This week’s brain dump:
- A couple of friends are trying to convince me to sign my son up for Kindermusik. In theory a music class where kids dance, sing and interact with one another sounds splendid, but that $250 price tag., not so much. If you have an opinion on this topic PLEASE leave me a comment below.
- Three friends/family members are expecting babies in the spring. As a result I’ve spent more time in the mall over the last three days then I probably have in the last three to six months. I really want to blog about my incredible baby bargains, but I need to wait until all of the gifts have been handed out.
- The first two babies are receiving gifts just because I love their moms and dads. The gifts will be dropped off and mailed. The third set of gifts will be carried to a baby shower for a member of the family. I feel obligated to spend a specific dollar amount, (I know others will be keeping tabs of how much I spent), though to be honest I’m not sure just how much I should spend.
- I’ve taken over record keeping for my husband and now journal all three of our credit cards each month. It doesn’t take much time to write everything down, but I do NOT enjoy the task. Every time I pull out my credit card I find myself thinking, “ugh, this is another transaction I need to journal.” I wonder if this will help me spend less money over the long haul.
- I decided to upgrade our plane seats after all. I burned through a $100 Visa gift card in a matter of days this week. Granted I was buying a lot of gifts, but I was still shocked when the clerk told me the balance on my card was $0. If I can spend money so easily on other things I can certainly blow an extra $5 a seat on the hope of two extra inches of legroom and a seat at the front of the plane. I have enough aches and pains in my neck and back that the mere thought of extra legroom swayed me to make the decision.
- After spending $100 in a matter of days I considered going on an all cash adventure. It’s difficult to keep tabs of my spending with a credit card. Perhaps I should take $100 out of the ATM and see just how long I can make it last. I prefer to use plastic, which provides cash back rewards, but it would be an interesting experiment. Have you ever tried this?
We do Music Together classes with our girls and they love them. I think it is the same idea as Kindermusic. It really is fun, but our classes aren’t nearly that expensive. I think I paid $250 for both of them for the next session that starts this weekend. We aren’t in the DC area where everything seems expensive to me.
My daughter (she’s 28 months) has done Kindermusik. We’re enrolled in the next session through our Park District. It runs end of Jan to mid May and is $210. That includes the cost of an instrument, 2 books and the CD of all the songs.
I’ve had my daughter in several different types of classes including those at Gymboree. I have to say that so far Kindermusik is my favorite. The way ours is structured is more like what I would expect from a classroom environment. We do a “hello” song, then get up and sing and dance and do some physical stuff. Then we have what could be similar to “circle time” at school when the kids sit on a mat and the teacher reads a book. Then comes cuddle time. This is *especially* important for young kids because it helps them absorb what they’re learning. Having toddlers transition is super important for school as well. This will also bring to light any possible sensory issues. I know it did for my daughter. She has a ton of trouble calming down and transitioning to new activities.
As far as the expense goes, I think that anything that will help your little guy grow and learn is worth the cost. If you’re taking other classes or have other activities that you feel are helping to prepare him for school then stick with those. Now that he’s approaching 2 1/2 and 3, it’s time to start making sure he’ll be able to “behave” in class and learn as much as possible.
We did not do any early classes with our twins at age 2. I don’t have an extra set of hands during the day (i.e., retired grandparent in town), so the few times I attempted a regular “mommy and me” class, I felt that I spent the entire time juggling children or chasing after one while cheering on the other. Also, the cost was often prohibitive for two at once, and the class schedule was inconvenient considering the distance and travel time/possibility of dreaded car naps. It is hard to get past the up-front price tag of several-month-long session classes like Little Gym, Gymboree, Kindermusik, etc.
Having said all that, I think my kids would have really enjoyed it, and in retrospect I wish I had tried a little more to get out of the house.
When the girls were 3-4, we all enjoyed Fit & Fun classes at the Y, which were free to members. That was a good class because there was lots of running around, some skills work, music and movement, all led by an instructor. Parents could participate if they wanted, sit and watch, or work out nearby.