Low Income People and Extracurriculars

[JenC3]

Honestly, if we couldn't afford extras I would get a job part-time to pay for it. I'm not saying you should do this, just what I would do.

[BlueTaelon]

Honestly, if we couldn't afford extras I would get a job part-time to pay for it. I'm not saying you should do this, just what I would do.

 

 

Generally when one is low income working more hours isn't going to help, you still have to pay the baby sitter which is often more then what you would make working. Its not like you could just get a job while the kids are at school and that job is likely to be min wage:(

[RoundAbout]

I find that family memberships to museums, zoos, etc. are often a better deal for enrichment. Many of these places have talks, classes, and hands on activities free to their members and if you have a few kids the price works out pretty well.

 

We are not low income but the only paid extra my son does is swim lessons. We are huge into cycling so we do that a lot together. A decent bicycle equals a few months of karate lessons at the YMCA, will last for years, and can be sold or handed down to boot.

 

We do hiking and camping with a local nature group as well. Free for the hiking, nearly free for camping if you have the equipment.

 

Our local library has a free chess club.

 

I did not get any extras growing up and I turned out just fine. I was a big reader, and did a lot of board games with my parents and cousins and just played with neighborhood kids. I totally get why people want to do extras, but I don't think its the end of the world.

 

If the kids normally get generous gifts from relatives for Christmas and birthdays I might try to talk them into funding some extras (or at least equipment like cameras and bikes) instead.

[campmom]

Well we are extremely low income we do music lessons for 2 kids $135.00 per month that's it and we DON'T save for retirement because we can't and there is no retirement with the job either. We have a garden for alot of our groceries I guess that helps some.

[Lanny]

So glad to see your thread and that we are not alone! :) Our DD will probably be able to choose one (1) activity and hopefully that will be something where she socializes with other kids her own age.

 

In her previous (B&M) school, in the 4th grade, one of the mandatory, extra cost, activities was Cheerleading. She took that and she loved it. Then, in the 5th grade, they did not offer Cheerleading.

 

So, in our case, ASAP, we will get her into Cheerleading, or Martial Arts, or whatever she considers her number one choice.

[Pen]

When I say low-income I'm talking 150% of FPL or below.

 

How do you manage it? Do you just NOT do extracurriculars?

 

As I plot to extricate my family from our homeschool charter this is the one issue that stops me. Can I responsibly send my kids to music lessons, sports, etc. (all told, $150/mo) when we're barely able to save for retirement? (Answer: no, I would feel so guilty and irresponsible)

 

Why not just stay with the charter that pays for almost everything curriculum and activity related (Answer: because I can't give older DD the gift of time and working at her own pace as long as I stay with them.)

 

BUT, these activities are important to my kids. I think they enrich their lives in many ways, and I'm grateful they can participate.

 

I need to find a way to make this work. How do YOU do it?

 

 

I struggle with this too, and am worried about the retirement situation very much. And I was looking at a charter that might help with such things, but the demands and difficulties of it seem to make it that it would not be worth it over all.

 

I have been doing, usually, just one main extracurricular at any one time. I have only 1 child, but if I had more, I would do the same and even try to have it be the same activity for all at any one time. (Though lately there is both fencing and horseback riding. ) Talking with other parents at his fencing, it seems like one or at most 2 activities per child is what most are doing. At the start of the school year he went to trials and open houses for a few activities (or was offered some that he didn't even want to try) and then chose his favorite.

 

This is, even more than a financial matter, also because due to a health problem, my energy doesn't allow me to manage a ton of activities. Also we live in country so for us everything is a drive which adds to the strain and gas bills too!!! And also if there is more than that life just becomes way to hectic and chaotic and stressed.

 

For music, ds took lessons as his one extra year before last, and we still have materials from that to use. When he did take the lessons, we did it every other week, which was easier both financially and in terms of energy, and let him get more out of it since he had more time to practice before the next session. Plus, for about the cost of two lessons, I recently got a guitar DVD to allow home study if and when ds chooses to do that. I don't know how it will work, and I do know that he learned much more with his teacher than on his own, but he is not really eager to do guitar right now.

