How much outside activity are your dc involved in

[Gamom3]

I don't want to be involved in so many activities that dc can not get their work done.

 

 

Dc definitely want to do 4-H next year. A co-op we are debating on..dd has almost made the decision of not doing it.

Ds wants to continue to be in the homeschool bowling league..dd does not, but says she will if ds does.

 

So that is only 3 things a week on different days.

 

Given that the gas is outrageous and 2 of these events are 20mins away.

 

I am uncertain on how far 4H will be...it should only be 10mins away.

 

4H will be on Monday..from what I am told will be 3hrs..if enough homeschoolers will do this it can be done in the morning. I am not sure if we want to do it in the morning or afternoon.

 

Co-op on Tuesdays from 1:30-3:45..we have to leave 30mins early to get there.

 

Bowling on Thursdays from 1 to 3.

 

 

I am really wondering if dc can do all 3(if we decide to) and get their work done.

They will be in 5th and 7th and 95% of their work is going to be new to them, since we are changing curriculum.

 

 

 

 

So how much outside activity do your dc do and when do you decide not to??

If you have a lot of outside activity how do you get all your lessons done.

[hsmamainva]

We've limited each child to one activity, which helps on the driving as well as keeping up with their schoolwork.

 

My oldest does Tae Kwon Do 5 days a week (but she has her own car and a driver's license, so that helps!)

 

My second plays baseball, but my husband is the assistant coach, so he's the one who plays chauffer there!

 

My third does Tae Kwon Do as well, but only 3 days a week (and his sister takes him to and from)

 

My youngest does gymnastics on Saturday mornings, so that's not too bad, as it's only one day a week.

[ticklbee]

Not too much really.

 

1. Soccer on Saturdays that they all participate in (different teams of course)

 

2. Gymnastics for ds on Tues.

 

3. Co-op on Fridays for 2 hrs (only 8 weeks though)

 

4. Puppetry class on every other Wed. for both dd's. at the library so it's after school hours.

 

I really try to have them all involved in the same activities so I'm not running all over the Island taking them places.

[Tracey in TX]

We're on the extreme side of the spectrum. August begins following:

 

Monday:

gymnastics

 

Tuesday:

soccer (two separate teams)

gymnastics

improv (theatre)

 

Wednesday:

gymnastics

jazz

 

Thursday:

gymnastics

soccer X2

 

Friday:

piano & guitar lessons

ballet

soccer skills

optional gymnastics

 

Saturday:

soccer games X2

gymnastics meets monthly

 

Girls may begin two-a-days in August, still to be determined. DCs will take a science lab at local nature museum.

Summer: track, soccer, gymnastics, guitar, and improv

Winter: add basketball and theatre

[Donna]

It got to be just too much and we were not getting enough family/down time so we recently stopped the twice weekly taekwondo which we had been doing for 7 years for anywhere from 2-5 days a week). The boys lost interest after having black belts for 2 years (couldn't afford three 2nd degree blackbelt tests-theirs and mine), dd never had interest just went because everyone else did, and everyone wanted to try something else.

 

Dd also did soccer for 6 weeks but that has ended so we have some actual nights at home without anyone being sick to get them for the first time in 7 years.

 

Now our schedule looks more like this...

 

Mondays- dd has playdate with a friend, fiddle lessons, violin lessons (during day)

ds12 has wrestling (in evening)

 

Tuesdays- ds12 has wrestling for 2.5 hours at night

 

Wednesdays- boys both have respective instrument lessons (drums and guitar) at same time in same place in afternoon

 

Thursdays- boys do judo at night

dd occassionally plays with Celtic music group

 

Fridays- dd has either violin group or monthly concert

ds12 has wrestling practice

 

Saturdays- now are free (in wrestling season they are filled with tournaments and in soccer season had a game)

 

Sunday- church for all

ds12 wrestling

dd has once a month Celtic music group

 

This schedule is very doable for us though it does involve a lot of driving because most of the activities are about 40 min. away due to the kids ability levels not able to be accomodated closer to home.

