Two of my boys have been taking summer enrichment classes. My 9-year-old is in the "Latin Fiesta" class where he's learned Spanish, made a pinata, made maracas and learned some Zumba dance moves. The class ends tomorrow with a fiesta.
My 7-year-old enrolled in "Summer Musical." I was so glad when he came home from school with the brochure and told me he wanted to sign up. I love to hear him sing. He has the sweetest little voice. And he has a great memory and has no problem getting the words to a song down. When he was in kindergarten, I took him to a meeting for the school's talent show. We'd recently gotten a Rock Band game and his favorite song to sing on it was "Eye of the Tiger." I brought a CD for him to sing along with. He'd sang it dozens of times at home, with lots of dramatic facial expressions and dance moves included. When he got to the talent show meeting, he was hesitant, but with a little coaxing got up and performed. Immediately after he was done, he begged me to go home. He seemed very uncomfortable with all the eyes on him. I couldn't get him to go back and perform no matter how hard I tried or how much I encouraged him.
So, this year I was very happy that he was going to be brave enough to take the class knowing that he'd be singing in front of other people. For the past four weeks, the class has practiced for a performance of "Joust." He was to be a medieval knight. A couple times he came home from class complaining that the costumes or songs were lame, but overall, he seemed to enjoy the class.
Earlier this week as I was driving him to school one morning, he burst into tears saying he didn't want to be in the play. He was afraid people would laugh at him or make fun of him if he got up on the stage. I assured him that wouldn't happen and tried to boost his confidence. He wasn't buying it. He sat in the car and sobbed for a good three minutes before I could convince him to calm down and head into school. I was worried that he'd chicken out and I wouldn't be able to get him to the play.
Last night, I was pleased that he pulled out his script and asked me to rehearse with him, reciting the lines of the damsels and singing the group numbers with him. Things were looking up.
Tonight was the night. I had no trouble getting him out the door. He didn't seem nervous at all. We got there plenty early and the doors weren't even unlocked yet. I was impressed at how he knew not only his lines, but everyone else's. I could see him mouthing the lines as the other people spoke. He sang passionately and I was impressed. Afterwards, my little knight and I went out for a burger and milkshake. I always cherish those moments when I can give one of the five boys undivided attention. This one always eats it up. I was so proud to see him sing so confidently and enjoy himself. I hope he doesn't lose that and than I'm able to see him up on stage many more times.
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