 

I bought a bunch of art supplies and books which compared to most art classes around here are very reasonable, and while we don't have a class to compare, he seems to do well working on his own.

 

For $35 I got a parking pass to allow access to a swimming area for summer swimming. And best, he learned to swim much better from just doing it, with lots of time available, than what he'd gotten out of an expensive class, but with very limited pool time each session. Sometimes the less expensive option is also better. Though I have had people say snide things to me about how the place we go isn't as classy as where they go.

 

Recently my ds got a gift of an archery set, so that is something else he can do. I'm not sure if I'd recommend it, at the moment I'm finding the supervision aspect tiring.

 

He bikes and climbs trees.

 

Parks and Recreation sometimes has classes that are relatively less costly or have scholarships available. Also for sports, where I live, it is possible for homeschoolers to participate at the local public school. I think a lot of homeschoolers don't know that, but it may be available in more states than just mine. My ds hasn't done that, but neighbors have used it for volleyball, wrestling, and track.

 

I also have not used, but could conceivably use, an area homeschool group that has some activities at reduced costs.

 

There are also family extracurriculars that do not take much money--things like running together, or biking, or hiking, or following along on a martial arts DVD, and some of these may be better in the long run than to take a kid's sports class.

[JenC3]

Generally when one is low income working more hours isn't going to help, you still have to pay the baby sitter which is often more then what you would make working. Its not like you could just get a job while the kids are at school and that job is likely to be min wage:(

 

No offense, really, I waited tables for years and if need be, I'd grab a couple of evening shifts when dh was available for kids. Also the op is talking about extras vs. saving for retirement, not putting food on the table. I pay about $375-400 a month for activities, if we couldn't find that money in my dh's income I would make it. It's just what "I" would do and maybe the op hadn' thought of that is all.

[Pen]

Where on earth do you all find free swimming in the summer?!?

 

There is nothing like that around here. All pools charge a fee for maintenance, and quite a bit for swim lessons. The cheapest is the Y pool at $34 per kid, per month. I actually know several kids who don't know how to swim because their parents can't afford for them to take lessons. :(

 

A public swimming area at a lake at a county park. The only cost is the yearly parking pass (or by the day, but much more$$$ that way), and not even that if one were to hike in.

[airforcefamily]

Generally when one is low income working more hours isn't going to help, you still have to pay the baby sitter which is often more then what you would make working. Its not like you could just get a job while the kids are at school and that job is likely to be min wage:(

 

This is sort of how I feel about bartering. I see it brought up as though everyone can do it. Most dance studios, gyms, etc. don't want a person with a bunch of little ones and babies in tow trying to clean or answering the phone with noise in the background. When groups have mandatory volunteer hours to keep costs low we almost always have to pay the fine instead of doing the work. When DH is away and I'm functioning without a spouse home everyday I would have to hire a babysitter to barter or volunteer which would cost more than the amount it would offset.

[T'smom]

A public swimming area at a lake at a county park. The only cost is the yearly parking pass (or by the day, but much more$$$ that way), and not even that if one were to hike in.

 

There are places where there are no lakes within a reasonable distance. Where I grew up there was not a lake with a swimming area without driving at least an hour.

[BlueTaelon]

No offense, really, I waited tables for years and if need be, I'd grab a couple of evening shifts when dh was available for kids. Also the op is talking about extras vs. saving for retirement, not putting food on the table. I pay about $375-400 a month for activities, if we couldn't find that money in my dh's income I would make it. It's just what "I" would do and maybe the op hadn' thought of that is all.

 

 

In my world there are no men to help so working when a DH is available is not even on my radar and I would never think to suggest it since so many men are not available/able to help with childcare.

[BlueTaelon]

This is sort of how I feel about bartering. I see it brought up as though everyone can do it. Most dance studios, gyms, etc. don't want a person with a bunch of little ones and babies in tow trying to clean or answering the phone with noise in the background. When groups have mandatory volunteer hours to keep costs low we almost always have to pay the fine instead of doing the work. When DH is away and I'm functioning without a spouse home everyday I would have to hire a babysitter to barter or volunteer which would cost more than the amount it would offset.

