Giving in to Dance Class...

             Well...I finally gave in. I enrolled Myka in a dance class...Ok, ok, it's not like she was begging me, but....I feel like some sort of structured social interaction would do her good. Does that make any sense? Regardless of your answer, I hope you read on!

             Now, I'm definitely not and don't want to be one of those parents that feels the need to have every waking moment of their child's day filled with some sort of activity. That just seems stressful for everyone doing all of that running around. Plus, we just can't afford it! However, since we're homeschooling, I feel like SOME “extracurriculars” will do Myka some good. Social interaction with kids her age is obviously a bonus, but I'm really hoping it will help her with paying attention and following directions, especially since it's coming from someone other than me!

             I've been putting off enrolling her in dance class for awhile, if I really admit it. We use to go to a free story time/music and movement class back in the spring and quite frankly, she didn't pay attention very well. Which was kind of ok since it was free, but...It also took us like 40 minutes to get there. (It's in the next biggest town over.) I know, I know. She had fun. That's all that matters. Blah blah blah. Needless to say, though, even though the dance teacher said she thought Myka was ready for a “regular” class, I did not. And again, we don't exactly have a lot of disposable income with me being a sahm.

             Other than that, if you know me at all, I'm really not into girly stuff. I don't even enjoy painting Myka's nails, if that says anything. I did drill team in high school for one year and ended up switching back to band (which is way more of my jam anyway) because I didn't like the dancing part (I just wanted to twirl flags, man) and there was WAY too much stupid girl drama. No thanks. I'll go back and hang out with my perverted band nerd friends. But I'm getting off topic...

             So, I've been trying to see if she would be interested in literally, like, anything else. I even took her ice skating recently since I wasn't able to last year. (As if your balance isn't bad enough being pregnant, amiright?) It went about as well (read: bad) as I figured it would, even though she was initially really excited about it. As far as other things she could participate in at her young age, I don't think she would like soccer, t-ball would be a hit or miss (pun intended), and I don't have the money at the moment to pay for swim lessons. :/ So, dance class it is. (For now.)

             The program director at the Y was nice and let us enroll late since evidently the class is supposed to last 9 months (during regular school) and they just have monthly enrollment to make payment easier for parents. Anyways, it was kind of awkward (for me at least and a little for Myka too, I think) since everyone already knew each other, but she actually did really well! She paid attention the whole time and kept up/did everything the other kids and teachers were doing. And of course, most importantly, she seemed to like it. (I'm still half convinced she just likes any excuse to wear the slippers.)

             I'm sure this will sound terrible, but I'm hoping she doesn't make friends with the little girls who were acting bad. It may have been a fluke and we just happened to join in on a bad day, but two in particular, like, didn't participate at all. I get that they're little kids, but...If I knew my kids were acting like that (neither of their parents were there), 1) I would not be very happy with them for not listening and 2) Would not bother wasting my money on something they were clearly not into by running around, acting a fool, and distracting the kids who were paying attention. That's just me. I know. I'm a little harsh. But this is coming from the mom who has made her kid leave free story time at the library because she wouldn't stop talking and distracting the kids who WERE trying to pay attention.

             I'll still (somewhat grudgingly) let her keep going to dance class if she likes it and actually participates. Not gonna lie, though: I'm still secretly holding out hope that I can get her interested in karate or something when she's older. ;) (Maybe Ripley will be my tomboy? One can dream...)

             What activities do your kids participate in? Did they show interest in it first or did you enroll them in it to see if they would like it?