I posted this status on facebook about five hours ago: Watching my three-year old NOT dance at dance class. Great use of my time! 🙂
Man, did I get responses! Apparently I touched on a common nerve of mothers.
“Angel” watched Andrea dance all last year. She would stand at the door and tap-tap-tap her feet, tap at home, chat up Miss Kelly every time she saw her. The girl lived and breathed tap.
Then the fabulous Forest Grove Dance Arts offered to scholarship her for creative movement because of her foster care situation. (So no $ lost, but it almost makes me feel worse!)
She has worn her ballet shoes around home for weeks, talking endlessly about “I going to dance class and do it BY-MY-SELF!” The first class she proudly paraded to the door in her black leotard, pink tights, and black filmy skirt and the cutest ponytail ever. Suddenly she didn’t want to leave Mommy. Miss Patty helped her into the room where “Angel” promptly sat on the floor, stuck her lip out, wouldn’t move, and cried at the end.
Even when they passed out loops with princess-y ribbons, she wouldn’t touch the ring.
So this week I told her that if she stood up and didn’t cry I would take her to a restaurant. And I would buy her a burger! And fries! And ice cream! (Never mind that we were doing this anyway as we only have 45 minutes between classes for dinner.)
She was ecstatic!!! Until we started putting on her tights … “I don’t want to dance …”
I reminded her of the deal, and boy did that little smartypants live up to her end of the bargain.
She stood in class and did not cry a single tear.
She didn’t hold hands. She didn’t copy the teacher. She didn’t sit down for the stretching song. She didn’t wear the sparkly crown. And she most certainly DID NOT dance!
At the end of the class, after getting her sticker, she scampered out to the waiting area and climbed right into my lap, pleased as punch she hadn’t cried or sat.
Guess I’ll be more specific next time. 🙂
She follows directions so well!!!! You might have to start adding incentives to keep her motivated… Kelsey does better when she requests (errr… Demands) a coffee shop hot cocoa on the way to class and I tell her that girls who behave in class can have a cocoa afterward. I then have to leave her with miss patty and not stay where she can see me… Otherwise she keeps saying, “I want mommy” and runs out of class.
OH no! LOL
My son did this last year at t-ball. Wouldn’t go in the outfield without me, trudged up to the bat… very frustrating, though we didn’t show him that because we wanted him to have fun.
Maybe she’ll end up liking it in a little bit? Sounds like you’re dealing with it well.
So frustrating! Been there done that. :O)
I think we’ll give her a few more weeks because she watches everything so intently, it’s as if she’d soaking it in and will do it all when she’s ready.
As the teacher told me that night, “It’s not like she’s distracting the other kids.” Yep, nothing to distracting about a statue!