 

 

Sometimes you can bring them along. I brought my 2 with me when I went to the ranch to pull weeds. Its not common though that they let you bring the kids:(

[Pen]

There are places where there are no lakes within a reasonable distance. Where I grew up there was not a lake with a swimming area without driving at least an hour.

 

Some people live in places where driving an hour is what needs to be done for many activities. Few activities are less than a half hour drive for us here. That includes the lake and it is one of the closest things. ;) For some, an hour drive could be manageable for a long day to be spent at such a place from time to time so that a child can learn to swim. For others, perhaps low income means no car and it is not possible--or, at today's gas prices, the pool cost could end up seeming cheap. But my experience is that when there are lots of little short trips (such as back and forth to sports, music lessons etc., the total mileage adds up as much as for a few long ones.

 

 

But there may also be places where there is no place even within a 10 hour drive.

 

Some areas have things like a lake or river or ocean or even less expensive pool--or times when a pool is less expensive. Some do not. When I was a kid in New York City, I got free swim time at a YMCA in exchange for volunteering my time to help them. It is possible that such a thing can still happen these days. OTOH in NYC it was also possible to take the subway to the beach.

 

I don't know how other pps find their low cost swimming options.

 

But sometimes things can exist that have not been found. I did not know about the lake here for many years. And have told others who lived in the area for a long time and also did not know. Just this last year someone told me about yet another such place.

[swellmomma]

This is sort of how I feel about bartering. I see it brought up as though everyone can do it. Most dance studios, gyms, etc. don't want a person with a bunch of little ones and babies in tow trying to clean or answering the phone with noise in the background. When groups have mandatory volunteer hours to keep costs low we almost always have to pay the fine instead of doing the work. When DH is away and I'm functioning without a spouse home everyday I would have to hire a babysitter to barter or volunteer which would cost more than the amount it would offset.

 

I gave the suggestion bartering. I am a single parent and have been for almost 12 years. I have found ways to make it work. FOr me my kids being in activities has been very important to me. I can not work for more money in a second (or at this time 1st job) due to my health and special needs of my kids. BUT I can work out working a bingo, or cleaning or doing other volunteer work in various ways. Sometimes I asked my family to watch the kids, they would occasionally say yes. We now live 2 hours from my family so that is not always possible. Sometimes I becomes about triangulating bartaring. Suzy down the street will watch the kids, so I can go work x bingo and in exchange I will do Suzy's hemming. So I can get the extra for the kids and the free babysitting. Now that my dd is 13 it is easier. I have her watch the 2 youngest kids and make ds14 come with me.

 

When The kids were in soccer I was the volunteer coordinator, so I organized all the other parents into volunteer hours but didn't have to be anywhere but home sending out emails to do it. With scouting I was a leader, so the kids were with me there. Dance this year does not do reduced fee but they have worked out a doable payment plan with me so the girls can do so much dance with out me paying so much all at once. (Normally you do a monthly fee but in sept you do the registration fee, exam deposits, costume fee, plus all the gear. They did not charge me anything in sept so I could pay for the the gear, and then added in those extra fees to the grand total for the year and recalculated the monthly fees.

 

I stick by the adage Where there's a will there's a way. Whether single or married if you are determined to find a way to have the kids in extra lessons you find a way. Did you know you can collect enough pop bottles in local parks, roadways and asking from family members to cover the fees for 1 set of swimming lessons for 1 kid in a 1 month period. Yup, I have done bottle picking to pay for extras (and on occasion to pay for basics).

 

Nothing about it is easy. It is way easier to write the cheque and not have to worry about it. But if you are poor but want those extras badly enough you make it happen.

[AimeeM]

I also want to throw this out there for those who need it.

I've never lived in a "big" city, but in every area I've held residence, county/city rec leagues offer need based scholarships; this is generally for the rec league sports like soccer, little league, football, cheer, etc through the country park and rec. Very often these scholarships even covers uniforms.

I had assumed it would be one of the first suggestions mentioned, but I didn't see it in the thread (though I could well be mistaken - I'm tired, lol). I would think that it isn't offered in many places were it not for the fact I have several family members and close friends utilizing the need based scholarships across the country. It seems to be commonly provided.

