When a child is preschool age, they are trying to develop their own personal talents and interests. I know that my daughter is interested and excited about pretty much everything! If you mention soccer to her, she is all over it. Want to do dance? Gymnastics? Piano? Karate? Yes!!! is always the reply. While many parents have the means to put their kids in a myriad of extracurricular activities, many parents, like myself, do not. So, I struggle with knowing what she will like, and what will be “worth” the money.
One way I have resolved this issue is through enrolling her in my local community education classes. I just signed her up for an 8 week course of ballet for $55 dollars. They will meet once a week at a public high school (in the evening) for 45 minutes and dance their little hearts out. We did this once before, and she loved it. Last year, I enrolled her in both gymnastics and dance. She loved both so much, and looked forward to every class. Since I wasn’t spending a fortune, I did not fret too much about if she ended up hating it, or if we had to miss a week.
If you are interested in doing something like this with your preschooler, start by contacting your local school district. Ask them for their information on community education classes. While most of their classes they offer are for adults, there are many for children. They can range anywhere from dance and gymnastics to pottery, art, and music lessons. Getting your children involved in these types of classes will help them explore their interests without breaking the bank. And since they usually run by school semester, they are not too long either, so the commitment you make is usually only a matter of weeks.
Luckily, our community ed classes for this semester start the week she is on spring break, so we will have something fun, new and different to do until the end of the school year. Try them out today!
Related Articles:
Yesterday, Tomorrow, and The Other Day