Monday, March 15, 2010

Recommendations, Please!

VA people...either current residents or past...I need your help. =)

Google and I are having a great time this morning looking for music classes for both girls and a dance school for Carly near Quantico. If you happen to know of something awesome, please let me know!

The dance schools...there are a million. If we were going to BE there for longer than 10 months I know where she'd go - RIGHT HERE - but it seems kind of intense for just being there a year. Don't get me wrong, I'm loving the structure and the professionalism...but maybe for 8-year old Carly. Not 5-year old Carly.

The flip side of that is that I don't want her to just run around in circles for an hour every week and then put on a bumblebee tutu at the end of the year and stand on a stage with twenty other confused kids at a recital. We have a recital this year, and I'm sure she's going to be adorable and I can guarantee that I will subject you to lots of video footage...as much as I act all snobby about recitals, I will totally be standing-ovation Mom with the camera and the carnations for my little dancer. Haha.

Anyway, what I'm trying to find is a balance between really high standards and a really warm environment. Does a place like that exist? I want her to have FUN, but I'm not into wasting her time. If she's going to be in a class and not outside looking for worms and counting clouds, I really want her to be getting something out of it. It's kind of fun for me, actually, to get to play around and research and find the perfect places to build a learning career even though we're moving all over. And thank GOODNESS that Paul and I are on the same page about the quality we expect for these girls. So, if you know of a dance school that has a dress code and hair policies (seems like a tiny detail, but it means a LOT), with a supportive atmosphere, small classes and super structure and is not an hour away...let me know.

Not that I'm picky or anything... =)

2 comments:

Steph said...

i have put my mom on this mission! she is going to ask the teachers at work where they take their kids - or the grandma teachers at work where their granddaughters go! :) i took dance down in stafford when i was little - but i don't think that studio is still open...but we are on a mission to find a place for you! :)

Kalyn said...

I've got a recommendation for ya...skip Virginia all together and come home faster!!! That is a GREAT idea. :)