[airforcefamily]

I gave the suggestion bartering. I am a single parent and have been for almost 12 years. I have found ways to make it work. FOr me my kids being in activities has been very important to me. I can not work for more money in a second (or at this time 1st job) due to my health and special needs of my kids. BUT I can work out working a bingo, or cleaning or doing other volunteer work in various ways. Sometimes I asked my family to watch the kids, they would occasionally say yes. We now live 2 hours from my family so that is not always possible. Sometimes I becomes about triangulating bartaring. Suzy down the street will watch the kids, so I can go work x bingo and in exchange I will do Suzy's hemming. So I can get the extra for the kids and the free babysitting. Now that my dd is 13 it is easier. I have her watch the 2 youngest kids and make ds14 come with me.

 

When The kids were in soccer I was the volunteer coordinator, so I organized all the other parents into volunteer hours but didn't have to be anywhere but home sending out emails to do it. With scouting I was a leader, so the kids were with me there. Dance this year does not do reduced fee but they have worked out a doable payment plan with me so the girls can do so much dance with out me paying so much all at once. (Normally you do a monthly fee but in sept you do the registration fee, exam deposits, costume fee, plus all the gear. They did not charge me anything in sept so I could pay for the the gear, and then added in those extra fees to the grand total for the year and recalculated the monthly fees.

 

I stick by the adage Where there's a will there's a way. Whether single or married if you are determined to find a way to have the kids in extra lessons you find a way. Did you know you can collect enough pop bottles in local parks, roadways and asking from family members to cover the fees for 1 set of swimming lessons for 1 kid in a 1 month period. Yup, I have done bottle picking to pay for extras (and on occasion to pay for basics).

 

Nothing about it is easy. It is way easier to write the cheque and not have to worry about it. But if you are poor but want those extras badly enough you make it happen.

 

I didn't intend that post to address anyone in particular. More of a general 'you'. I've seen many times where bartering is suggested and I don't see it as realistic for everyone. Our kids are in the activities we want them to be in but if we couldn't afford it we would have to drop activities before bartering.

 

In our family we don't have family within several hundred miles and when they visit we have limited time to spend with them so I wouldn't be comfortable using them as babysitting so I could volunteer/barter. None of my kids are old enough to be left by themselves, let alone watch the younger ones.

 

We live on a military installation so the amount of cans/bottles we could pick up within walking distance would be pretty limited. We could drive to another area but between the cost of gas to get there, garbage bags, gloves, and gas to drive to a recycling location to sell the cans/bottles we wouldn't end up with much of any gain. The closest recycling location is 40 minutes away. With five kids in the car not many cans would fit making it not profitable. I could see collecting cans in a nearby park possibly being profitable, especially if you live where there is a bottle deposit but I don't think it would work for everyone.

 

Collecting cans on the side of the road with a baby on your back, two little ones running into traffic, and two slightly older kids to keep track off.... I just can't see any activity being worth that kind of risk.

 

I can see where there might be somewhere desperate enough to allow a mom with a baby, a toddler, a preschool age child, and two young elementary age kids the chance to barter with those kids with her but I haven't seen any yet. When a dance studio has a steady stream of parents without little ones willing to man the desk while their child is in class they don't want to have to accommodate anyone else.

[T'smom]

Some people live in places where driving an hour is what needs to be done for many activities. Few activities are less than a half hour drive for us here. That includes the lake and it is one of the closest things. ;) For some, an hour drive could be manageable for a long day to be spent at such a place from time to time so that a child can learn to swim. For others, perhaps low income means no car and it is not possible--or, at today's gas prices, the pool cost could end up seeming cheap. But my experience is that when there are lots of little short trips (such as back and forth to sports, music lessons etc., the total mileage adds up as much as for a few long ones.

 

 

But there may also be places where there is no place even within a 10 hour drive.

 

Some areas have things like a lake or river or ocean or even less expensive pool--or times when a pool is less expensive. Some do not. When I was a kid in New York City, I got free swim time at a YMCA in exchange for volunteering my time to help them. It is possible that such a thing can still happen these days. OTOH in NYC it was also possible to take the subway to the beach.

 

I don't know how other pps find their low cost swimming options.

