Lydia's Social Anxiety

So, here's the thing. Lydia is a total ham when she is in the comfort of family. But in reality she has major social anxiety. I have know this for quite some time now. It affects her anywhere outside of the home. Even at church where she is around the same kids and adults every week.

It really hit me hard yesterday when about 10 kids and their moms came to the house. She has always been great at home when people come over. Sometimes when someone she doesn't know comes into the house she is shy at first but then when she gets warmed up she's fine. But yesterday, I could tell she was under stress about what all the kids were doing, getting into things, even the adults sitting on the piano bench seemed to bother her. She had to be right by me the whole time. She had little to no interest in the kids that were here. I mean, this is what I do, I watch kids in my house! You would think she would be used to it.

So, after thinking long and hard about it, I feel like I need to get her into some extra curricular activities. And possibly some play dates outside of the house. I am hoping that some social interaction out of her comfort zone will help open her up and let her know that it is okay to be out and around big groups of people without having anxiety over it. I fear that she will start school in the fall and hate it for that reason. So, now the question is DO I get her involved with something outside of the house and if so, what? Ballet? Soccer? She will be 5 in March. Any suggestions would be awesome.