This is a Musical Theater class for preschoolers. Children
will sing, dance, and work on age appropriate plays.
Ages: 3 to 5 years
It sounded good and had everything I was looking for, affordable, would get them running around, and something both kids could take together. (That last one was a must, I needed the three year old to be able to participate.) So I took the kids to the class today just to try it out. Everything started out good, Sunshine was timid but joined in and Mr. seemed interested, so I thought he just need time to warm up. Mr, BabyGirl, and I sat outside with the other parents for a few minutes until he decided to join the class as well.
Then it happened. I peeked in to see how they were doing, and there were my two sitting off to the side while all the other kids were standing and singing. At least they are just sitting, I thought, but that didn't last long. The teacher pulled out the instruments and my kids immediately jumped up and started fussing about what they got and what they wanted. The teacher looked frazzled. I stopped looking, thinking, there was only 30 minutes left, she must be used to this, right? I peeked in again. Oh no, there were my two, running in big circles around the other kids while the teacher chased them. She looked VERY frazzled now. I closed the door, hoping that the teacher had seen this before. Surely they were just acting up because it was their first day at class. Surely they would settle down in a minute, but these thoughts were quickly interrupted by my three year old bursting through the door (smile on his face) with the teacher panting behind him. "I haven't been able to teach for the last five minutes; I just don't think he's ready for this class." she said. Ok. I wanted to crawl under a table. But I didn't, I asked how is she doing. The teacher said "She was doing good, but then..." I didn't hear anything after that, I just called to Sunshine that it was time to go.
But the show wasn't over yet. Sunshine was in tears before she even reached the door, I could see on her face that she was embarrassed and upset - a bad combination for her. I tried to explain to her that since the two of them would not listen to the teacher we had to go, but when I turned around to get the stroller she, in mid fit, ran for the door. I tried to follow with the stroller for a moment, but realized I would never catch her before she made it to the street, so I abandoned the stroller, baby, and three year old and took off running. I did catch her before she made it to the street. Luckily there was little danger since she was headed for an empty parking lot, but I was still upset/embarrassed beyond words. Then, of course, I had to collect the three year old who had decided to follow us, and the three of us had to go back inside, with all of the other parent watching, to collect the baby.
The walk to the car seemed to take forever. This had been a disaster! A million questions filled my head. Are they not ready for classes? Was it just the first day jitters? Why didn't the teacher have some way to deal with kids who were not listening? Surely a little timeout would have worked... or maybe not. Are my kids the only ones to act like that? Did all the other kids just go right in and join in without a hitch on their first day? Maybe I should have started them in classes sooner? Maybe it's too soon?
I would like to try again with a different class, but I'm not anxious to repeat that scene ever again. Yikes! Come on friends, family; anybody got some advice?
Then it happened. I peeked in to see how they were doing, and there were my two sitting off to the side while all the other kids were standing and singing. At least they are just sitting, I thought, but that didn't last long. The teacher pulled out the instruments and my kids immediately jumped up and started fussing about what they got and what they wanted. The teacher looked frazzled. I stopped looking, thinking, there was only 30 minutes left, she must be used to this, right? I peeked in again. Oh no, there were my two, running in big circles around the other kids while the teacher chased them. She looked VERY frazzled now. I closed the door, hoping that the teacher had seen this before. Surely they were just acting up because it was their first day at class. Surely they would settle down in a minute, but these thoughts were quickly interrupted by my three year old bursting through the door (smile on his face) with the teacher panting behind him. "I haven't been able to teach for the last five minutes; I just don't think he's ready for this class." she said. Ok. I wanted to crawl under a table. But I didn't, I asked how is she doing. The teacher said "She was doing good, but then..." I didn't hear anything after that, I just called to Sunshine that it was time to go.
But the show wasn't over yet. Sunshine was in tears before she even reached the door, I could see on her face that she was embarrassed and upset - a bad combination for her. I tried to explain to her that since the two of them would not listen to the teacher we had to go, but when I turned around to get the stroller she, in mid fit, ran for the door. I tried to follow with the stroller for a moment, but realized I would never catch her before she made it to the street, so I abandoned the stroller, baby, and three year old and took off running. I did catch her before she made it to the street. Luckily there was little danger since she was headed for an empty parking lot, but I was still upset/embarrassed beyond words. Then, of course, I had to collect the three year old who had decided to follow us, and the three of us had to go back inside, with all of the other parent watching, to collect the baby.
The walk to the car seemed to take forever. This had been a disaster! A million questions filled my head. Are they not ready for classes? Was it just the first day jitters? Why didn't the teacher have some way to deal with kids who were not listening? Surely a little timeout would have worked... or maybe not. Are my kids the only ones to act like that? Did all the other kids just go right in and join in without a hitch on their first day? Maybe I should have started them in classes sooner? Maybe it's too soon?
I would like to try again with a different class, but I'm not anxious to repeat that scene ever again. Yikes! Come on friends, family; anybody got some advice?
Advice, not so much...but I'm sure you're not the only one to run into problems like this.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised the teacher was so lost, I would think that if she has been teaching the class she would be able to handle the age range that is allowed...a time out, just letting them run around (they are just little ones after all), or getting them more involved? You would think she would be prepared for rowdy little ones, that is who the class is for after all...I guess not.
I'm sure it's not that they aren't ready, maybe you just need to try again or something different (with a different teacher perhaps).
You're an awesome mom though....I would not have done so well :o\
What a day!! and I'm sure it didn't end there...they never seem to.
Oh, dear! What a catastrophe and how embarrassing for you! I don't understand why the teacher is not prepared to deal with kids who don't follow the directions...then again, having been a teacher, I'd have to see the situation firsthand. I have no advice, just a gentle hug to say that we've all been there. And for me it was at Target with pizza all over the floor and a toddler almost doing a header out of the highchair while a fellow MOPS mom happened to be watching with her two little angels...sigh. I think you handled it exactly how I would've though...using it as a learning experience for your kids on the consequences of not participating well. Next time will be better! On a different note, I'm glad you're enjoying my blog and that I've now found yours!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the kind comments, it's good to know I'm not alone!
ReplyDeleteGlad you found my Blog!