Extracurriculares for a 6 year-old, is this too much?

[Anonymous]

Our general principal during the school year has been one activity per season. However this Fall, it seems several activities are coming together and I’m afraid this will be too much for my 6 year-old.

He has:
- soccer 2x a week (that is our usual Fall/Spring activity).
- piano classes 1x week
- tennis class 1x week
- language class 1x week

He did tennis during the summer, and seems interested in continuing. Language class is just 30 minutes with his babysitter , and then playtime. Most of these will take place during the weekend (with the exception of piano, which most likely will be during the week).

Is this too much? I don’t want to over schedule my kid, but feel like activities such as music and language need to be year long.

[Anonymous]

My kids are teens now, but they honestly had a higher threshold for activities as little kids. So, if your kid likes all that stuff and is getting enough sleep, go for it.

I will say that 30 minutes/week of language class is a complete waste of time unless he is working on the language many times a week outside of that. Once your kid gets to middle school and takes Spanish 1 (or whatever) they will blow past any learning they got out of those lessons in the first month.

[Anonymous]

I'm having the same problem with my 6 year old that things feel like they are ramping up and maybe getting to too many activities. This does sound like kind of a lot, but it probably depends on if your child is also in aftercare most days because that is a lot of activity in itself and in my opinion counts. I would probably do tennis another season, personally. If he's interested, that's great - he can do another season of it soon. I think why kids are starting to get more overscheduled these days is because there is a feeling now that things need to be year round. It used to be at these younger ages you'd do soccer one season a year, max two. Then other sports different seasons.

So I'm trying to stick with this "season" approach as much as I can because i also heard it isn't good for kids bodies to be doing one sport too much at this young age. So we did swimming this summer and I was tempted to keep it going kind of like the tennis, but instead I'll wait and maybe we'll do some lessons in spring to get back in the groove for summer.

It is tough op, it sounds reasonable and I get that piano isn't something you start and stop. I would just take a look at home and family downtime, do you feel like you would still have ample time for that and if so then you are ok.

[Anonymous]

I would keep the language class. It sounds like it fits seamlessly in your schedule since your kid is playing and being watched by the babysitter after the lesson. It's true that your kid isn't going to learn much with only one lesson a week, but that's not really the point. Your kid is getting exposure to another language and that's valuable in and of itself.

Two sports and piano seems like a lot if you're also practicing all three everyday.

[Anonymous]

Only you know if it's too much. It depends on how it fits into your family and your day. Do you have other kids? Do you have time before or after school where piano practice nicely fits? Do you need to take your kid to the yard or a tennis court for practice in between practice/classes? Is your kid in aftercare? Are the activities close to where you live or will driving add a lot to your life (be sure to account for traffic!)? Does the piano teacher perhaps come to your house?

[Anonymous]

It only sounds like a lot because of how you've laid it out. The language "class" is not a class -- it's an activity he's doing with his babysitter. This is like saying he's in an art class because he does art projects with his babysitter.

The soccer is a no-brainer. Piano at 6 is fine though see how it goes -- some kids have no willingness to practice at this age and a weekly piano class with no practice is kind of pointless. It's really the practice that makes learning an instrument feel burdensome. If he actually likes it and practices willingly on a schedule then you might discover you have less time for the other extras.

I also think the tennis is fine but also you might find it's something he does seasonally (just in the summer). But there's no harm in doing it.

This schedule would be a lot harder for an older kid because the classes and practices would be longer and they'd be expected to work on skills on their own too. But for a 6 yr old this is not a big deal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It only sounds like a lot because of how you've laid it out. The language "class" is not a class -- it's an activity he's doing with his babysitter. This is like saying he's in an art class because he does art projects with his babysitter.

The soccer is a no-brainer. Piano at 6 is fine though see how it goes -- some kids have no willingness to practice at this age and a weekly piano class with no practice is kind of pointless. It's really the practice that makes learning an instrument feel burdensome. If he actually likes it and practices willingly on a schedule then you might discover you have less time for the other extras.

I also think the tennis is fine but also you might find it's something he does seasonally (just in the summer). But there's no harm in doing it.

This schedule would be a lot harder for an older kid because the classes and practices would be longer and they'd be expected to work on skills on their own too. But for a 6 yr old this is not a big deal.

Bolded depends entirely on the kid. I have 2 who don't mind but also don't love instrument practice. I have one who does it for fun and enjoys every minute. Some kids really take to it, even at a young age.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It only sounds like a lot because of how you've laid it out. The language "class" is not a class -- it's an activity he's doing with his babysitter. This is like saying he's in an art class because he does art projects with his babysitter.

The soccer is a no-brainer. Piano at 6 is fine though see how it goes -- some kids have no willingness to practice at this age and a weekly piano class with no practice is kind of pointless. It's really the practice that makes learning an instrument feel burdensome. If he actually likes it and practices willingly on a schedule then you might discover you have less time for the other extras.

I also think the tennis is fine but also you might find it's something he does seasonally (just in the summer). But there's no harm in doing it.

