibility along with spatial awareness. It’s very humbling to know how many lives our staff has touched over the years. I love when former students and grandparents return with their kids and grandkids.

What would you like people to know about your business: We have all had many challenges this year. It's so sad that many children’s facilities have not survived. We are grateful we are still here. We are looking forward to continuing our goal to have every child build self confidence, by being challenged, through a fun age-appropriate environment which will help them to succeed and to feel better about themselves. We also cannot wait to be able to add more classes with more spots, to start offering open gyms & Private Birthday parties again!

Favorite thing about being a Nanuet Chamber Member: The Chamber is a wonderful organization to be a part of with great people. I love being able to give back to the community through all the programs and events the chamber offers and supports.