[Gamom3]

We're on the extreme side of the spectrum. August begins following:

 

Monday:

gymnastics

 

Tuesday:

soccer (two separate teams)

gymnastics

improv (theatre)

 

Wednesday:

gymnastics

jazz

 

Thursday:

gymnastics

soccer X2

 

Friday:

piano & guitar lessons

ballet

soccer skills

optional gymnastics

 

Saturday:

soccer games X2

gymnastics meets monthly

 

Girls may begin two-a-days in August, still to be determined. DCs will take a science lab at local nature museum.

Summer: track, soccer, gymnastics, guitar, and improv

Winter: add basketball and theatre

 

 

WOW!:scared: :svengo:How do you get your lessons done????

[charlotteb]

Both of my kids participate in scouts- DS is in boy scouts and DD is in American Heritage Girls. We have a homeschool group that we meet with 2x month.

Next year we will keep the above activities but are also adding a co-op once a week.

 

In previous years, they were both involved in more. But I had to cut way back this year. We were spending way too much money on gas and also not getting much school work done.

[Mamagistra]

Here's mine:

 

Dds (9 & 10): biweekly dressage lessons, at the same hour, in the same arena. ;)

[Jennifer in NH]

we're on the other extreme..none...so much for socialization eh? Well, they are young yet!

[tinkgumby]

I am surrounded by the moms who do it all - baseball, soccer, dance, etc. - and I wonder if I'm depriving my kids of something (and if they'll someday resent not having a clue when it comes to sports). I know myself and my energy level, though, and there's no way I could be doing all that.

 

For the moment, I'm sticking to Cub Scouts and (hopefully) meeting up with a homeschool group once or twice a month.

[Jami]

Here's mine:

 

Dds (9 & 10): biweekly dressage lessons, at the same hour, in the same arena. ;)

 

 

Looks like my kind of schedule. ;)

 

We're cutting back in the fall. Just violin lessons and homeschool PE once a week for us. :D

 

Jami

[Parrothead]

This summer dd will be in a 10-week horseback riding academy. One lesson a week.

 

During school she does ballet one day a week and a program the local ps puts on two days a week after school. The sessions last six weeks with a week or two break between. This past year they did soccer, animals and habitats, basketball and they are finishing up I suppose what is basically a bit of physics. Dd brought home a balloon car yesterday.

 

Oh, ETA dd wants to get into gymnastics next year and maybe start piano again. If I can get the dance, gym and piano all on the same day we might go for it.

[nmoira]

I'm willing to go out four days a week, including one weekend day. If (theoretically) both girls signed up for the same things, they could each have four days worth. I commit to two activities per child.

[gail]

I ponder the extra-curricular activity question a lot. I hear other parents touting all the activities their children are in and wonder if I should have them involved in more things. I keep hearing about how important it is to have a lot of impressive outside interests in order to get into college, yada, yada, yada.

 

But I agree with some others on this. Running every afternoon and evening got to be TOO MUCH. As it is, even with elimination of activity, we still feel very busy.

 

My two children are very active in youth group, which involves two nights a week. My son is a drummer on the church worship band which involves practice one day a week, playing on Sundays, and drum lessons on another afternoon. My daughter is in gymnastics, dance, and piano.

 

But that amount of activity allows only two nights per week for having dinner at home as a family. There are so many things they COULD be involved in but I really don't know when we'd fit it all in. Their days are filled with school and chores from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm and all this other activity occurs after those hours.

 

It's hard to find a good balance, isn't it?

 

Gail

[Peek a Boo]

I have 5 dc. This August, we'll have 14yods [9th], 11yods [6th], 7yods [2d], 4yodd [K-4], and 2yods.

 

Mon- cub scouts

Tues: 2 in Boy scouts

Wed -community service/park day

Thurs- 4-H co-op [co-op designed around 4-H] including food and nutrition, performing arts, elections/ civics, literature, and speech/ debate.

TKD for oldest three that evening.

