12 Schools - 24 Hoops

A. L. Burruss Elementary: Coach Amber Tyler and Alb the Beaver.
(I'm pretty sure this will be my only photo-op, ever, with an over-sized stuffed beaver.)

Alphabet Hoops is focused on introducing kids to the joys and benefits of hula hooping. I do as much as I can with the time I have, but I have a family, a full-time job AND a penchant for crafting---all of which occupy a portion of the limited hours in my day.

So, to increase the number of kids that I reach, I also need to introduce hula hooping to adults who work with kids. To that end, my goal for 2012 is to donate two adult-sized hula hoops to the P.E. department of each of the 12 Marietta City Schools. (And, if the teachers are interested, each hoop handover will include a mini-introductory lesson to hooping!)

Check my donation tracking page for updates on my 2012 hoop donations to the Marietta City School system!

I, too, am a casual hooper!

My goodness, have you visited Hooping.org lately? It's a wonderful information source on all things hooping. Yesterday, there was a write-up by Abby Schwartz  that was coincidentally published on the same day as my "regular people hoop, too" Facebook post!

I, too, am a casual hooper. I LOVE introducing hooping to kids and grown-ups because it's EXERCISE THAT'S DISGUISED AS FUN!!! I will hoop in public (mostly to spread awareness of hooping), but I have absolutely no desire to perform. I am a "regular gal" who's a "casual hooper"!

On a side-note, this Monday will be the first day of my hooping class at A.L. Burruss Elementary! I'm looking forward to all the happy hooping faces I will see there!

Autism: The Power of a Hula Hoop

I haven't had the privilege to work with kids with Autism, but because of its meditative and calming aspects, I've long suspected that they would connect with hooping. This article on hooping.org speaks about the "Power of a Hula Hoop." One of the comments also made a lot of sense to me:

"I think the repetitive sound is soothing for them and it provides sensory input without anyone being in their “bubble” as well."

Hooping most definitely puts you in a "bubble." This is why I, someone who is not keen on drawing attention to myself, am able to hoop in public...I am so focused on my hooping on that I lose most of my awareness of the external world.

Happy New Year!

I'm so crazy excited about 2012! Hooping, quilting, building my community family, getting back into photography, driving a new Jeep (maybe :-)!

Happy New Year, everyone! May you all be blessed with good health, peace, and love!!!

Happy World Hoop Day!

(Marietta Center for Advanced Academics) MCAA Rocket---Some of my awesome hoop dance students

This picture was taken a couple of days ago at my very last hoop dance session with a few of the MCAA students. I will so miss seeing them on a weekly basis. As part of our last class, we successfully recorded their entry to the World Hoop Dance project:



It's not the entire choreographed dance, but this clip represents a major accomplishment on their parts---they had a relatively small amount of time to practice and learn the routine. They should be SO proud of their accomplishment, because I definitely am!

GIVEAWAY WINNERS!!!!!

I went to Random.org and plugged in the numbers. Congratulations to Taylor Oviedo---she won our grand prize package, and Natalie Shaw is the lucky recipient of the smaller prize package. Thanks to everyone who participated!

Are you following me on Facebook?

Since my last blog entry was over a month ago, one might get the impression that I've been letting Alphabet Hoops-related activities slide into obscurity. That is SO not the case! I'm working on so many hooping-related projects that I'm beginning to wonder if I've completely gone over the hooping edge.

Hoopnotized products are available here.

As I work towards getting my various hooping projects ramped up and ready to go, I have slowed  down on blog entries, but I am making frequent updates to my Facebook page...and Twitter. So if you miss my regular posts, please join me on Facebook.

(And don't forget to enter my hooping gear giveway! The drawing is next week!)