Preschool

Before ballet classes, Zara also started preschool. Georgia has a state funded pre-k program that allows you to sign up your 4-year-old at one of the accredited schools for free. In Cobb County--where we live--these pre-k programs are not run through the public schools but rather through private daycare and learning centers.

I was very hesitant about signing Zara up for pre-k. She needed to go to school, that much was obvious. She had a desire to learn but I am simply not the best person to teach her. We were driving each other crazy. Still, I wasn't sold on the Georgia pre-k program. For one thing, many people had told me that it was basically glorified daycare with a very strict, proscribed curriculum. For another, it is a 5-day-a-week, full-day program (8am to 2:30pm). And since Zara just barely makes the cut-off (you have to be 4 by Sept. 1st and Zara's birthday is August 31st) I worried about her being on the younger end of the age spectrum.

I looked into all the private preschool programs in the area, mostly being run through Methodist, Presbyterian, and Baptist churches. (Which makes me wonder why the LDS church doesn't run any sort of pre-k program like so many other churches do. We Mormons have plenty of kids to fill them up.) And while I liked the curriculum and programs better, most still required at least 4 days and most were still 5 days. (No 3 day options.) And the hours were still basically the same. (9-2, most of them.) And the cheapest tuition was $300/month.

My options being (a) no school and the prospect of Zara and I driving each other crazy, (b) private pre-school at a price we couldn't afford or (c) free state funded preschool, we went with option C.

But the slots for these funded pre-k programs fill up fast, especially at the better schools. Unfortunately, I was late to the game and had to put Zara on a bunch of waiting lists, with no guarantee that a spot would open up for her. But Zara impressed the directors at one of the preschools and as soon as she had an available spot, she gave it to Zara.

Here she is on her first day of school looking rather apprenhensive. She vacillates between liking school and being excited to go and crying and begging to stay home. (Mostly because she's tired but that's her own fault for being impossible to put to bed.)

Pretty much sums it up.

They wear uniforms 4 days and Friday is a free day. I like the uniforms. It takes the guesswork out of finding clothes for her to wear and it is far less distracting. (For the record, they wear yellow polos on Monday, light blue on Tuesday, red on Wednesday, and dark blue on Thursday.) 

I couldn't help myself with the knee socks. 

I'm still unsure about the school. I really like the director and most of the teachers/providers there seem kind and welcoming though I'm still on the fence about Zara's actual preschool teacher. (I really like the aide though.) Sometimes the hours are long and we seem incapable of getting her there on time (8 am is really early, especially for someone who doesn't typically wake up until 7:15-7:30) but I think mostly, she likes it and she has made some friends already.

At least we've got some holidays and breaks coming up. I miss my Zara somedays.

Zara the Ballerina

This blog has been sorely neglected over the last year and I feel a need to catch up, if only as a repository for my memories and recollection. Expect to see a lot more posts in the coming days/weeks.

First up, ballet for Zara. 

I've wanted to sign Zara up for dance lessons for awhile but kept putting it off. This is a girl who checks out ballet videos from the library and watches them for fun. Seriously. She's watched the Royal Ballet's "Sleeping Beauty" ballet about a dozen times. 

What I didn't realize was that most dance studios function on a school calendar system. Basically, you sign up for a class which runs from August through May. You can't just drop in and out as I expected you could do. (Some allow this, like the dance classes at the YMCA, but the more professional studios do not.) 

Since school starts at the beginning of August here, my window of opportunity for getting Zara into a spot in a dance class was starting to dwindle. I finally decided that I didn't want to wait any longer despite my reservations. I started Googling dance studios within a 15 miles radius of us. There were a lot of options but none that had what I was looking for. I wanted a place that could provide a fun, child-friendly environment with teachers who were experienced at working with children but that could also--depending on if we both stay in the Atlanta area and Zara wants to continue dancing--provide more rigorous training in the future. It seemed that the studios either focused on little children but offered nothing for more advanced dancers, necessitating a switch to a different dance studio later on, or offered intensive training that would not be a good fit for a novice beginner. 

Finally, I asked for recommendations from the women at the my church and several recommended Rhythm Dance Center who's claim to fame is being the training ground of Melanie Moore, the winner of the 8th season of "So You Think You Can Dance." 

It's a really fun, vibrant place with specialized classes for pre-k/kindergarten kids but plenty of more advanced options in all different styles. They have a tap/ballet combo class, jazz, hip hop, or a Fairytale Ballet class for 3-5 year olds. Naturally, I signed Zara up for the ballet class, once a week, on Tuesday afternoons.

On the first day of class, Zara did not want to go (even though she excitedly talking about it the whole drive there) and I had to wrestle her into her new purchased ballet clothes and shoes and literally drag her into the studio. 

But afterwards, she was quite happy. She really enjoyed her class and her teacher--Anna--is fabulous.

She was so excited she even fell asleep on the car ride home.

Before her most recent lesson, Zara told me I had to take some photos and then ran happily into her class all by herself. I hope this turns out well. I think Zara will make a beautiful ballerina.