Did you find your kids needed more outside "activities" as they got older?

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I have always been one to minimize stress, running around, etc.  My younger childhood was rural and the memories my siblings and I (and our 3 neighbors!) share of our fun, rural childhood are wonderful.  I worked very hard, in urban and suburban environments, to mimic that as closely as possible with unstructured free time, and as much time outdoors as we could possibly muster (even when we lived in a very unfriendly climate!) and just inviting friends over whenever we could.

 

But I admit it.  It's time for more outside commitments. Specifically in regards to exercise. My 12 year old son and my 10 year old daughter still love each other very much but there aren't enough neighborhood kids around to round out their play time.  Going to the park together 5 times per week results in bickering and boredom 50% of the time, and we have worked so hard to buy every book we can find about games, I play games with them, we bike, we scooter, we walk....it's just too much time with only the 3 of us.

 

They have a sports day once a week, and my son volunteers at Coder Dojo.  My daughter is active in different things here and there, but that just isn't enough.  They really aren't out of the house more than twice a week, each.  and neither one of them is in very good shape although we try so hard to bike, scooter, walk or jog.

 

They are joining the swim team and we will kill 3 birds with one stone!  They will be out of the house, AND exercising a LOT.  And, for the first year they only require 2 practices per week.  Then we can work up to 3 or 4 as they increase in the levels. 

 

 

[katilac]

I most definitely found that to be true. 

[LLMom]

I found that to be true as well.

[Penelope]

Yep. Sigh. And tired me doesn't like it. But I knew it was coming, and I must accept my fate, LOL.

 

The one thing I don't like is that the more things we have going on, the more nagging I seem to have to do to get everything done, have things ready, get places on time. It gets hard to strike a balance and then I end up scaling back again.

[Wabi Sabi]

My kids are younger, but I do feel as though providing them with outside activities is a very necessary part of our homeschool. Social contact is very important to them, so we try to make sure that each child has several opportunities each week to see friends, participate in classes, lessons, activities, etc. It just keeps everyone happier.

[Julie Smith]

I find eldest needs lots of time spent "getting out his energy". Sometimes we fall back on a go for a 3km run every morning. Youngest can keep going like most kids but I find he is rarely climbing the walls and needing to get out.

[Arcadia]

My 9 year old has been demanding outside classes where he can get social interaction.  It started a year ago.  My 8 year old is starting to voice his "demands" for friends. So in my home, it seems 8 going 9 is the age for wanting more social interaction with other kids.

[MEmama]

I think my DS actually craved more when he was little. His preschool years were chock full of classes, sports, activities, friends and outings; it seemed ridiculous at times, but he jut couldn't get enough stimulation. Now he needs less, though he still does best with a healthy amount of activities on the calendar. Sports in particular keep him balanced. Depending on the season, that means hockey, cross country skiing, competing in biathlons (skiing and shooting), cross country running, track and field, road bike racing, competing in triathlons...

 

I do sometimes wish we had more going with other homeschoolers, especially in the winter, but I'm not sure he minds. He loves taking classes and spending time with friends, but needs more downtime to process than he did when he was younger. We'll see as he gets into his teenage years.

[Χά�ων]

I think my DS actually craved more when he was little. His preschool years were chock full of classes, sports, activities, friends and outings; it seemed ridiculous at times, but he jut couldn't get enough stimulation. Now he needs less, though he still does best with a healthy amount of activities on the calendar. Sports in particular keep him balanced. Depending on the season, that means hockey, cross country skiing, competing in biathlons (skiing and shooting), cross country running, track and field, road bike racing, competing in triathlons...

 

I do sometimes wish we had more going with other homeschoolers, especially in the winter, but I'm not sure he minds. He loves taking classes and spending time with friends, but needs more downtime to process than he did when he was younger. We'll see as he gets into his teenage years.

This is my experience with DS. He did tons when he was little but he seems more content these days to do his sports and come home and hang out with his chickens. My DS speed skates and works out now as his primary activities. He has done hockey (inline and ice), figure skating, curling, MMA jujitsu, baseball, tennis, soccer, skiing, snowboarding and swimming. He is really starting to focus more on his chickens and working out and I figure that is probably the path he will take as he gets older. 

[Dahliarw]

I wonder if this has something to do with personality too.  My 9yo is a total extrovert, to the extreme, and he needs those outside interaction times.  My younger son is only 6 1/2, but he's an introvert and happy staying home - I have to drag him to outside activities and he has fun once he's there and warmed up, but it's a struggle.  As far as exercise, he's perfectly happy running around the cul-de-sac, pitching to himeself practicing baseball, etc, all on his own.  I'm not sure that'll change as he gets older.   Dd is 4 is my extreme introvert and she goes to a preschool AND she needs more outside the house time on top of that than my 9yo does.  Gymnastics is a great outlet for her right now, she is in the gym 2x/week!  

[IsabelC]

Mine haven't changed much with age. I have two kids who wouldn't sign up for anything if we didn't make them, and one who would happily sign up for half a dozen activities every day if we had the time and money. 

[redsquirrel]

My older boy fell in love with ballet and as he has gotten older his commitment only increases. Now as and 8th grader he is up to 6 classes per week and any rehearsals that come up. I think it is likely that my younger boy is following right behind and starting next year he will move up to two classes per week.

 

I don't actually advocate such early specialization but it was sort of unavoidable. He loves it, it is great exercise and the school is in the neighborhood. I can watch him walk to class from my porch. All three of those together were difficult to turn down.

[lea_lpz]

My kids are younger, 4 & 6, but I struggle like you to strike a balance between giving ample opportunity to engage in creative play, spend unstructured time outdoors, pursue their own interest lead learning, and engage in structured activities and interact with other kids. I live in a very competitive area and so it's totally normal for kids, even in the homeschooling community, to have some sort of extra curricular activity every day or even more than 1. I even felt pressured and got sucked into over scheduling. We have so many awesome things for kids to do in our community, and they are all fabulous, but not at the same time, lol! When I get tempted to layer in more stuff I remind myself the good is the enemy of the best.

 

Right now what works for us is to limit our extra curricular activities to no more than 2 afternoons during g the school week. My kids do AHG (scouting) once a week from 4-6 and a horseback riding lesson from 4-6 once a week. Sundays they do AWANA from 4-5:30. I like to reserve 2 afternoons a week for them to have wide open during the week. Friday we usually go to a park day after lunch but its not structured and if we chose to blow it off its not a big deal at all :)

 

I understand though when the kids are older that they have to make more time commitments so at that point we might have to chose one activity for them to stick with. But ideally I would like then to do one physical activity and one of choice (scouts, music, drama, etc).

[My3girls]

My girls crave the time with friends but not necessarily structured activities. Since I cannot figure out another way to give them regularly scheduled time with friends, we do the activities. Right now they are participating in Girl Scouts, track, and art. Dd12, also, has 4-H. I plan to put them in archery when art class is done and swimming when track is done. I hope to sign them up for a music coop in the fall and DD12 for a Spanish class. It's never ending, expensive, and time consuming. I just don't know any other way to do it, though. I've tried the having friends over thing, but it's just too unreliable and not enough.

[Seasider]

Well if they are growing towards the rhetoric stage, they need opportunities to practice it! Not formally, per se, but in regular conversations. The need for an expanding world is pretty common as kids age, and an increase in organized activities was always a good way for us to pursue that.

 

Can be tough on the chauffeur, though.