S.W.
Hi-- I'm in Ogden with three boys, and I've found a couple good things.
First, Dance Arts is a dance studio right behind Maceys on 37th Street. They have a creative movement class for kids ages 3 to 5, and there's a new session starting up in January. Miss Beth is the owner and teaches that class and I think she is terrific. She is friendly with the kids but there's a nice sense of order and protocol to her classes I think my son responds to well. Beth is a former professional dancer from Oregon, and she is unphased by having a boy in her classes and can actually teach him how to dance like a boy--so cute for me to see him give a bow at the end of class when the girls in class give a curtsy. I paid $30 a month for weekly, 45-minute classes. I think there was a $15 one-time registration fee,too. (My son is in an older class there now.)
There are quite a few classes offered at the Eccles Art Center. I think the schedule is at www.ogden4arts.org. The best I've found is the Virginia Tanner Creative Dance program. It is absolutely wonderful! They have a live pianist and play a lot of active dance games. For example, they'll read a story about monkeys and then talk about how monkeys move and then everyone will show a monkey dance and the pianist will adjust her playing according to each child's movements. The teachers come up from Salt Lake and are experienced and great with the children. Very fun. A new session starts in January, and again, maybe you could fudge on your son's age or ask what they recommend. I paid $200 for weekly, one-hour classes for a semester, so about January through April.
My boys have just started taking classes at Elite Gymnastics on about Harrison and 31st and it's OK. I have friends who just rave about it, but my boys are not in their classes, so I think the teacher makes a big difference. Fred is the owner and he teaches a parent-tot class that people seem to love, and there's also a few classes for 3 to 5 year-olds offered. The gym is dusty and dirty, but it IS a gym. It also feels a bit disorganized trying to get signed up for a class. It's also irresistibly fun if you're a kid because my boys are always eager to go to their class and jump around on the foam and mats. I pay $35 a month for weekly one-hour classes, and I think there was a registration fee, too. I've heard rumors of another gym in North Ogden that is a bit more professional, and I may look into it. But my kids do have fun at Elite and the parent-tot class looks better than the one my three-year-old is in right now.
Finally, you might want to check out Ogden City's Web site for updates on their Smart Start program. I think it's just during the summer, but the one we did was for T-ball skills. It's a parent and child class. There are five or six weekly sessions at a park designed to teach 3 to 5-year-old kids skills associated with the game (but not actually play the game yet). It was about $15 for everything, and we got a little mitt and Koosh ball and book to help us practice. It was low-key but a fun opportunity to start a sport with a little kid. We'll probably do it again this year with my middle boy, since the oldest one has graduated to real T-ball.
In the summer, we've liked swim lessons at North Ogden Aquatic Center--worth the drive for such a nice pool and lots of classes for little ones.
Let me know what else you find! Hope this helps!