This schedule would be a lot harder for an older kid because the classes and practices would be longer and they'd be expected to work on skills on their own too. But for a 6 yr old this is not a big deal.

Bolded depends entirely on the kid. I have 2 who don't mind but also don't love instrument practice. I have one who does it for fun and enjoys every minute. Some kids really take to it, even at a young age.

PP here. Yes -- this was actually what I was trying to convey. It's impossible to know whether the piano class will be too much or not because it's not really about the class but about the practice. At this age most instructors will recommend 15-20 minutes of practice about 4 days a week. It's not really a lot of practice and should slot pretty easily into the day. But if your kid hates it then what it becomes for you is several hours of reminding and cajoling every week in order to get him to practice for like 40 minutes total. And that is what becomes burdensome. If he happily sits at the piano without being prompted and practices then it will feel like nothing.

If he doesn't practice and you aren't willing to find a way to get him to practice the lessons will not really be worth it even though it's only 30 minutes a week. This is why some kids don't do instrumental music until they are older (and why some never take to it). It's about the time you put in OUTSIDE of class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It only sounds like a lot because of how you've laid it out. The language "class" is not a class -- it's an activity he's doing with his babysitter. This is like saying he's in an art class because he does art projects with his babysitter.

The soccer is a no-brainer. Piano at 6 is fine though see how it goes -- some kids have no willingness to practice at this age and a weekly piano class with no practice is kind of pointless. It's really the practice that makes learning an instrument feel burdensome. If he actually likes it and practices willingly on a schedule then you might discover you have less time for the other extras.

I also think the tennis is fine but also you might find it's something he does seasonally (just in the summer). But there's no harm in doing it.

This schedule would be a lot harder for an older kid because the classes and practices would be longer and they'd be expected to work on skills on their own too. But for a 6 yr old this is not a big deal.

Stupid advice

[Anonymous]

That sounds fine to me but I have high energy kids. 1 hour practice or activity per day is fine. My problem was always conflicts since I have 3 kids. My oldest is now in high school and he has varsity practice and games plus his private lessons plus clubs and nonprofits he is on plus AP coursework.

Your schedule sounds dreamy to me. Your kid doesn’t have any homework and no tests to study for at school or a SAT.

[Anonymous]

I don’t think that’s too much (it actually too little for piano and language). As for the sports if I could do it all over again I would intensely focus on the movement sports (swimming, dance, wrestling, ice skating/hockey and gymnastics) until 4th grade. The ball sports (soccer, basketball, baseball, football) are really jus social events until 4th grade (which is fine if that’s what you want but don’t get it mixed up with actual sports training).

PROTIP: first grade is an excellent time to decide if you’re going to be a music family. Some people get lucky and they get kids who are naturally inclined to play music. For the rest of us you sort of have to ram in down their throats until they get the basics down.

[Anonymous]

This is exactly my 7 year olds schedule except he also has a game for his second sport so it meets 2x/week. Language class for him is 4 hours per week. It adds up to a lot but he likes it.

When it is too much, I find they start getting irritable or less enthusiastic about activities. If that happens, think about what can be cut back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think that’s too much (it actually too little for piano and language). As for the sports if I could do it all over again I would intensely focus on the movement sports (swimming, dance, wrestling, ice skating/hockey and gymnastics) until 4th grade. The ball sports (soccer, basketball, baseball, football) are really jus social events until 4th grade (which is fine if that’s what you want but don’t get it mixed up with actual sports training).

PROTIP: first grade is an excellent time to decide if you’re going to be a music family. Some people get lucky and they get kids who are naturally inclined to play music. For the rest of us you sort of have to ram in down their throats until they get the basics down.

I don’t agree with your ball sports comment. Tennis in particular absolutely dialed in my son’s hand eye coordination. Baseball also.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think that’s too much (it actually too little for piano and language). As for the sports if I could do it all over again I would intensely focus on the movement sports (swimming, dance, wrestling, ice skating/hockey and gymnastics) until 4th grade. The ball sports (soccer, basketball, baseball, football) are really jus social events until 4th grade (which is fine if that’s what you want but don’t get it mixed up with actual sports training).

PROTIP: first grade is an excellent time to decide if you’re going to be a music family. Some people get lucky and they get kids who are naturally inclined to play music. For the rest of us you sort of have to ram in down their throats until they get the basics down.

I don’t agree with your ball sports comment. Tennis in particular absolutely dialed in my son’s hand eye coordination. Baseball also.

Another PP who doesn't agree with the ball sports comment. Softball was great for my kids in 2nd and 3rd.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our general principal during the school year has been one activity per season. However this Fall, it seems several activities are coming together and I’m afraid this will be too much for my 6 year-old.

He has:
- soccer 2x a week (that is our usual Fall/Spring activity).
- piano classes 1x week
- tennis class 1x week
- language class 1x week

He did tennis during the summer, and seems interested in continuing. Language class is just 30 minutes with his babysitter , and then playtime. Most of these will take place during the weekend (with the exception of piano, which most likely will be during the week).

Is this too much? I don’t want to over schedule my kid, but feel like activities such as music and language need to be year long.

WAY too much. This is bonkers. Yikes.