What should I expect from a dance/tumbling class for small children? I have two girls ages 6 and 3 and I’m more than a little dissatisfied with our current dance experience. .
Here’s my complaints
-the six year old after taking class since September can barely do a forward roll. She is not interested in me helping her, but thank goodness her Gym teacher at school has helped her along considerably in that area.
During the tap dance portion of the class they are learning a new dance to perform at the year end recital. So its the same music and the same movements week after week, all the kids are now tired of hearing “yankee doodle dandee” Despite the repetition it doesn’t seem that the kids really retain what they’ve learned.
My three year old who is in the class before my six yr old, usually ends up getting scolded during the tumbling portion because she is bored and starts to play around with the other kids. They all sit on the cold floor and have to wait their turn.
-The teacher doesnt have or want any other older students or mommies to help out and so there is a lot of waiting while they go through their tumbling routines.
I just want the girls to develop a love for music and movement and make friends and have fun and feel a part of the “team” supporting each other and rooting for each other. But that is not what Im feeling from the Teacher. She does have “Ducktorate” from DisneyWorld, yes a mickey Mouse Degree and is very talented and nice. But she is running a business and I’m beginning to resent her pushing participation in the recital (two shows back to back thru the dinner hour). Not to mention the parents had no voice in the costumes and in additon she has no inclination to provide any sort cheat sheet on the dance routines so we can help the kids at home. Too much trouble says she!
So far we’ve spent about $700 bucks for the two of them to attend - I wish I could say it has been worth it - Is this a typical experience doper parents?
From practical experience (having been through gymnastics when I was about your elder kid’s age), that is NOT normal. I remember chatting with the other kids (unless the instructor was showing us something, etc.), being able to play around and do stuff as long as we a) didn’t use equipment without supervision, b) didn’t distrub the other students, and c) were ready to do what the instrutor told us to when they told us to. Older students from the advanced classes would help keep an eye on us young ones, and make it possible for two kids to do tumbling stuff at once (assuming the mats had been set up right). I also remember parents asking the instructor for hints/tips on anything they could do at home to help their kids do better in class, and getting a postive responce.
($700? :eek:!)
I’d go with your gut-feelings here: your kids don’t seem to be drawing anything beneficial from it, and from what I can see, the teacher is a bit of a control-freak (IMO). Well, more than a ‘bit’. Unless your two kids will scream bloody blue blazes if you don’t take them there anymore, find another place and instructor.
“Not Normal”. Oh baby. :rolleyes: Um, yeah, I’d say so…
Mother of three here, one of whom went through a “tumbling phase”. A number of things pop out at me right away.
First and foremost, three is too young, mentally, for so much “directed”, focussed activity. “You WILL learn to do this…” She needs a much less structured, “let’s have a good time turning somersaults!” type of activity. Also, it’s a huge mistake to combine such radically different age groups. Threes need other Threes and Fours, so that the attention spans and physical skills match up. No wonder she’s bored–she’s ready to go home in half an hour, but Big Sister is just starting to get warmed up.
Okay, enough about the Three. On to the Six.
Your Six needs a class that is EITHER dance OR tumbling, not both together. If this teacher is billing this as a combined dance/tumbling class, then IMO she is quite simply ripping you off. Dance and tumbling are two quite different disciplines. You wouldn’t expect your kid to get much out of a class that was billed as a combination “Singing/Clarinet” class, would you? Or “Oil painting/pottery”? One thing at a time, one set of skills at a time.
For one thing, they require completely different facilities. Tumbling requires mats on the floor; dance requires a good-quality bare sprung wood floor (that’s a flexible floor that has joists under it, not a wood-covered concrete floor like in a gym.)
Save big bucks by joining your local YMCA/YWCA. They have the same tumbling and dance classes for one-fourth the price, plus they have a pool.
Failing that, look around for your local Parks & Recreation Department, who often give 8-week tumbling and dance courses.
Dance is much more serious than tumbling. Which is it your girls really want to do? Dance needs a serious dance teacher, mainly because it’s frighteningly easy to damage soft, growing bones and tendons with incorrect technique. If they just want to have a good time (note that I’m saying what “they” want, not what “you” want ), sign them up for tumbling. But if your Six seriously wants to do dance, get her a serious dance teacher, not a former Mouseketeer who’s found a sucker market for her supposed skills (see below).
Number One Prime Directive, when it comes to “lessons for kids” (I’m putting this in big print):
If they aren’t having fun, then it’s not worth it.
'Kay? If they’re sick of Yankee Doodle Dandy, if they’re actively complaining, if they’re not “retaining what they’re learning”, then they’re not having a good time, and you are wasting their time, and your money. It’s as simple as that.
