For thsoe w/kids in AAP...

[Anonymous]

1. How many after school extracurricular activities are your kids in?

2. Is it hard to get homework done?

3. How many school days (Monday-Thursday) does your child have activities?

4. How long is each activity (door to door)?

5. What time does your child go to sleep?

6. How old is your child?

and

7. Is your child more stressed/more tired on nights there are activities?

Thanks for any input!

[Anonymous]

Before we start the 20 question game, may we ask one first:
Why you ask so many question?

[Anonymous]

So we can better understand what you are looking for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Before we start the 20 question game, may we ask one first:
Why you ask so many question?

Sure: because they are relevant to making a decision about AAP. For example, if person-x says, "my kid is in 1 activity a week and doesn't stress at all" that isn't helpful necessarily. Perhaps your child is years older than mine. Perhaps your activity is a 5 minute drive away so it is a total of 70 minutes. Perhaps your child goes to bed at 8:30 and mine goes to bed at 7:00 p.m. It all makes a difference.

[Anonymous]

OP, please remember every school is different and every kid is different.

[Anonymous]

I understand the reason the questions are being asked, it's decision time. I'll play.

1. How many after school extracurricular activities are your kids in?

Mainly sports - but lots of them.

2. Is it hard to get homework done?

Daily homework no. Project homework - only by the procrastinator. It wouldn't matter if it were gen ed or AAP, my child would put doing the projects off until the last possible minute.

3. How many school days (Monday-Thursday) does your child have activities?

5 days a week.

4. How long is each activity (door to door)?

Several hours for travel team practices.

5. What time does your child go to sleep?

9:30-10pm, but the bus doesn't come until 8:30 am

6. How old is your child?

I have two in AAP - 4th and 6th
and

7. Is your child more stressed/more tired on nights there are activities?

Nope.

[Anonymous]

OP would it help to know how many minutes/hours per night for homework for AAP, and if any weekend work is required? I would wonder about this myself. Or, since different kids would take different amounts of time to complete the same assignments, perhaps info on how much <b>more</b> time for 3rd grade AAP than for 2nd grade, e.g., if the homework time doubled, increased by 50 percent, etc.?

[Anonymous]

Ummm....I don't really see the value of this thread. Everyone's child will be different in terms of what he or she can withstand (my gen ed kid could never follow the schedule above; he needs lot of downtime and lots of sleep). This goes beyond age or driving time; it's just part of the child's makeup.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I understand the reason the questions are being asked, it's decision time. I'll play.

1. How many after school extracurricular activities are your kids in?

Mainly sports - but lots of them.

2. Is it hard to get homework done?

Daily homework no. Project homework - only by the procrastinator. It wouldn't matter if it were gen ed or AAP, my child would put doing the projects off until the last possible minute.

3. How many school days (Monday-Thursday) does your child have activities?

5 days a week.

4. How long is each activity (door to door)?

Several hours for travel team practices.

5. What time does your child go to sleep?

9:30-10pm, but the bus doesn't come until 8:30 am

6. How old is your child?

I have two in AAP - 4th and 6th
and

7. Is your child more stressed/more tired on nights there are activities?

Nope.

This was my experience. My neighbor told me to go for it! I am so glad he did.

[Anonymous]

2 kids in AAP. One is a gymnast that practices 20+ hours a week, has no trouble getting homework done, and wouldn't have it any other way. The other has minimal after school activities and does homework quickly and efficiently, but would be near a nervous breakdown if on the other kids schedule.

It's a very individual thing.

[Anonymous]

This is helpful! Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:2 kids in AAP. One is a gymnast that practices 20+ hours a week, has no trouble getting homework done, and wouldn't have it any other way. The other has minimal after school activities and does homework quickly and efficiently, but would be near a nervous breakdown if on the other kids schedule.

It's a very individual thing.

+1

Also 2 kids in AAP. One is in music programs that take up 12+ hours each week plus competitive chess that takes up to 10+ hours each week. He has little trouble getting homework done. The other has chess club (1.5 hours a week) and can't take on any more without an anxiety attack although homework only takes maybe 15 minutes a day.

[Anonymous]

You can always choose to go back to regular curriculum if AAP doesn't work for you. You cannot decide with other people's experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:1. How many after school extracurricular activities are your kids in?

2. Is it hard to get homework done?

3. How many school days (Monday-Thursday) does your child have activities?

4. How long is each activity (door to door)?

5. What time does your child go to sleep?

6. How old is your child?

and

7. Is your child more stressed/more tired on nights there are activities?

My child is in dance, swim, lacrosse, soccer, basketball. She is in many activities. She has activities Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. Time varies for each but no problem handling the homework or stress. She is well adapted and thriving academically. The hardest part was meeting friends at the Center. My child goes to bed at 8 pm and school starts at 9 am. My child is 9. She loves her activities and school. I wouldn't worry too much - it will all come together for your child. Make the best decisions you can based on knowing your child best. I wouldn't change my decision to send her to the AAP Center.

Thanks for any input!

[Anonymous]

Hello, OP. I do understand why you're asking this -- and I also get why others are saying, well, it depends on the child, the school, the individual teachers and the level of homework assigned. And those things change all the time.

I would add this: A student who is an interested and motivated AAP level student also is quite likely to be a kid who is equally interested in and motivated to do well in other aspects of life -- like extracurricular activities. So a child who has plenty of homework sometimes thrives quite well with plenty of other activities as well. The key is whether the child (not the parent, the child) is able to use time wisely, not procrastinate, plan ahead, etc.

My daughter has four dance classes a week plus one or more dance rehearsals for many weeks of the year. She also is in Girl Scouts (which is more limited in time commitment) and particiipates in Science Olympiad -- which, though run through the school, is entirely extracurricular, so all the study time is outside school hours and it can be considerable at certain points in the year. She has homework as well as a lot of longer-term projects, which she prefers because she can plan out how to do things little by little over time.

But another child might need much less going on, or could handle more. Transportation time could be a factor too -- if a kid has to spend time getting home on a bus and then be driven to an activity after getting home, that child could end up spending a lot of time on the road that's not spent on homework, projects, etc. Also, the whole family's schedule for weekends, and the family attitude about weekends, should be a factor; my kid spends a lot of time on weekends on Science Olympiad just now (not all year long) and also works on weekends on long-term school projects and that's fine with us, but I know families who resent any school intrusion into weekends. So factor that in.

Also if your child is currently younger (up to maybe 3rd-4th grade), be aware that if he or she is in sports or dance or certain other activities - the level of those activities really ramps up around 5th to 8th grades. Kids who want to continue certain activities find themselves expected to do that activity several days (or nights) a week plus on weekends as they get older. So factor that in as they get older -- some kids will drop certain activities and others will end up spending ever more time on them. As long as it's what the child wants and it makes the child thrive, that is just fine, but some other activities likely will go by the wayside so there is room both for school and the main activity. It's kind of a pity that kids can't sample more activities but unfortunately some activities demand more as kids reach middle school age. That is just a choice for the child to make in conjunction with the family.

If your kid is just not into activities -- let the child lead!