 

If we participate in a play, there will be rehearsals twice a week for about 3 hours each rehearsal.

 

We do a lot of carschooling and oral review.

 

I insist that Bible and math be done before we leave the house.

They each have journals or workbooks to do to keep skills sharp. There's still quite a bit of time left to manage it all :)

[Beth in Central TX]

School & family come first, so we've decided to limit our outside activities during the week days. We go to the YMCA as a family on Tuesdays & Thursdays. Our boys participate in choir and AWANA at church on Wednesdays; my DH and I serve in AWANA. That's it. We let go of co-op, individual sports activities, and individual music lessons because we didn't see a true benefit from all of the things we were involved in; therefore, we scaled waaaay back.

[Tracey in TX]

WOW!:scared: :svengo:How do you get your lessons done????

Brute force, sheer will power, begging, groveling, and coercion! Oh, and heavy duty scheduling.

One of the biggest reasons we hs is to enable us to work during the day w/o steady stream of busy work in evenings. That frees up nights for sports. We've never been a dinner-at-six family w/ DH's travels, so this is normal to us.

Reading OP (Beth in TX??) post about scaling back for family time makes me wonder if we're making a mistake. Family is of utmost importance, but how does one take away a child's PASSION for a sit down dinner If anyone has the answer to this million dollar question, please let me know!

[teamturner]

Here's what this past year has looked for me:

 

Mon 1:30-2:30 pm =twin boys homeschool martial arts class

 

Tues 1-2 pm = YMCA homeschool PE class (I get to work out too!)

 

Wed 9-10:20 am = both boys piano lessons

1:30-2:30 = martial arts class

5-8pm = church stuff- kids choir (which I lead), dinner, & kid's prog.

 

Thurs 1-2 pm = YMCA homeschool PE class

2:45-3:30 = dd ballet class

 

Fri 12-3 pm = co-op (meets 12x in fall and 12x in spring)

 

Add to that basketball for the boys in the winter and baseball now in the spring/summer. This year about killed me and I really struggled to get all the work done. The subject that suffered the most was history. Next year dd will take piano and drop ballet so that's one less place we have to go. And I'm hoping to schedule it for Friday mornings so it doesn't interrupt our school day. I'm not willing to give up the PE class as that allows me some exercise and it's free with our YMCA membership. I'm re-evaluating our extracurricular activites this summer so I'm not sure what we'll do next year. :001_huh:

[battlemaiden]

My unintended experiment with absolutely no outside activities has been a mixed blessing. We decided to put off joining anything until we were in permanent housing. That wasn't supposed to be very long :glare:. Five months later.....

 

No socialization problems- good gracious my kids can make friends with any poor unsuspecting passerby.

 

I am generally more rested. Just the "normal" errands are wearing me out.

 

We take field trips to the beach regularly because the buffer in the schedule allows for that.

 

But...

 

But I spend a lot more time with my kids than absolutely necessary.;)

 

I plan on doing Boy scouts in the fall no matter what. Other than that, I don't really feel like they have missed out on all that much. [shrug] What does that mean, do you suppose?

 

Jo

[erica471]

At the moment we just have Religious Ed one night a week and Ballet one night a week.

I'd be willing to let her do one more thing, but I think I'd draw the line there. I am very much of a homebody and become quite grumpy if I'm not home enough. :glare:

[Deb in NZ]

Our week looks like this:

 

Mondays:

2:00---Violin Lessons (10yos) [this is just down the street, ds sometimes walks]

6:00-8:00---Young Mariners (16yod)

6:30-8:30---Sea Scouts (10yos + 14yos)

 

Tuesdays:

1:00-1:45---Flute Lessons (16yod) [often my 2ds will stay home]

2:00-4:00---SPCA volunteer (16yod)

5:30-7:30---Gymnastics (10yos + 14yos)

5:45-6:45---Stage Challenge (16yod)**

4:00-8:00---Sailing (all 3 dc)***

 

Wednesdays:

4:30-5:30---Kea Scouts (me, I'm the leader) [My 3dc stay home unless I need the help]