 

But sometimes things can exist that have not been found. I did not know about the lake here for many years. And have told others who lived in the area for a long time and also did not know. Just this last year someone told me about yet another such place.

 

My point was that driving an hour made the activity no longer cheap. After paying for all that gas, you may as well go to the expensive pool in town.

[cokers4life]

If you have the YMCA, its you best option. I receive financial aid, and it costs around ten bucks a family for a monthly membership, and all other classes/sports around ten dollars a piece. Of course you YMCA may very. Ten bucks is a cheap as it gets for our YMCA. I wouldn't know what I would do without the YMCA. I am so thankful for this organization.

 

As far as music, it easy to teach yourself Piano. There are plenty of free resources. This is my favorite site so far: http://www.colorkeys.com/shop . The first ebook is free. Just scroll down a little and you will see it on the right. You can easily make your own color coded stickers with your printer and sticker paper (25 8 x 11 pgs of sticker paper is around 12 bucks). I use this, and my DSD loves this method. I do not know how to play piano, and woot, woot she is playing "Mary had a little Lamb" with the correct fingering. (FYI: I picked up a basic keyboard on clearance at target last spring for $35 bucks.)

 

If your LO advances past the first book, the other ebooks are just 12 bucks a piece which is very affordable.

 

Check with your local art museum for free art programs. HTH!

Edited October 7, 2012 by cokers4life

[Χά�ων]

If you have the YMCA, its you best option. I receive financial aid, and it costs around ten bucks a family for a monthly membership, and all other classes/sports around ten dollars a piece. Of course you YMCA may very. Ten bucks is a cheap as it gets for our YMCA. I wouldn't know what I would do without the YMCA. I am so thankful for this organization.

 

I am thrilled your YMCA has a great financial aid program. Our local YMCA is really lacking. The discounted rate for the lowest income for one adult and depedendents is $50/month. If you are low income then $50/month is out of reach. Other gym's regular rates are actually cheaper then the Y's discounted rate. The only reason I am even still looking at the Y is the allow 8 year olds to use cardio equipment and take classes along with their parents instead of parking the kids in front of a movie.

 

I have been trying to advocate for over a year now for them to lower their rates to meet the needs of low income families but they are not listening. They claim so many people are wanting the discounted rate that they cannot discounted it to meet the need.

[elegantlion]

I know our experience depends very much on location. I see great ideas, but I know they wouldn't work in our area. Where we used to live, yes, but not here.

 

We live in a small town where organized activities seem to stop after 6th grade. Then it's church activities or through the school. Even the Y has nothing after a certain age.

 

We also live in an area that was hit hard by the economy in the last few years, so hardship applications had been higher and scholarships fewer. Business may want to help, but everyone is stretched.

 

Also many of these things don't even exist in some areas. We moved to a small town, 30 minutes in either direction to a bigger town with more activities. However, we couldn't afford a house in the bigger town and we don't have gas money for the driving. In our town there are no museums, nothing crafty to do, but a nice state park (which we do use).

 

When you factor $10-15 round trip in gas to either place, that limits how many times we can travel. At this point that would eat into dh's gas money for work, even if our second car was working.

 

Sometimes, I think you just have to do what you can do. If time and money dictate you can't do extras, then do something as a family. For us, me getting a job to pay for extras wouldn't work because of the added stress, the added expense on the car. I do some part-time work online as I can, but it takes focus which I don't have right now, especially teaching high school. I had to use my earnings to buy school BOOKS this year, no room for extras. If I were younger or less stressed I might be able to handle it. But after a horrendous few years of health scares for dh, unemployment, and a move, my nerves are carefully balanced on the edge. Adding an outside job on top of that would push them off and then what use would I be? :tongue_smilie: If ds were begging to do an activity I could probably push myself, yet part of wisdom is knowing how far we can truly stretch ourselves without losing most of sanity. That line is going to be different for everyone and every family.

[JenC3]

In my world there are no men to help so working when a DH is available is not even on my radar and I would never think to suggest it since so many men are not available/able to help with childcare.

 

Sorry, but since there are as many single homeschoolers, kudos to you for pulling it off, I did not assume the OP was single since she posted "we."

