What to do, what to do…

So, Anna Marie had her dance recital on Saturday. And she has declared it to be her very last one.

So now, I have to find something else to occupy her time once a week, preferably on Wednesday afternoons (while Jason is at work.)

It isn't anything against the dance studio. The teacher is lovely, and Anna Marie has learned some things about music, and dance, and rhythm in the past three years. Between the dance performances, and being involved with the childrens music program at First Baptist after school on Tuesdays, she has basically overcome her stage fright.

But, she isn't "into" dance. At least not the ballet and tap parts. I think if they offered some type of "TobyMac Hip Hop" lessons, that'd be right up her alley. However, her teacher is a classically trained ballerina, so I don't see that happening.

She has also taken tumbling lessons for the past two years after her dance lessons, and honestly, it's the tumbling that has kept her going all year. She has begged me not to make her go next year, and when we've been getting our costume pictures made and dressing up for the recital, she kept saying, "At least this is the last time I have to do this."

So now, she wants to concentrate on gymnastics. There are a couple of places here which offer classes: one which she went to when she was four (and I wasn't crazy about the instructor) and another, newer gym (where many of the girls who used to take dance with her now go.) I don't have a problem with that, and in fact, watching the older girls dance on Saturday, I had the distinct feeling that if she'd continued in that vein that as she got older we would be more and more uncomfortable with the outfits she was assigned and the moves she was learning. (If that makes any sense at all).

I can't find a listing for the other gymnastics teacher, but I know a couple of people who can get me the information.

We've also considered music lessons, since Jason plays piano and violin and I play, well, the radio (as my dad says.) We have a piano, but Jason's violin is too big for her and we'd have to rent or buy her a smaller model.

At any rate, I have a couple of criteria: it can't take up more than one day during the week (we have other obligations, like church and family, and she'll likely be playing Upward basketball again in the winter), it can't cost more than what we were paying for dance/tumbling, and it really, REALLY needs to be on Wednesdays, so I can justify the expense as "childcare."

Not too much to ask, is it?