 

Thursdays:

9:00-3:00---Horticulture 1 @ Polytech (16yod)**

4:00-5:00---Coaching Gymnastics (14yos)

4:30-5:30---Soccer Practice (10yos)*

5:00-7:00---Gymnastics (14yos)

 

Fridays:

9:00-3:00---Horticulture 1 @ Polytech (16yod)**

12:30-2:30---Homeschool Swim Lessons (10yos)

5:00-6:45---Youth Music Band (16yod)

7:00-9:00---Venturer Scouts (16yod)

 

Saturdays:

9:30---Soccer Games (10yos)*

10:00-2:00---Stage Challenge (16yod)**

 

Sundays:

6:00-8:00pm---Scottish Drum Lessons (14yos) [this is 45 minutes away]

 

*Soccer is only April-August

**These activities are just this term (May-June)

***Sailing is only October-March

Many weekends have camps or regattas, especially during our summer months.

 

Life is crazy & seems to get more so each year. We try to keep mornings for only schoolwork & I plan my errands for Tuesday afternoons when I'm in town anyway due to dd's activities. We have many crockpot meals & each activity has its own special bag, so we need only grab the correct bag & (ideally) the gear needed for that activity is in the bag. We keep waterbottles & muesli bars in the car for quick snacks.

 

Blessings,

[Heather in Neverland]

Each child gets to play one instrument and have one other outside activity. So for us we have piano lessons for both twice a week (BUT the piano teacher comes to us which is AWESOME), my oldest ds has golf once a week and the youngest has soccer. Of course, we go to church on Sunday and Wednesday but we do that as a family.

[Kelli in TN]

The last two years have been a recipe for burnout and frustration. We had someplace to be everyday but Thursday, and sometimes on Thursday too!!

 

I was thrilled when my 10 year old decided to make this her last year of ballet!! That was twice per week for the benefit of one child (and is not like she is an amazing dancer or anything, but don't tell her I said that).

 

This is what I am looking at for this upcoming year;

4H two Fridays per month

possibly Swim and Gym at the YMCA (6 minutes from my house!!) twice per week

I will have two kids in speech therapy and the school is recommending twice per week for that. If the funding goes through I hope to set their therapy up for the same days we have Swim and Gym.

 

 

Most importantly for me, I have stepped down from ALL leadership positions. This is important because it gives me the freedom to not show up at things! If I want to skip church on Wednesday, fine. I can do so without leaving the children's director in a bind. If I want to skip 4H, I am free to do so. This is incredibly freeing for me!!

[tnmomofboys]

Wow! I thought my kids were busy! We should show some of these schedules to those who think homeschoolers are not socialized.

This year we spent a lot of time out of the house for our activities. 4 out 5 days we had something. Two days a week we would leave in the late morning and get back around dinner or later. I am thankful for those SOTW CD's. DS participated in competitive homeschool sports which was great but a big time committment. At times, we did struggle to get our school done and for this reason will continue with a light load for the summer. We will be cutting back extracurricular next fall.

[Laura R (FL)]

My girls used to take violin lessons when they were younger, and my oldest played int eh youth orchestra. Now they have one activity that they focus on, but both happen to be pretty time-consuming.

 

My youngest studies classical ballet at a pre-professional school. She's at the studio 5 days a week for a couple of hours a day, more if there's extra rehearsal scheduled for Nutcracker or recital performances. I stay at the studio and work on my own schoolwork and classes are late enough in the day that she finishes her own work.

 

My oldest shoots Olympic style archery. My dh takes her shooting at an indoor range twice a week when we have late nights downtown at ballet. Then she meets with her coach on Saturdays. She also volunteers at the zoo on the Saturdays that they're not practicing. Sometimes she goes out of town for tournaments as well.

 

You know, I mentioned that my youngest gets her homework done before dance, but there have many times when she has spent hours on Sunday finishing up an essay for her Literature class on Monday. We did have an additional outside co-op class last year that we're dropping this year.

