Preparing for Football...I Think!

Tater has been in various classes since she was just an infant, including Gymboree Play, Gymboree Art, Tumble Tots, etc. Poor Bruiser has been experiencing second-child syndrome! We had him in Gymboree Play for a bit but he didn't seem very interested so we pulled him out to save the money. He did one round of swim lessons but didn't really seem to enjoy that either. Since I teach early childhood, I have been concerned about his social development and have been struggling to find a way to get him involved in a group activity. He exhibits stranger anxiety (which is normal at his age, but Tater never went through that - if you know her, you know what I mean!), has some minor speech issues, and spends all day at home with Mommy and our sitter (no babysitter's house with other kids like Tater had). You can see my concern!

So I have been researching like crazy! I am struggling with two issues - the class times and the outrageous costs of these classes. With three children, its hard to attend a class during the day - either I'm working or I can't bring an older sibling (G-Baby is still in her carrier and sits quietly in a corner!). And the cost of these classes is amazing - $175 for 10 music classes, $80 for 6 swim lessons - unbelievable!

Last week I found a perfect solution! Tater has been attending dance class since last summer and I love the studio she attends and her instructor. We really found a perfect fit for our family and for Tater. So, the studio offers a "Mommy and Me" class once a week for 30 minutes for two-year-olds. I discovered this and thought "Oooo, Jack!" The time worked with our schedule (and for my neighbor to watch Tater!) and the cost is only $5 per session. Now I had to sell it to Daddy! I told him I found a movement class for Bruiser and that it was cheap - he heard "cheap" and stopped listening. We were all set.

So last night Bruiser, G-Baby, and I set off in the wintry mix for the first class. What I didn't tell Daddy was that Bruiser was going to be the only boy and the movement he was going to be doing was ballet-based - minor details! Bruiser clung to me for the first few minutes but quickly learned how much fun it was to dance around and watch himself in the big mirror. He even learned how to do a forward roll!

We got home a few minutes before Daddy and were just starting dinner when Daddy came through the door. Daddy asked Bruiser, "What did you learn at class?" Bruiser, sitting in his high chair, raised his arms above his head and made a ballerina pose - oops! the cat was out of the bag! I'm pretty sure that if he hadn't been in his high chair, he would have been up on his tip-toes as well!

After Daddy's initial shock and annoyance over my inadvertent deception, I calmly explained that even football players take ballet - it's an important skill! We'll see what happens in May when it's recital time!