School is In!

The beginning of fall not only symbolized the change of a season, it also means that school is back in session. Well, "school" for a 1.5 year old. September marks the re-opening of our local community centers, which means class is in session! Knowing that it could be a very looooong winter, I decided to sign Sam up for a few classes to make sure he continues to get lots of exercise, which hopefully means nice long naps. This term we signed up for three classes - Balls, Balls Bonanza, Tumbling and Music class. I thought this was a nice sampling of different activities, exposing Sam to a variety of kids and opportunities.

The music class started things off and I made one fatal mistake - on our way to the class, I inadvertently walked by the gym and a rack of basketballs. Sam instantly thought he was there to play ball and generally run around like a mad man but when we kept walking into our music class, all hell broke loose. He kept looking at me saying, "Baball? Baball?" Like "hello woman, you just walked by possibly the most fun place on the planet to take me to this crappy room filled with scarfs and bells, while Irish fiddle tunes play in the background. Is this a joke?"

I thought once we sat down and he saw how the other children were enjoying themselves, dancing and flitting around, he would join in the fun and embrace his inner-musician. As things go with Sam, no such luck. For the first part of the class he sat by the door, chanting "baball, baball, baball." When he finally got sick of his chanting, he moved on to destruction. Meticulously going one-by-one to each of the cabinets and drawers, trying to discover which one had narrowly avoided the childproof lock. Luckily, they had done a pretty thorough job securing the obvious but Sam found a way around it - he figured out that even though the drawers wouldn't open all the way, the would open just enough that he could slam it shut, making a really loud noise. So, while all the little children danced and frolicked with their bells and scarfs, Sam opened and slammed shut the only available drawer. All the while, I am sitting in a circle with the rest of the class singing to my make-believe child who can sit still.

At one point, Sam made his way back to the door and begun to push on it with all his might. I kept an eye on him but figured there was no way he could possibly open the heavy door. Not 20 seconds later, I hear a slam and a gasp from the teacher. Sam had escaped down the hall and was heading out the front door. I quickly got up (as quick as I can 6 months pregnant and carrying an addition 20+ pounds) and chased him down, grabbing him just before he hitchhiked to the nearest sports field. From then on, all the parents made a concerted effort to make sure the door was firmly closed, thus saving me an embarrassing waddle down the hall to capture my son.

The last part of the class, we had a small breakthrough - the teacher brought out the drums. Sam was thrilled to have two drumsticks and his own drum to beat on. I sighed a sigh of relief and hope that one day, he'll appreciate the endless hours of Twinkle Star and Ba Ba Blacksheep.