Singing Class

Last night I took Carter to a Kindermusik class for children from birth to 4 years old. It was a free "come check us out class" that sounded interesting. The class was at 6 pm and by 5 she still hadn't woken up from her nap. I figured if we left by 5:20 we could make the class in time, but I needed a little bit of time to fix her hair (serious nap hair) and change her clothes--all things she hates. I finally got a hold of Robert who surprised me by offering to come with us. He hasn't seemed too interested in this sort of thing in the past, but has been making more of an effort which is really nice. He was over at Aunty Linda's and getting ready to head home...good thing since he had the car seat. I attacked Carter while she was still sleeping and got her mostly ready to go by the time she fully woke up. She still looked a bit scruffy, but hey, she's two! Having Dad come along perked her right up. We would have made it to the class on time, except we had to make a quick potty stop. Freshly potty trained, there just isn't any negotiating at this point, or much time from the minute she tells you she has to go till get her to the potty. Natually she didn't have to go when we were still at home. Living 20 miles from town can make this an interesting game. At any rate the class was held at the Grace Montesorri school clear on the far end of Billings which made it a long drive to town. I came prepared with a packed dinner, toys, books (bad idea since it was dark by 5:30), gum and balloons, so mostly the trip in to town was pretty calm--not always the case. We weren't even the last one to show up (yah!) There were 6 other kids with their moms or parents. The ages seemed to range from 6 monthes to just under 4 years old. Carter was the only 2 year old and it took her awhile to warm up. Living out in the country has it's advantages, but she gets isolated when it comes to lots of other kids her age. We sat and watched for about the first 15 minutes of the class with her refusing to do anything but sit on my lap. She even tried to throw a temper tantrum when I got up to participate in one of the songs. The instructor was very sweet and laidback. All the songs had little moves with them and she would let each child pick something to do along with the song like jump or wiggle. It was a great format for little kids. I was again surprised by Robert singing and playing along. Just when you think you know someone... It was when they got out the bells that Carter really perked up. She jumped right up to go get bells for mom and dad and was willing to share even when she grabbed to many. The cutest part was when every one was walking in a circle holding hands, she finally released her death grip on mom, jumped down and grabbed hands with another little girl. For the last 10 minutes of class, she copied the other kids as long as she got to hold that little girl's hand. I really enjoyed the class, but haven't decided if I'm actually going to sign up for more. I'm debating between this and Little Gym. I really want her to have a chance to play with other little kids her age and this seems to be a nice way. Little Gym is more expensive but the class is on Saturdays versus Monday night for the singing. Anyway, I have a day or two to decide.