And if the Six has to have the gym teacher at school “help” her with her tumbling, a skill that she’s supposed to be learning from the tumbling teacher that you are paying extra for–um, well… What’s wrong with this picture?
The focus on any dance or tumbling class for kids simply HAS TO BE, “let’s learn new skills because it makes us feel good about ourselves to learn new skills”, NOT, “let’s learn a program to put on for the parents so they can see that they’re getting their money’s worth”.
The teacher doesn’t want any mommies to help out because obviously, if she weren’t necessary, then she’d be out of a job. It’s in her own best interests to make herself indispensable. Ditto for allowing the parents any input on the costumes, and double ditto for giving you cheat sheets so you can practice at home. I mean, come on, do I have to spell this out for you? She’s the “specialist”, but the minute you look behind the curtain and see who’s really pushing the buttons, that she’s not “indispensable”, she’s out of work.
And, you were aware that a “Ducktorate” isn’t a real college degree? It isn’t anything at all–it’s basically “a job at Disney World”, and doesn’t prove anything, let alone that she’s qualified to teach tumbling and dance. Here’s what she’s got.
Lots about Disney corporate philosophy, nothing about actual skills. Dump her, and go down to the Y.
All in all, I’m not surprised your Six can’t even do a forward roll. :rolleyes:
A SIX year old who “can barely do a forward roll”? Personally, in this one, I think your expectations are too high.
The scolded three year old sounds more serious to me. IMO, it’s innapropriate to scold a child of that age for inattention: it’s the teacher’s job to hold her attention, or if the teacher is working with another group, provide some diversion. Parents would be great as diversions.
Nah, Yojimbo, a three-year-old ought to be able to do a forward roll after somebody shows her how a few times, let alone a six-year-old. Cagiva’s got perfectly reasonable expectations.
I’ve sat through plenty of tumbling classes watching really tiny preschoolers bounce around like Mexican jumping beans–forward rolls, backward rolls, cartwheels, you name it. But they have to want to do it, and they have to have a teacher who knows how to work within their limited attention span.
Just a note: Some gym floors are sprung wood floors, but some cheaper ones (especially in church gymnasiums) are just wood-covered concrete. You can test it by jumping up and down on it–does it “give”, or does it feel like jumping up and down on a patio?
Where are they holding these lessons? In a private studio?
First, I will emphatically agree with the statement that if they aren’t having fun, then it isn’t worth it for anyone. In fact, if they have a particularly lousy time, you may well instill in them a dislike for music and movement.
While dance and tumbling are indeed two very different activities, and do require different equipment, they can be successfully combined. My 3yo takes a dance/tumble combo and loves it. The studio has two rooms and the tumbling equipment is set up ahead of time in the second room. They do about 40 minutes of dance, and then move into the other room for tumbling. The teacher has several stations set up, usually circling the room, so that almost all of the kids can be doing something simultaneously. For instance, they will start at the large wedge to practice forward rolls, then walk across the low balance beam, try a cartwheel on the special mat, try a backward roll over the cylinder (with the teacher’s help), jump a few times on the trampoline, and then start over.
The class that cagiva’s girls are in sounds far too structured to be any fun. And the teacher seems to have no skill at all in engaging young students.
I agree that 3 is young. I didn’t intend to let my youngest start until next year, but she watched her older sister and really wanted to do it. Not all 3yos are ready for this type of structured activity. You need to take your own child’s interests and abilities into consideration. On a similar note, while many 3yos can do forward rolls and most 6yos should be able to do one, some kids can’t, and some kids don’t want to. There are plenty of ways for a 6yo to exercise her body and develop gross motor skills. Gymnastics aren’t necessary.
Recitals seem to be a necessary evil, though there is one school in my town that doesn’t do them. Most of the kids seem to enjoy the performance (provided they aren’t pushed too hard) and parents love it. I’ve never known parents to have any say in the costumes or music. Nor have I ever known a teacher to give out a cheat sheet. Given the highly competitive nature of many of the yuppie parents in my area, this is probably a good thing. You should expect the teacher to spend some time each class rehearsing, but if all they do is rehearse that is, IMO, too much. My girls are working on their recital dances now, too. They spend about 15-20 minutes of each 1 hour class rehearsing. They aren’t expected to be perfect or to remember everything. In fact, when they do perform, there will be a teacher’s helper in the wings doing the dance with them in case they forget what they are supposed to be doing.
I spend about the same amount of money, but I wouldn’t do it if my girls weren’t having fun.
Thanks for all the input folks, our dance class is definitely a no frills operation. Its in a tiny storefront with a linoleum covered concrete floor. The waiting area is very cramped and the music is so loud it is impossible to talk to the other parents.
