how do you manage activities for your early elementary kids

[Anonymous]

My son wants to do all the things (and would happily have a different activity every day of the week) but I want him to have plenty of downtime / free time. I'm trying to figure out how to balance those things as well as doing some things he loves year round (eg soccer) versus only one or two seasons so there's still time to try other activities, how to work in things I think he needs to do (swim lessons) or things other than sports to give variety (scouts / music)

Tell me about your approach to activities - in general how many things do they have a week (both different activities and sessions total), do you rotate by season, do you let your kid pick them all? Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Call me 🤙

[Anonymous]

Rising 2nd grader will do this fall: gymnastics, dance, ice skating, piano, singing
Rising K will do this fall: swim, dance, gymnastics, basketball

Even if they have a class from 4-5pm after school, then they still have tons of time before bed that's down time. But I don't really worry about that. I was a kid who was on the go all the time, and both thrived that way, and also felt like I had tons of time to draw and read and dance around the living room. Do whatever works for your family. I think it's great for kids to try everything that piques their interest when they're little.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Rising 2nd grader will do this fall: gymnastics, dance, ice skating, piano, singing
Rising K will do this fall: swim, dance, gymnastics, basketball

Even if they have a class from 4-5pm after school, then they still have tons of time before bed that's down time. But I don't really worry about that. I was a kid who was on the go all the time, and both thrived that way, and also felt like I had tons of time to draw and read and dance around the living room. Do whatever works for your family. I think it's great for kids to try everything that piques their interest when they're little.

Are each of those things once a week? Will you continue them all year round (if they want) or switch to a different set of activities for the next season?

[Anonymous]

We do 2 weekday activities max. With working driving them is hard and i also value downtime and time as a family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Rising 2nd grader will do this fall: gymnastics, dance, ice skating, piano, singing
Rising K will do this fall: swim, dance, gymnastics, basketball

Even if they have a class from 4-5pm after school, then they still have tons of time before bed that's down time. But I don't really worry about that. I was a kid who was on the go all the time, and both thrived that way, and also felt like I had tons of time to draw and read and dance around the living room. Do whatever works for your family. I think it's great for kids to try everything that piques their interest when they're little.

How do you get them to the 4 pm activity? Our ES lets out at 3:50 and the bus doesn't come until 4:30 most days and both parents work n

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We do 2 weekday activities max. With working driving them is hard and i also value downtime and time as a family.

Do they rotate what they do? Do you make them do any certain activity (swim lessons, learn an instrument etc)

[Anonymous]

My kids can do as many activities as possible that we can reasonably fit in our schedule. So two kids and each do an activity a day basically. I dislike downtime and get antsy if I am just in the house.

I get off work at 230pm and kids are generally home by 3pm so we have plenty of time for things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rising 2nd grader will do this fall: gymnastics, dance, ice skating, piano, singing
Rising K will do this fall: swim, dance, gymnastics, basketball

Even if they have a class from 4-5pm after school, then they still have tons of time before bed that's down time. But I don't really worry about that. I was a kid who was on the go all the time, and both thrived that way, and also felt like I had tons of time to draw and read and dance around the living room. Do whatever works for your family. I think it's great for kids to try everything that piques their interest when they're little.

Are each of those things once a week? Will you continue them all year round (if they want) or switch to a different set of activities for the next season?

Yes, they're once a week, although the K is doing two different dance classes. 2nd grade will continue piano year round, and K will continue swim until she's a strong enough swimmer per DH and I. They can continue after the season ends or switch to other things as they want.

[Anonymous]

We were constrained by some after-school logistics, but in general I'd sign my kid up for anything she was interested in from K-2 without any regard for intentionally switching up or continuing some activities.

My DD was in after care, so we didn't do after care + 5 days of activities, but if after care is not a consideration then a different thing every day of the week sounds great for early elementary!

I did make her stick with it for the assigned season, but otherwise didn't steer her to one thing or another. For example, she wanted to try soccer in 2nd grade but then got cold feet before the first practice because she worried she was the only new kid - I didn't let her quit but I let her make her own decision about the following season.

From 3-5, we're a little more intentional about this stuff, particularly as some things become more competitive and/or time intensive. Like understanding that joining a certain team or group means giving up X or Y, and is she ok with that, etc. etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rising 2nd grader will do this fall: gymnastics, dance, ice skating, piano, singing
Rising K will do this fall: swim, dance, gymnastics, basketball

Even if they have a class from 4-5pm after school, then they still have tons of time before bed that's down time. But I don't really worry about that. I was a kid who was on the go all the time, and both thrived that way, and also felt like I had tons of time to draw and read and dance around the living room. Do whatever works for your family. I think it's great for kids to try everything that piques their interest when they're little.

How do you get them to the 4 pm activity? Our ES lets out at 3:50 and the bus doesn't come until 4:30 most days and both parents work n

Piano and singing are taught by a neighbor so DD can walk to those, and we drive them to the others. Their ES gets out earlier than yours.

[Anonymous]

We try to have activities 4 days a week M-Th.
Kids are rising 2nd & 4th grade.
With rec sports, the games are usually on weekends so no more than 2 games a weekend.
That keeps the kids busy when parents are working, and still leaves enough time for family/ downtime.

[Anonymous]

My kid doesn't really have weekday downtime after school. It's a lot with two working parents, but honestly, at home she is generally clamoring for TV, and I would much rather her do an activity than get sucked into that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid doesn't really have weekday downtime after school. It's a lot with two working parents, but honestly, at home she is generally clamoring for TV, and I would much rather her do an activity than get sucked into that.

This is us. Downtime for her equals iPad and so I'd rather her be busy in an activity so I can avoid that fight. I think there's plenty of downtime on weekends, even with the two sports plus swimming lessons that she does.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rising 2nd grader will do this fall: gymnastics, dance, ice skating, piano, singing
Rising K will do this fall: swim, dance, gymnastics, basketball

Even if they have a class from 4-5pm after school, then they still have tons of time before bed that's down time. But I don't really worry about that. I was a kid who was on the go all the time, and both thrived that way, and also felt like I had tons of time to draw and read and dance around the living room. Do whatever works for your family. I think it's great for kids to try everything that piques their interest when they're little.

How do you get them to the 4 pm activity? Our ES lets out at 3:50 and the bus doesn't come until 4:30 most days and both parents work n

Piano and singing are taught by a neighbor so DD can walk to those, and we drive them to the others. Their ES gets out earlier than yours.

NP here
Even if they only have the lessons once a week (each? Or is she doing some sort of combo lesson?) She'll need to practice. Usually teachers want a minimum of 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week--each. That's an extra hour + she'll need to devote to music on top of her dance, gymnastics and ice skating.