This afternoon I took Nicole to her very first dance class. She has been asking about going every day for almost a week now. A friend of mine, Ashley takes her daughter Isa who is about the same age as Nicole. AND....our friend Anna from the college ministry at church is one of the instructors. The class is free (can you believe it?) and it's a children's worship class. It was adorable. The kids did "Father Abraham" "Open the Eyes of My Heart" and some other fun preschool style dances.
So....do you want to know how the class went? If you were to ask Nicole, "What was your favorite part of dance class?" she would say (and has said) "Sitting next to mommy". Yep...she ended up sitting next to me for about 90% of the class. She stood in line well, but when the kids started marching into the room, she started crying and saying she wanted her mommy. They brought me into the room (moms are usually suppose to stay in a different room and watch through a window) and Nicole, Hannah and I sat on a bench and watched. Nicole would not budge and looked as if she would cry for the first few minutes. However....by the end of the class she was smiling and having fun watching the kids. Then, they did a song that required bean bags, and the teachers asked Nicole if she wanted to (come across the room) and get a bean bag. The first song with the bean bags, Nicole just stood there, but during the second song she started jumping up and down and dancing along.
There are only 2 more classes left :-( didn't know that or else I would have just waited till the fall) But, I think it will be really good for her to be in a class with lots of other kids and some structure. We are hoping to get her into gymnastics also. One thing Nicole misses out on by me staying home is a very structured time of learning with other children her age. So...I'm hoping after a few weeks of gymnastics or dance she will be confident enough to be away from me and begin to learn how to follow instructions from other adults and follow class rules. I think it will be really good for her, and I'm excited about it.
So...the first class seemed to be a bomb, but she watched, and maybe next week she'll get up and dance a bit more.
3 comments:
Is the class only for girls? If not, I'd totally be interested in taking Hunter in the fall.
There was a boy in the class...he wasn't there that day, but he was even in the showcase they'll be having soon.
Yeah...I'll remind you in the fall.
How cute! Good idea! I'm glad your thinking of ways for Nicole to interact with other kids and like you said, be able to follow instructions from other adults and be in an organized learning environment. It's a good reminder to me to be proactive in finding opportunities like that...maybe then I won't have wierd homeschooled kids...haha! : )
-Tiffy
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