Handstands, cartwheels? How to teach them?!

[katepol]

It seems that many of dd's peers (age 6/7) can do handstands and cartwheels, and have basically worked out how to by themselves.
DD is inherently cautious, but wants to be able to do them. How can I break it into stages and get her to realise that the only way to do it is to have some conviction, rather than just half eartedly give it a go and end up in a heap on the floor? She is actually pretty good at sport, but this particular skill seems to be eluding her...
Ta!

when I was little I used to practice my headstands up the back of the sofa or at the bottom of the stairs - so it kind of catches you if you go over

and I remember doing handstands infront of a wall, and getting my mum to grab my legs the minute they were up so she could kind of keep them up and stop me wobbling and collapsing!!

Bless your DD, once she gets it, there'll be no stopping her

Usborne have a book on gymnastics which is excellent.

Can she do a forward roll? That's easier to teach.

You could also start with headstands - from a squat position, put head down, straighten legs a little and try and balance on head & hands. The better the balance becomes, the easier it is to straighten and lift legs.

Handstands - you can only go with a fairly quick movement of lunging forward, both hands down and bringing up legs. When she can bring her legs up to a reasonable height, you can grab her ankles and help hold her steady while she gets some muscle! When she's confident at going upside down, she can do handstands against the wall etc.

Have fun!

Can I amend the handstand bit - children being more flexible in the middle than I am, she can probably get her hands on the floor whilst standing and not have to lunge forward. It'll seem safer but will have less impetus going forward to get the legs up.

Enough gym, I'm off to check my cake!

Thanks ladies!
I can do handstands and cartwheels, so she knows what it looks like, she just can't get herself there...
She can do headstands and forwards rolls and take her weight on her arms, it is just the throwing herself into it bit that she can't get. Maybe I will try the bended over start position so she learns the leg kick bit, and then she can do the lunge...
Thanks for the book link - have added to my wish list.
My ds on the other hand did a handstand by himself the other day. He is 2. But dangerous .

She has to be able to kick her legs out in a straight line to carry her over (says she who hasn't attempted a cartwheel in about 12 years) . Personally I was never able to do a handstand - arms like bits of chewed string! Would she be able to practice in a swimming pool if she's confident in watera and the pool is reasonably empty? Mucking it up then would just mean a dunking and not a painful fall.