HGw many group activities are reasonable for a social kid

[Dmmetler]

My DD will be Home schooled next year. She loves being part of a group, and has loved kindergarten on the social side-it was the "not learning anything I don't already know" side that's been the issue. Looking at just what's in the community, there are a lot of options for group activities for HSed kids. And I'd like to do at least some of them to hopefully connect to home schoolers in our area.

 

So, what is reasonable? I know if I ask her, she'd want to do it all-but I don't want to spend our lives in the car or mine sitting and waiting for her.

 

She takes dance (Ballet/tap) now, and will continue that, and will also be moving from a group music class to formal piano lessons.

[Erica in OR]

I imagine you'll find what level suits you when you're actually in the middle of it. My kids have similar activities (dance, piano), plus we join in many of the activities our homeschool group offers. Part of it depends on the other things going on (church events, holidays, what's going on in school). If I end up feel harassed and overwhelmed myself, that's my cue to scale back.

 

Erica in OR

[Jean in Newcastle]

You will need to find out what fits not only her desires but what fits your families' budget (both financial and time). You do not have to have formal activities every day. Don't forget if you are trying to tally up how much social time she's getting, less formal social times like play in the neighborhood, playdates with friends, church if that is something you attend, etc. Not all of it has to be with kids who are exactly her age - in fact, many of us prefer that our children learn to relate to people of all ages!

[Ellie]

Ballet and music sound good. *I* would probably not add any more regularly scheduled, weekly activities (not counting any weekly church activity, such as AWANA or Pioneer Clubs). An informal park day with other hsers, maybe a field trip, would be fine, but nothing scheduled on a regular, weekly basis.

 

But that's just me. :-)

[LibraryLover]

My dd's ballet class is not social. There are social aspects-- chatting during performance rehearsals during down times-- but there is absolutely no chit -chat time in the class itself.

 

So for us, for her, class time and social time are polar opposites.

 

She does have an art class that is more social, but she is often annoyed at all the conversations going on while she is trying to work.

 

For her, social time is play time, or sometimes at certain out door activities, like working in a community garden, chatting in the car on the way to a field trip, or going around the museum talking together about all your favorite statues (which recently happened). Sleep overs with best friend who is also a hser is social, and she is at one tonight. Last yr, she went to a summer drama program and that was very social. She loved that. She also did an Ancient Rome day camp program with some schoolers a couple of summers ago when she was 7 that she still talks about.

[Ellie]

My dd's ballet class is not social. There are social aspects-- chatting during performance rehearsals during down times-- but there is absolutely no chit -chat time in the class itself.

 

So for us, for her, class time and social time are polar opposites.

I know. That's true. But I still wouldn't recommend adding more outside activities for the sake of socialzing.

 

The reason I know this is that I also have a very social dd who did Highland dance, then ballet, and is now a ballet teacher. Sometimes it's just the being around outside people, not actually socializing, that's important.

[Peela]

Weve always tended to do a lot of activities- my two are very social- and over time we have settled into a few. I woudl play it by ear- do several, cut back if its too much- add in more if its not enough. My kids like to have something other than school every day- but yours is still so young. Some families do hardly any activities- we have always done lots.

[GoVanGogh]

My son and I are social and like to get out and go.

For us, three regular activities are great (music, art, science) with an occasional fourth activity (nature group meets once a month or so). Anything more than that wears us both out. Plus, I like to leave room in our schedule for spur-of-the-moment things, like field trips and park days. I find when I have four or more things going on a regular basis, our time is just too crowded for last minute stuff.

Course, all this also probably depends on where you live. I am in the city, where there are lots of events for homeschoolers - some are within minutes of our home, others are an hour drive across town. I try to keep regular activities as close to home as possible. And art and music are piggy-backed on the same afternoon, so that cuts down on 'running.'

(I personally am involved in a hobby club and take DS to those events on a monthly basis.)

[LibraryLover]

I know. That's true. But I still wouldn't recommend adding more outside activities for the sake of socialzing.

 

The reason I know this is that I also have a very social dd who did Highland dance, then ballet, and is now a ballet teacher. Sometimes it's just the being around outside people, not actually socializing, that's important.

 

 

As long as one understands the family and child needs, you're good. My dd needs outlets for play that can't be met in classes, so we make time for that. We have a crazy -social hs group and there is no way I can keep up. lol We pick and choose what works. My youngest would like to be out daily. I just can't do that and meet the needs of the other children (or my own needs!) at the same time. I find that as long as she has at least two friend day gatherings in every 10, , she manages fine. I also find that inviting her best friend over for a Sat sleepover that begins at noon & doesn't end until 7 pm on Sun will buy me at least 5 days without friend- gathering begging. lol

Edited February 15, 2010 by LibraryLover

[Dmmetler]

I guess what I'm concerned with is connecting with other local home schoolers during the day. My DD's current dance class, music class and church group are all kids who go to traditional school, which limits play time during the day dramatically. And since she's an only child, it's just her, me, and whatever we put together. So it's a real temptation to sign up for everything just to meet people-but at the same time, the reason for pulling her out of school is so she CAN learn at the speed and depth that she wants to learn.

[3and3]

Personally, too many activities burn me out! But I have 5 at home and lots of things to do around the house. We have dance once a week for the girls and that's it. Now that the twins are getting older I am thinking of adding in another activity for my ds 5yo.

If I were you I'd try to find 1 HS group activity to do during the day in the fall. Also, I would make sure it was something if you didn't make it to every week it wouldn't kill your progress. Maybe, Art or PE. Start slow because it is going to take awhile to get used to HSing.

Or maybe even start HS in summer that way your in the swing of things in the fall so you'll know how much outside activities you can handle.

[Ottakee]

Check out local homeschool groups. Many offer "one time" events that can be fun/educational/social but dont' require a bunch of commitment. They might be park days, field trips, craft days, etc.

 

I personally don't like to commit to a lot of every week activities but rather pick and choose what we want to do and what fits in our schedule and budget.

[LibraryLover]

That's exactly what we do. Pick and choose what works. We have a fairly large group and it is very social. We can't do all that. Of course, some weeks we do nothing, and other weeks we do a lot. One week there was a museum field trip, sledding, and a knitting group. We did it all because the museum was a great field trip, the snow that week was perfect sledding snow, and I needed help with my kinitting. lol But it is not always like that.

 

Check out local homeschool groups. Many offer "one time" events that can be fun/educational/social but dont' require a bunch of commitment. They might be park days, field trips, craft days, etc.

 

I personally don't like to commit to a lot of every week activities but rather pick and choose what we want to do and what fits in our schedule and budget.

[Parrothead]

I guess what I'm concerned with is connecting with other local home schoolers during the day. My DD's current dance class, music class and church group are all kids who go to traditional school, which limits play time during the day dramatically. And since she's an only child, it's just her, me, and whatever we put together. So it's a real temptation to sign up for everything just to meet people-but at the same time, the reason for pulling her out of school is so she CAN learn at the speed and depth that she wants to learn.

I'm in the same boat. Dd is an only and it is just us most of the time. Added to that we moved just after the school year started.

 

Dd takes ballet, tap and jazz, karate, goes to girl scouts and Sunday school. That sounds like a lot but really the first three are not social activities. We belong to the local homeschool group that meets once a month. The meetings are about half and half for social and educational activities.

 

You will have to find what works for you guys. I'd rather dd be busy out of the house after school than be here bored watching TV or expecting me to play Barbie.