The kids do spend the first half hour practicing their tap routines and come recital night they are on their own. Some parents asked for the “cheat sheeets” once they saw others bringing in camcorders to film the routine for later practice at home. :rolleyes:
The second half hour is for the tumbling. There is just one mat that is pulled out, no balance beam or mini tramps or wedges or anything nifty like that. I would love it if the kids could do stuff simultaneously on different apparatus. No room in this studio.
This dance company opened about two years ago (there are about 3-4 dance studios in this small city) and is busting at the seams with students. This teacher was highly recommended over the others as being more casual and fun, but sometimes my kids have to be cajoled into going .
I was beginning to think that I was just too picky or something and being a new face in town I didn’t want to open up this can of worms with another parent in class. But it seems my concerns are valid.
And though I could live with the situation it just burns me that I’m stuck sitting in a resin chair being blasted out by tinny music two hours every Monday night when I could be at my aerobics class, and instead I’m fielding dirty looks from some parents because my sweet AJ is full of energy and running all aroung that teeny tiny studio while waiting for her turn. Ah well it will all be over soon, maybe sooner;)
BTW Duck Duck Goose there will soon be a YMCA closer to us. Construction starts this spring and it will have a pool too! Hooray:D
Regarding whether a six-year-old should be able to do a forward roll: depends on the kid. If your child is normally coordinated, I would be surprised if she couldn’t do one. However, some kids lack the required flexibility and coordination to tuck into the roll and it may take them longer. I know that boys tend to be less naturally flexible than girls, but my brother couldn’t do one until he was nine (versus me at age three).
Personally, I loved dancing but hated the rehearsals due to stage fright. Rehearsals can be tedious for adults, let alone for kids. You might want to look into a class that’s less recital oriented.
From your comment that the class is “bursting with students”, it seems that there is also a student/teacher ratio issue going on there as well.
As usual, Duck Duck Goose has said everything that I wanted to say, only better. And robinh (and others) round out a lot of good advice.
So, to make this more than a “me too” post… let me tell you an anecdote…
I was lucky enough to have my daughter land in a good gymnastics program when she was about 6. Good equipment and good instruction. For the little kids, it’s really nothing more than tumbling. My daughter fell in love with the gym and became a “gym rat”. During her competitive years, she willingly and lovingly spent 25+ hours a week there.
::fast forward to her freshman year in high school::
She’s practicing to give a speech in front of her English class. Now, having some experience in doing this myself, I ask her if she’d like any help. Nope. Well, I say, aren’t you nervous about this? (knowing that giving a speech in front of a group of people is one of the most feared tasks people have to do, and that practice can mitigate much of this fear).
She gives me a look like I’m from another planet (not all that unusual of an event actually), and says… Dad, this is nothing to get nervous about… I get nervous doing a back flip on a 4 inch wide balance beam, getting judged in front of thousands of people… you think I’m going to get nervous about this little speech?
At that moment I fully realized how much self confidence her gymnastics experiences had given her. Not to mention her strength, agility, and grace.
She now, as a high school senior, coaches the little kids at the same gym where she was once a little kid herself… and she loves it, and she’s good at it.
I said all that to say this… take the effort to find a good program. The end result can truly be worth it.
This sounds like one hell of a rip off. 700 bucks for this crap? Give me a break! They sound miserable, and quite frankly, if she doesn’t want parents to help-with all these little kids running around, someone is going to get hurt. We had student assistants and such.
When I was three, at our local church, we had a teacher doing a class of tap, ballet and tumble. Basic skills, silly stuff, pretty fun. I used to go over to the other side of the room and pretend I was teaching the class, and usually the teacher wouldn’t have a problem. The ONLY time she did was when I was being goofy one day and swinging my dance bag all around-knocking people on the head. THAT wasn’t a good idea!
(But that was before I was diagnosed with ADHD-looking back, it’s not a surprise).
Still, we had fun. We did “cartwheels”, by the teacher and an older assistant stutdent helping us-one would take our hands and help us put them down, then our legs. They sort of tumbled us over-if you know what I mean. (I can still hear her saying, “Hand, hand. Foot foot. Pretend you’re going over a little stream.” Hgehehe!)
We had one recital. We wore our usual pink leotards and slippers, but with little red vests and stocking caps for tap, and a white tulle tutu with a little tinsel tiara for ballet. It was just for fun-I remember turning around and looking at the shadows behind me and being fascinated by it.
So really, it was more of a fun, exercise thing, and I could pretend to be a ballerina. That’s all.
), sign them up for tumbling. But if your Six seriously wants to do dance, get her a serious dance teacher, not a former Mouseketeer who’s found a sucker market for her supposed skills (see below).