Extra Curricular Activities

I'm not sure at what point I made up my own rule, but it was that I was not going to register Elly for much of any sort of organized outside activity before the age of two for sure and was trying to hold out to three. Honestly, that was the idea. The concept was that she wouldn't be old enough to gain any benefits from the activity and I could likely do whatever it was at home or mimic with a few friends and a play date. In addition to the money saving reasoning, my fear also was that I didn't want to get into the routine of activities and too many activities that she'd be burnt out by the time she's 8. Clearly, I had a lot of random, not necessarily logical, but kind of made sense excuses that served their purpose for a while. I totally underestimated the smarts of a two year old, what they can handle and the benefits of some activities. As for the burn out... that's something we can control easily enough... or so I say now.

First came swimming... the kid loves water, she needs to learn and I thought that maybe at this stage we'd start to learn stuff that would be more then I could teach her through attending public swims. Although our first session in September was fun enough, I'll be honest, I'm kinda regretting spending the money on the second session. Elly is still attached to me and I don't foresee her letting go anytime soon. The objective of the class is for the kids to gain enough confidence to go with the instructor. Elly seems to fully get what we're trying to do and has no intention of cooperating anytime soon. Frankly, I'd be quite alright with just leaving her with the instructor and walking out of the pool. But the place is packed with a million lessons, the instructor is probably only 17 or something and a crying sobbing child and "tough love" doesn't always seem to be as warmly accepted when it's "their" lessons being interrupted.... or so the glances and the vibe I get when i've barely attempted in the past. Not to mention, I don't want her to start to hate swimming because I abandon her in the pool and she's upset and scared and whatever. The kid LOVES the water, does amazing with me, is confident and courageous and wiling to try new things. I come out of the mix and she's a blubbering mess that only wants out of the pool. A serious waste of money if she's not going to participate. Here's hoping that over the next 8 weeks she'll gain a little more confidence and be willing to start being a little more independant.

Our newest extra curricular activity is gymnastics. Having taken gymnastics myself as a kid, it's always held a special place in my heart. But again, i didn't want to get her in too early if it wasn't going to work out. It was very important to me that she have a certain level of understanding and willingness to participate.

Our local gym club offers a parent tot gym class, clearly needed given that Elly wasn't going to give up Mom at swimming and surely wasn't likely to give me up at something this new to her. I have long heard many local parents complain about the price of the gymnastics classes and I've considered alternatives. However, in the end I came to realize that many of the alternate programs offered are half the time (30min vs. 60min) and not always in an actual gym facility. This one is in a club, the class is 60mins and is only more expensive because it's more time spent doing stuff and well it's great! I see the value in my dollar spent and I guess that's ultimately what it comes down to.

I don't know exactly what I was expecting, but I can assure you that our first gymnastics class exceeded anything I could have come up with. The inside of the club is nearly as I remember it from 25 years ago - YIKES! There were lots of kids there, but due to the size of the facility and how they've got people scheduled and rotating stations it never felt crowded or rushed. Aside maybe from the one little boy who had to race through each activity and was inevitably hot on Elly's tale, with his Mom in tow, both invading my personal space.... Elly, fortunately didn't seem to care and didn't change her pace in the slightest. It was her turn(s) and she was happy to take her allotted time.

Our activities at gymnastics brought together a series of circuits that included hanging from uneven bars and trying to bring your toes up to the bar, tip toeing across dots on the floor, climbing, tumbling, trampoline, sponge pit, balance beams, jumping, falling and a parachute. Elly stayed focused in all the activities for the full hour. You could watch her assess everything and gain her confidence so that I could just be beside her and not holding her hand the whole time. She warmed up enough to the teacher that the teacher could hold her hand on the trampoline, but not enough for her to trampoline all by herself with the teacher. Granted, her love of jumping and her love to have me at her side really gave her a run for her money. I'm hoping in no time she'll be doing even more on her own and she won't want to have a thing to do with me.

Between the gymnastics and the new start tomorrow at Montessori there is just so much new and fun stuff happening. It's exciting and taking a little adjusting for Mom. I really do believe in the value of the changes that we're bring for Elly. I want her to have the best foundation and be a confident little kid down the road and it's looking like our choices are really going to give this kid wings. It's going to be incredible to watch, and maybe even a little hard to let go of that little baby. She's a kid now. It's official. There's no going back.


For a kid with hip dysplasia you sure wouldn't know it.
http://youtu.be/dE7uIVQhDgA