My eight-year-old son and ten-year-old daughter are attending a two week drama camp held at their elementary school. I'll admit, my motivating factors when registering them were not pure, exactly. I didn't think "hmm, what enrichment activities would rock their socks off, and allow them to blossom?" I was more interested in the 9am to 3pm 5 days a week for two whole weeks. Plus, you know, enrichment, blossoming yadda yadda.

After the school variety show this year, where my daughter's act was not selected (she and two friends had decided to sing Caramelldansen. In Swedish. Swedish-ish) she came home with a burning desire to perform. Drama camp sounded perfect, because not only does she want to perform, she is also a ten-year-old girl and therefore dramatic. All the time.

My son, however, while an eight-year-old boy, and therefore also dramatic, also all the time, is not as interested in performing. He does like to play imaginatively, and he was also old enough to attend so you know how hard I thought about that. One kid out of the house for two weeks, or two kids? What Would Jenny Do?

At drop-off this morning, one of the instructors came running out to the car to ask me about my son's quirks during the program.

Eh? Quirks? My kid? Surely not.

So, it turns out that my son is hanging on the periphery of the acting exercises, and is sort of brushing off the instructor's request to join the rest of the group in pretending to walk through a swimming pool through of Jell-O. He's looking a bit lost, she said, and doesn't seem to want to let go and throw himself into the process.

I spluttered about it being his first experience with acting exercises, and how he can be a little reserved, especially if the requested behavior is outside his norm (don't get me wrong, the kid is a regular goof-ball, but more on that in a minute.) She assured me he isn't being disruptive, or messing with the group mojo, however, she did hint heavily that there is a waiting list for this camp filled with kids who are super-enthusiastic about theater, and would just love to take his slot if he's not enjoying himself.

Here's the thing - while I made my kids both play baseball, sometimes at gun-point (not really) I'm not into forced enrichment as a rule. So when I picked them up on the first day, and both kids were talking at once, full of excitement about the first day at camp. They ran in eagerly on the second day, and both kids came out all fired up on day two.

I gave the teacher a bit of the stink-eye, I'm afraid, and I said "well, he's assuring me he's having a great time. He's coming home excited and eager to return the next day." She gave me sad eyes and said - when we were casting the roles for our showcase, it became apparent that your son did not specify any preferences in roles. He didn't even officially try out for anything.

Oh noes! I thought to myself. I don't care if they make him a tree, or a lamp, or whatever. He's obviously not very clear on the concept of what he's doing there.

With a final sigh, she mentioned that when they asked the kids to pretend they were dying of thirst in the desert, most of the kids dropped to the floor and writhed about, moaning. My son, however, called his (insert water-squirting pokemon here) to give him water, and he was saved, and also still standing, unlike the rest of the poor unfortunate actors.

You give the kid a problematic situation to act out, and he just moves right through to the conclusion.

"He's a Virgo," I said, by way of explanation.

This afternoon when I picked the kids up, they were again bubbling over with joy at the day's activities. My son apparently is going to be not only a pickpocket in Oliver, but he's also got the role of a tiger who gets to bite the pants right off of another character.

I'll give those ladies some props, because if there is something my kid knows how to do, it's pick a pocket. And biting the pants off? That's old hat for the original Nudito Bandito.

It's got to be better than this.