PORTSMOUTH — The snow is still falling, the kids have watched "Dora the Explorer" for the third time today, and you're out of chocolate chips for those cookies you promised to bake later today. Now what are you going to do?
Take the kids to Rumble Tumble, owned by husband and wife team John and Amber Wyman. It's located in the Malt House Exchange, just around the back corner of Hannaford.
Rumble Tumble opened in 2005 after Amber Wyman, who has a degree in elementary education, spent several years taking her own children to various classes in the area. Despite her efforts, they were always in search of something different — something more.
It was Wyman's son who sparked the idea for Rumble Tumble when he told his mother he wanted to take gymnastics so he could jump on the trampoline, and only the trampoline.
"I remember that moment," said Wyman. "(I thought), 'Wow, there is something to that, because kids love to tumble, they are just drawn to it, but they're not really aspiring to be elite gymnasts.'"
While she was taking her daughter to her ballet classes, she noticed that the space next door was vacant.
"I would say, 'That is such a great spot,' and it was actually the spot that sort of led to getting (Rumble Tumble) going," she said. "I loved that it was downtown, and I loved the window frontage."
The spot used to be the old pool of the Portsmouth Athletic Club, which had been filled in.
"(It was) all cinderblock walls, no flooring, no individual rooms or counters, no lobby — just a big open space," said Wyman.
Wyman took advantage of the space and was able to design exactly what she wanted. However, with a limited budget, the Wymans did most of the work themselves, saving well over $50,000, she said.
"All the construction — the building of the walls, the flooring and tiling — it's one of those things, once you start, you just have to keep on it and get it done," said John Wyman.
When the Wymans were done, what they had was a 4,400-square-foot space with a 12-foot, multi-level climbing PlaySmart maze, with items such as the pendulum disk swing, bungee rodeo riders and super-tall, super-fast slide, plus, uneven bars, a balance beam, a creative play room, a ball court and, of course, a trampoline.
Rumble Tumble has open gym time on all the equipment, plus it offers birthday parties, summer camp and year-round classes, such as the popular monkey business class, clubhouse and art/play class. All of the classes offered focus on three elements: endurance, strength and flexibility.
Amber Wyman said that motor skills are important for young children, and Rumble Tumble is very beneficial in helping children with these skills. When a third-grader is overweight and doesn't have good motor skills, coordination or confidence, "it affects them socially, emotionally and physically, and at that point they are often too embarrassed to join a class or a sport," said Wyman.
Rumble Tumble gives kids the chance to run around and learn skills at their own pace and comfort level.
"To see them learn to control their jumps and their muscles and gain that confidence and ability is really neat," Wyman said. Wyman's children continue to be an important influence on Rumble Tumble and the classes they have to offer.
"My son loved to go to the basketball court and throw balls around and shoot hoops, but he was only 3, and there really weren't any classes for that age, so that's how I came up with the sports challenge class," said Wyman.
Wyman's daughter has contributed to Rumble Tumble as well. She had an interest in jump-roping, but all the Wymans could find was a competition team with a big commitment.
"She just wanted to learn tricks and skills and get better and jump rope, so I made the jump rope jive class," she said.
There are a lot of possibilities in the future for Rumble Tumble, such as expanding to another location, but presently the investment is the current location.
"I always say I don't have a custom kitchen, but I have a really cool maze," said Wyman.
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