If you live in a small town...

goodheartedmommy

what do you do for classes/sports for your kids?

 

We're about 45 minutes from a mid-size city that has everything there is to offer, but I'm so annoyed with driving there for everything. There will be tball for E here, and swim lessons, but nothing like gym/ballet for the girls.

 

#6

We live in a small town but do have a dance studio and pretty nice recreation dept. so they have plenty of sports and dance.  They girls really love dance so once they fare a tad older I have thought about moving them to one about 40mins away because it is larger.  The one they go to now doesnt teach technique and positions, only a routine for each ballet, tap and jazz for the recital.  If my girls want to get serious about dance I would like them to actually learn technique/positions etc instead of just a routine.  The one 40mins away does both.  It is a 2hr class instead of 1hr.  The 1st hour is stretching/technique, positions, the 2nd hr is learning their routine for the recital.  If they dont care I will just keep them where they are.  

As for L he played tee ball for 2 years and just played flag football for the first year this past fall.  He wasnt a fan of tee ball (mid June, way too hot games in the mid afternoon so its miserable outside....he hates being hot)  He did better for football and really liked it.  We just signed him up for basketball and he is super excited.  It starts in Feb.

There is also a soccer league for the County but I always miss sign ups.  Im not sure any of mine would like soccer although L kicks really good with his left foot.  My BIL plays in a soccer league in NoVA and was telling me about left footed kickers are "special" or something.  We may try soccer in the spring.  We ask and if the kids want to we do it, if not we dont.  

I cant wait for the girls to be old enough to cheer.  They really like to dress up in their cheerleading outfits and play cheerleader.  

The only thing I wish we had more of around was music lessons.  I would love for L to take piano because he really shows interest in it.  I just dont know of anyone who teaches or where to find someone.

 

ridesbuttons

My town is 20K people and very retirement heavy.  We have hockey, skating, skiing (both kinds), ballet/dance of all kinds, swimming, karate, judo, music, soccer, tball...and those are the things that I know about without looking deeper in.

My kids do skating, skiing, swimming and will start soccer in the spring.  I will enroll my 2 year old in music as soon as he 'ages in'.

I don't want to get too crazy into organized sports, etc.  I really believe in free play and unstructured time for the kids, especially outdoor time. 

 

AZ_Erica

We go to the nearest town (30 minutes) for gymnastics for DD.  DS will start swimming there in the spring.  DS will be able to do soccer in town this summer.  I think that's just one of the things that goes along with living in a small town.

~Kat~

We live in a town of 12,000. There are martial arts, dance, tee ball, gymnastics, and soccer as far as I know. There is also a local theater company which is really, really low budget, but if DS was interested in that type of thing then he could take classes and audition for parts when he turns 5. Our town isn't close to anything much bigger and in situations like this it is a good thing because people create the services that they want to have instead of driving somewhere else to get them.

JenniC1135

Are you sure you don't have dance?  My town has a couple of dance studios, but I had no desire to put DD into something so formal that would involve an expensive recital situation.  She took dance last yr at the Little Gym, but that closed and she was very sad.  It turns out that there was (is) a "secret" class that her old teacher does on Tuesday mornings at a local church.  You sort of have to know someone who's already in it to get info about it - you'd never find it on a flyer anywhere - but she does ballet and tap, and in the spring there's a potluck dinner / recital in a $17 tutu from Costco.  Ask around - maybe you'd get lucky, or maybe there's someone who'd be willing to teach it if she had a group of little girls interested.

ccm1203

There is T-ball and soccer, swim lessons are available at the lake, I am sure there are other things.  I think there is a dance studio in town.  This is available in the through the parks & rec dept of town that our school district is in not the town that we actually live in.