Involved.

Last night I took Luke to his first "class." The boy is four and a half and we've never put him in T-ball, preschool,  play groups, or anything that we needed to be committed to for him to learn a skill.

I don't think there's anything right or wrong with putting children into activities at young ages, our lives have just been so dynamic that I have had little opportunity to do so. In our location, people live and breathe hockey, and putting your child into hockey at age 3 is the norm if you have plans for them to play hockey in high school. For reasons I won't get into too much, I have no desire to be the hockey family. It's too much money, too much travel, too much equipment, and too much focus on hockey instead of the focus being on faith and family. No, we need a hockey alternative.

We are already planning on putting Luke into baseball in the spring, but as we chomp at the bit stuck inside all winter, we needed something to do. The best thing we came up with was a gymnastics class. We're not planning on Luke being a gymnast or anything, but the class is centered on strength training, balance and body control. And let's face it, what four year old boy doesn't need help with body control? Luke loved the class and immediately asked if he could go again tomorrow. Bars, bars, and more bars--hanging from bars, pulling up from bars, swinging from bars, climbing on bars, monkey bars. Yes, this is fun.  Now we know that at least once a week, despite the cold, that he can get out and burn some energy and learn a few things along the way.

Mark my words, I'll be ready next September to enroll the boys in any activity possible that will give them ample time to run and climb. I will be prepared next time!