[Jenny in Florida]

Sometimes, I think you just have to do what you can do. If time and money dictate you can't do extras, then do something as a family.

 

Exactly. And, honestly, "extracurricular" doesn't have to mean a tuition-based group activity. As I recall, your son is teaching himself computer programming? That's cool! There are free lessons online (or from library books) for art and assorted instruments, which is cool, too. There are online clubs and groups, charities that need assistance with computer-based tasks, etc.

 

Kids do fund-raising projects. They volunteer to supervise day-care during church activities. Those are all extracurriculars that don't cost a dime more than simply being somewhere you're likely to be, anyway.

 

But, yes, in the end, all you can do is all you can do. Every family and every situation has advantages and disadvantages. Families whose kids do fewer outside activities might well spend more time with their parents, which is not a bad thing. And kids who are really driven to learn or do something will find a way.

[elegantlion]

Exactly. And, honestly, "extracurricular" doesn't have to mean a tuition-based group activity. As I recall, your son is teaching himself computer programming? That's cool! There are free lessons online (or from library books) for art and assorted instruments, which is cool, too. There are online clubs and groups, charities that need assistance with computer-based tasks, etc.

 

Kids do fund-raising projects. They volunteer to supervise day-care during church activities. Those are all extracurriculars that don't cost a dime more than simply being somewhere you're likely to be, anyway.

 

But, yes, in the end, all you can do is all you can do. Every family and every situation has advantages and disadvantages. Families whose kids do fewer outside activities might well spend more time with their parents, which is not a bad thing. And kids who are really driven to learn or do something will find a way.

 

Thank you for remembering, yes, he is learning programming on his own. It requires some trust because he has free access to the Internet in his room and has for a few years. He stumbled on the programming really on his own because he has time to explore.

 

His computers are either hand me downs or a gifts from a relative. It is a solitary activity, which suits him, but he can hold his own in a conversation with my sister, who teaches programming and seems to speak another language most of the time. :D

[Pen]

My point was that driving an hour made the activity no longer cheap. After paying for all that gas' date=' you may as well go to the expensive pool in town.[/quote']

 

I have no idea if OP has such a swimming place anywhere in her own state, let alone in an hour's drive. My point is it might be worth seeing if there is something in a distance that for them is feasible, and that it might compare very favorably to spend a whole day there from time to time, rather than to deal with $55 per child per month classes. I taught swimming as what I did to pay my way at the Y as a kid, and there are excellent swimming teacher books put out by the Red Cross, which, if a parent can swim, can probably be used to help teach a child if the parent feels unsure how to do teaching.

 

Another option in that regard would be to use the Charter right now to provide the swim classes if they will do so, prior to leaving the charter.

[Pen]

Exactly. And, honestly, "extracurricular" doesn't have to mean a tuition-based group activity. ...

 

Kids do fund-raising projects. They volunteer to supervise day-care during church activities. Those are all extracurriculars that don't cost a dime more than simply being somewhere you're likely to be, anyway.

 

But, yes, in the end, all you can do is all you can do. Every family and every situation has advantages and disadvantages. Families whose kids do fewer outside activities might well spend more time with their parents, which is not a bad thing. And kids who are really driven to learn or do something will find a way.

:iagree::iagree:

 

And while OP has younger children than you who may not be ready for fund-raising or daycare, other such activities might well work for them.

 

Church choir for music, for example, is something that some children do.

[TracyR]

For us we are very, very poor right now. Only living off my youngest's SSI at the moment which is a lousy $675 a month.

 

We use our local YMCA.

We are fortunate enough to have a karate instructor that charges $4 per session per child for karate lessons.

Swapping with other families for services

Grandparents , at least with my in laws they help when they can to pay for activities too.

I know one year a homeschool dad had an exercise class for the kids and they loved it.

I know I had a mom ask if I could teach her daughter to sew in exchange for piano lessons

We are also fortunate enough that PA allows homeschoolers to participate in extracurricular activities and marching band. So right now we just go through the school instead of private sports.

You just have to search it out. It was tough for us to leave our cyber because of this but it just wasn't working with my kids and we had to do something.