Thursday, August 30, 2012

1st Dance Class


Well, after 40 minutes of watching Annika's dance class I can say that she was the most wild in the class.  I was really surprised.  A class of about ten 3 and 4 year olds that all follow directions exactly as told except one, Annika.  I was actually pretty shocked at how well every single other little girl did exactly as told!  Maybe because Annika hasn't had a classroom type structure since she's always home with us?  This kind of makes me want to sign her up for preschool so she doesn't act all crazy and wild in kindergarten!

Immediately I knew we were in trouble.  The teacher asked the girls to sit on the red X's on the floor and Annika started to lay down and slide around and stand up and dance and stick her tongue out, so on and so on and so on....

The teacher kind of sucked too though.  It took 10 minutes for her to call roll.  I still don't know if she ever figured out that Annika was Annika or if she was pronouncing it right.  I was very surprised she didn't want us to introduce each child to her.  I wanted to talk to her after class because a few mothers (one woman there I was actually friends with in dental assisting school!) told me they thought Annika was too young for a class and should wait to start till next year.  Which made me sad.  I actually cried the entire drive home.  The teacher ran out of the classroom the second class was over so I didn't get a chance to ask her if she though Annika maybe wasn't ready yet.  I e-mailed the school to see if she could e-mail me back or call me.  It's easy for her to tell which one Annika was, the only red head and the only one that didn't follow a single direction!

So yeah, Annika marched to the beat of her own drum the entire class.  The class would stand on their toes and run across the room and Annika wouldn't wait her turn, instead she was running all over the place!  At the end of class they were all sitting with their legs spread stretching and Annika was laying on the floor sliding around.

I'm sure I'll find out tomorrow if they think Annika is okay to come back to class or not.  I'm a little embarrassed to bring her back because she was so WILD compared to the other little girls.  We'll see.  If she isn't able to come back I plan on taking her to another school for a tumbling class, maybe she can get some of that crazy energy out there!

4 comments:

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  2. What is it a 4 month difference? I would ask them to try her for at least a month and see if she gets a little bit better at following instructions. If not, you might have to wait a little longer. Too bad they don't have a younger class. I wonder if they would let her attend class "unofficiallY" as in there but not attending recitals and what not?

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  3. I'm sorry it didn't go as planned and you were upset at the end of class. And regardless of what you are thinking about having Annika attend class, I don't think that parent should have told you that, leave it up to the teacher/school to decide if they think she is ready. It may just take her a few classes to get settled into the routine. Just the fact that you are concerned about shows that you really want the best for Annika. And if it doesn't work out, you will try again. I had Alex in a tumbling class last winter and he loved it! It really wasn't structured, so it was good for him since he is a "high-spirited" kid as well! Hang in there!

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  4. Other parents have no business giving other mothers advice about their child, unless that person is the teacher. I like the idea of giving her some time to get used to the setting, and see how she does, or essentially 'audit' the class, by not doing the recitals.

    It takes time for little children to learn and understand rules in different settings. Practice with her at home. Pretend you're at ballet class, and give her instructions like the teacher did. Practice how to sit on the red X. And like someone else said, maybe she's not ready yet, but maybe she just needs a little time. She's not that much younger.

    We have Karina in preschool for socialization, basically. She's really shy like me, and often doesn't know how to play with other kids. On the other hand, she's ahead in some other areas, like cutting paper or recognizing letters. Those are great skills, and I'm proud of her, but I want her to get along, too. So we put her in preschool and she LOVES it. If you guys can do it, I would recommend it. The one Karina goes to is very structured, has clear routines, and the teachers in her 2s class were infinitely patient, but still didn't tolerate mean behavior (like hitting). It was awesome. She's starting the 3s on Tuesday and can't wait!

    Good luck figuring out ballet class. I'm sure it will work out, just give it time, and try practicing at home. She's smart, she'll learn.

    Hang in there! (and stop being embarrassed! Nothing to feel that way about. She's just a little girl!)

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