Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Angelina Ballerina

Well, we've been watching movies and reading books about Angelina Ballerina nonstop lately. Erica's so thrilled.

How did the first class go? According to the teacher, it was one of the best "first-time classes" she's ever had with this age group.

There were three girls total; there are supposed to be 5, but for one reason or another, the other 2 didn't show up. The small number was good though. Why... b/c the more kids, the more distracted they get. Example: one girl does something silly, then they all do the same silly thing. They would take shoes off / put shoes back on. Walk on tip-toes. Sit on the heater [urgg... and get their outfits all dirty!]. And play with their skirts. Towards the end, I had to take her skirt off b/c she was messing with it too much.

They started with some rules. My darling Erica answered the question of why they shouldn't play with the mirrors. She said, "So they don't break and fall on us." Funny answer. After rules, the began lessons by doing stretches. Then the did some march-skips around the room. Erica liked doing that. The teacher started to show them some beginning ballet steps. The first thing: stand with your heels together and toes pointed outward. Easy, right? Well, my child cannot do it. She either doesn't grasp the concept -or- she's afraid she's gonna lose balance and tip over. Probably both of those things, actually.

Erica loved going up to the bar [is that how its spelled? the railing on the walls] and kicking her leg back and forth. Funny girl.

They started to learn a dance. It's to the tune of "Morning Has Broken." They start by pretending that they're asleep and then wake up. If I have success uploading the video clip, you'll see what I mean. You'll also see that sometimes Erica did as directed... and sometimes she did her own thing.

Parents have the option of sitting in on class or relaxing in a nice waiting room. I'm not sure which I'll do. Both options have pros and cons.

Stay in Classroom: I can see all the moves so that we can practice at home; if she needs a potty break, I'm there to take her; she won't start screaming b/c I'm not there [not likely though].

Go to Waiting Room: I can bring things along to do, like read or write; I can actually relax for 30 minutes; Erica is often better behaved when I'm not around; Erica won't always be running over to me to talk; and most important-- I won't be tempted to step in. Parents are under strict order to stay quiet and leave the kids to the teacher.

5 comments:

Corinne said...

OMG, how cute is that! I don't have experience with cute little girls in little ballerina outfits!! Good luck with preschooling....that should be a lot of fun.

Anonymous said...

your daughter's a hoot!

Anonymous said...

Our three girls had just started ballet/tap lessons as we left and they loved it! We want to come back for their recital... but I opted not to sit in on their classes for the same reasons as you listed above - they paid much more attention to Ms. Whitney when I'm not around! :-)

Anonymous said...

HIL-arious!

'liya said...

Very cute!