1st day of dance

Claire had been counting down to the first day of school. Maddie, on the other hand, has been anxiously awaiting the first day of dance. This summer, when Maddie got the hang of potty training, but then decided it was too much work and time and didn't want to try anymore, I needed something more than marshmallows to motivate her. I asked her if she was interested in taking her own dance class like Claire. I told her that they only took big girls in for dance class, and told her she had to have 14 stickers before I would sign her up. (Each sticker represented a day that she went accident free.) It was a huge motivation and while she still had occasional accidents (as to be expected) she was actually trying and doing great! After that, she was talking about dance class all the time. I told her she had to wait until after Claire started school. Well, on Thursday, the day finally came.

All ready for dance class with their dance bags. (Yes, they are really lunch bags, but their a good size.)

Ballet poses. Nice pointed toes, Claire!

I love how Maddie looks up to Claire.

Claire moved up to the next class older (for 6-9 year olds but still learning tap, jazz, and ballet all in one hour class) and Maddie started her half hour movement class for 2.5 to 4 year olds. Claire's class starts at 5:30 but Maddie's class didn't start until 6:15. After waiting for dance to start and finally getting to the studio, that 45 minute wait seemed like forever for her. Poor kid.

Watching Claire's class

Her turn finally came. I feel bad for her though. There are 8 little girls in her class and three of them are named Madelyn/ Maddie. This is probably just the beginning of such issues with her more-popular-than-I-would-like name. Oh well.

Both girls did great in their class. Claire has a new teacher and thought she was really nice. She felt at ease as there was one girl in her class that she knew from last year's class.

Maddie also did great. She listened to her teacher well and seemed to have fun. They are both excited for next week's class!

Practicing walking on her toes.

Originally, I didn't want to get Maddie involved in dance so young. I didn't want her to do it just because it's Claire's thing. I want her to flourish in what she likes and not walk in Claire's shadow. But after Claire's dance recital last year, she got into the dance idea. She LOVED the recital and talked about it for weeks. Claire taught her parts of her dance routine and Maddie loved it. It was then I started thinking about getting Maddie into dance if she wanted. Well, she's loving it, and I'm excited that she can have a special activity now too. :)