[Pam Wilhelm]

Long before having children we swore that we wouldn't be running kids around to activities constantly. I didn't growing up......... and I swear, I'm normal. hee hee.

 

So now the kids are not involved in anything outside the home...... right now. The girls have taken riding lessons up at the Girl Scout Camp...and are going to G.S. Summer Camp. The boy will do Boy Scout Camp with hubby for a week (twilight camp).......and he did a Cub Fun Day Camp last weekend. We sort of pick and choose what the kids get into and it's never for any extended period.... I still don't want to be running around all the time....... I like home and the kids have plenty to do here.

[Academy of Jedi Arts]

Dd6 took tap, jazz, and ballet in the fall. This summer she is doing cheerleading, acro, and hip hop. In the fall, she will go back to tap, jazz, and ballet, and maybe add in one more style of dance. The studio also might be forming a new dance team which dd might try out for.

 

She will start soccer up again in the fall. She had her 1st golf lesson last week and will probably start taking more of those. The teacher also said there is a group class, and we are thinking about putting her in that for the summer. She will probably just have privates in the fall because we will be hard pressed to fit in both dance and soccer as it is.

 

We have piano lessons on Monday afternoons. We have one more left this year and she will start up again in September.

[Tracey in TX]

Wow! I thought my kids were busy! We should show some of these schedules to those who think homeschoolers are not socialized.

.

That's funny! It makes me wonder how much adults actually think before they ask if my DCs get socialized. They have sports minimum of 6 days/wk and make friends everywhere they go. We all must be damaging our munchkins according to our half-thinking peers.:lol:

[94txaggie]

our girls do gymnastics, 4 days a week or more but always together (and we live 3 minutes from the gym). Boys play baseball 1-2 days a week, usually on same day as girls gym so we drop them off, and stay with the boys since they are younger.

 

We have taken time off from piano lessons but when we start back up it will be one day/week, in the morning, all older children.

[Prairie~Phlox]

We do co-op in the fall & spring, every other week, three hours. 4-H once a month is when the club meets. Wednesday evening fellowship dinner and Bible Study. That's enough. We are not doing sports, and I would like to do piano lessons, but haven't been persistent in finding anyone and don't really have the money for lessons right now.

[EKS]

They each go to classes at our homeschool support program two days per week. I try very hard to make it so they have classes at the same times. One has aikido on Monday evening and Saturday morning and the other has aikido on Wednesday afternoon. Then we all go to violin lessons at the same time on Wednesday afternoons.

 

Last year my oldest did team sports the whole year and that just about did me in! No more teams for a while.

[percytruffle]

There were seasons when the dc were heavily involved in activities: co-op, homeschool gym class, drama, music lessons, etc. If you ask the dc they will tell you those were the best times of homeschool! They were stressfull times (for me) and not as much was accomplished at home, but they were "seasons". Each year was different and each dc's needs were different. We knew that if an activity was good and they enjoyed it a lot, we could always make up academic time during a slower period. So, they might be very busy getting ready for a play, but when it was over we'd crack the academic whip again! It made for a good balance and broke up our homeschooling schedule enough to keep it interesting.

[Paintedlady]

This past year, my kids were both in Awana on Wed nights, plus church/Sunday school every Sunday.

 

This year we'll be adding music lessons once a week and we're toying with either theatre classes or possibly a sport. They're young so we've been easing them into a fuller schedule.

[Mom2boys]

This is something I am really struggling with for this fall. Last year we were very busy and our school work suffered. We were out of the house most of the day Thursday and Friday for co-ops and classes, plus we had team sports 4 nights a week, 4-H every other Tuesday, soccer on Saturday mornings, and choir and youth group on Sunday evenings. So now we are playing catch-up this summer with history, math, and spelling.

 

This coming year I want to cut back on their activities so we have more time at home, for the benefit of their school work, our gas budget, and my sanity. But, I don't know what to cut, and I worry their friendships will suffer if they stop spending time with their friends every week at co-ops.

 

How do you find that balance between not enough outside activities and too many outside activities?