Miss Nita is a brave soul. For 45 minutes each Saturday, she has signed on to teach ballet to 12 three-year-olds. That might not sound like a big undertaking, but after observing the first class and how long it took just to get all the little ladies in a circle, I’m certain that she’s not being paid enough.

After the last class, I went up to her and just thanked her for being so patient with all of them–especially mine who likes to dance, literally, to the beat of her own drum. Often times I’m on the sidelines cringing a little bit because Evelyn is off doing twirls while the rest of the class is pinching thumb to index finger to practice the right hand motions. Miss Nita, upon thanking her for putting up with Evelyn’s energy, said, “I actually love that she is free spirited! I’m just happy to have people to dance with!”  I guess that’s one way to cope.

Although she’s not paid enough, I’m glad this course was only 40 bucks because after 2 classes Evelyn has decided she’s had enough. Apparently the spots (round pieces of construction paper with the girls’ names on them to help the sanity of Miss Nita) annoy her. And the other girls scare her. The latter is just ridiculous and the former couldn’t be further from the truth. If anything, the other girls are scared of her and her need to dominate story time when they make up plots for their dancing mermaids (Miss Nita finds creative ways to teach ballet). Mermaids sleep on rocks, NOT beds. Evelyn would know. So, despite being over it, we’ll continue to chug along. I’m afraid we’ll hurt Miss Nita’s feelings if we skip out. Besides, every class needs a free spirit in there to keep things interesting.

That bothersome spot.

I just think this girl is the cutest. Love her little tummy.

They’ve been told over and over not to hang on the bar. Of course, it’s the first thing they do.

Miss Nita. The lady who just loves to dance.