Bowling...with a Ball!

Last weekend, Audrey went to a birthday part for a friend from her class.  It was a bowling party.  She had never been bowling before, in an actual bowling ally with an actual ball and actual pins.  When we were getting ready to go, I told her we were going to go bowling, and we needed to take socks with us.  Then, I started to explain how it worked, and she promptly informed me that she knows how to bowl, because she does it on the Xbox (Kinect). 

When we got to the party, she was a little taken aback, because this wasn't exactly like playing the Kinect bowling in our living room. I had to explain why she had to change her shoes.  Then, when she went to pick a ball, you would have thought she was picking out her wedding dress; she had to pick them up and look at them, and then find the perfect color.  Granted, the bright coral one she picked was really easy to pick out of the pack. 

When she finally got to bowl, they had the bumpers on, which I fully expected.  However, I was surprised to see a metal ramp that the children could use to get the balls going.  Once Audrey got the hang of it, she was actually really good.  She even started running up to the ramp to get more force behind the ball when she pushed it. She got 4 spares over the course of the day.  Unfortunately, the way preschoolers take turns usually means they aren't going on their own turn, so we don't have an actual score to share.  I was proud of her though. Just to give some perspective, I only saw one other child there get a spare and one that got a strike.  

I have always been a big proponent of playing actual games and not video games, but in this case, the video game actually helped.  I didn't have to explain the rules or the purpose of the game, and Audrey did really well.  She tried a few times to bowl "granny style," but wasn't as successful.  Still, she managed to get the ball down to the end and knock down some pins in the process.  She also seemed to have a lot of fun.  As much as she liked it though, it hasn't topped her love of dancing.  When I asked if she wants to quit dance class and take up bowling, she responded with a wrinkled nose and a firm "No."