The new activity for Norah this summer was dance. I was hoping for gymnastics, but this is what we landed on for various reasons. Her classes are at a local church and she is taking them with her best buddy from school, Chloe (her mom and I did not know we bought the same leotards, but it worked out well).
This last one is difficult to see, but is worth it if you have an explanation. The parents watch the class from a "waiting room" via a monitor, so I took a picture of what I often see. In the picture below Norah and Chloe are the two kids huddled in the far left corner. It's as if they are in their own little world, oblivious to the rest of their class. This is a typical scene for Chloe's mom and I to observe on the monitor.
I wasn't necessarily super interested in Norah taking dance (not that there is anything wrong with it), but when I learned that they would be in a room by themselves without the parents I immediately understood where the value would be for us. Norah tends to be on the reserved side, so I knew it wouldn't be easy for her to go into that room without me....which is where Chloe comes in. I never would have attempted this without Chloe being enrolled as well.
The first week they were both very hesitant to line up to go into class. Norah eventually went in, but we watched on the monitor as she stood on her carpet square while everyone else sat as instructed by the teacher. Near the end of the 45 minutes she hesitantly participated, and got a tiny bit excited when the teacher passed out stickers.
Week after week it got a bit better. Chloe has often taken Norah by the hand to lead her into the room, recognizing that she was hesitant to leave me. By week four or five both girls lined up enthusiastically and didn't skip a beat when the teacher led them into the room.
So has she learned some dance steps? Maybe, though from my observation nothing promising. But I'm not too concerned about that. More importantly, she has been allowed the opportunity to work through an unfamiliar and uncomfortable situation week after week. And she has figured it out.
Other summer activities include swimming at Philip's and Rylie's, a cookout at our place with the old 26th street neighborhood gang, working out at the Y, early morning runs, games with Norah (primarily Candyland and Sequence for Kids), puzzles, "wrestling" on the floor, reading, and coloring. Oh, and for Macy, eating.
The "wrestling" is pretty funny. We'll tell Macy to "get Norah," who is laying on the floor, and Macy will waddle over and flop down on Norah's belly. We are trying to teach Norah to listen to what Macy is trying to communicate, such as squealing when Norah might be playing a little rough. The other day they were in Macy's room and I heard Macy start crying. When I asked Norah what happened she said, "Well I pushed Macy down but then I stopped when she started squealing."
One new activity for the girls is playing hide and seek. Norah hides and we ask Macy, "Where is Norah?" over and over as she waddles around, trying to find her. Sometimes it requires a bit of our help, but when Macy finally spies Norah she drops to the floor on her belly, buries her head in the carpet, happily squealing and kicking her legs.
Another favorite pastime for the two of them is to "organize" their drawer of bowls, plates, silverware and cups. I often come into the kitchen to find most of the contents of the (large) drawer neatly stacked and organized all over the floor. I told Seth I'm not sure whether or not we should be proud that our 3 1/2 year old is so into organizing. (She also occasionally organizes Macy's diaper drawer as well.) Some 3 1/2 year olds may not know that word, but apparently one of her parents (those of you reading this probably know who) is enough of an organizer that he or she has used the word frequently enough for Norah to perfectly understand the meaning.
Oh well...it's a good skill to have.
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