Extra-Curricular Activities

Lately Margot's after-school Brownies activity has been a little "meh". There are a couple reasons for this: first, Margot is one of the older kids in her troupe and she's finding a lot of the other kids aren't very mature (and trust me, when an 8-year old who believes in Santa Claus notices that, there's a problem!); second, the troupe seems a bit more disorganized this year in comparison to previous ones.

So recently, after she asked us if she could try something else, I found it hard to say no. While I'm not normally a fan of quitting something half way through (the Brownie "term" ends in June) since she's been in Brownies/Sparks* for a couple years now and had a few good adventures along the way I didn't mind so much in this case.

We've actually tried a variety of after-school activities over the years with mixed results:

• Dance -  Margot's first activity and still going strong!
• Swimming lessons - an essential life skill in my books. Our go-to activity when we can't think of something else.
• Drama - pretty fun but the time slot conflicted with dance.
• Pottery - really nice/zen atmosphere at a local studio. Artsy but a bit off-beat.
• After-school-art. OK. Margot liked it. I'm not so sure she learned much.
• Singing - also fun but Margot got bored.
• Gymnastics - I was not impressed. If you're not in the competitive stream the instructors don't put too much effort into it.
• Brownies. Pretty sweet because it's hosted down the street at a nearby school but again I'm not sure if Margot actually learned anything. At the end of the day it's all about the troupe leaders

As you can see that list is pretty arts-and-crafts-heavy. So in an effort to try and balance out Margot's life skills, Glosette Girl and I asked her to select a sport for a change of pace. Ah Margot - she's a sly cookie let me tell you! Guess what she selected?

The cowgirl gettin' ready at Wesley Clover Stables

Equestrian!

Geez. What a lucky girl. Who would have thought that even living in downtown Ottawa we'd be only 20 minutes away from a riding school and stable?! Next stop, the Olympics! (Well, once she gets on a horse - that happens in week 4).

Parents have to sit in the waiting room and watch the action from a TV monitor

* Brownies = junior Girl Guides. Sparks = junior Brownies