Anonymous wrote:Serious question- do your children also attend aftercare or do you have a stay at home parent/nanny? I would love to have my child in more afternoon activities but I don’t think she could handle it after a full day of school and then aftercare.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:One solo sport (tennis) and one creative (dance). She hasn’t expressed interest in organized sports or music yet. She does each once a week after school and comes home the other three days for free play
Activities don’t have to be organized. You can practice tennis together. Bike ride, playground the usual.
I tried a few things with my oldest but dance / ballet was all she wanted.
If you had a different activity every day that would be too much. Jack of all trades, master of none. Hopefully you’ll be able zero in on her favorite in a few years.
You think kids should specialize… in 1st grade? I think it’s fine to try lots of different activities at that age. Heck, at any age.
No. I meant they should try what their parent think the child would be interested in Sports, drama, gymnastics , music, dance, martial arts.
After a few years of trying various activities hopefully the child will be drawn to 1 or 2 activities and they can focus only on those.
My daughter’s friend’s mother, seemed to think her daughter could do it all. She usually had two activities per day. Singing lessons, drama lessons, gymnastics, cheerleading, ballet school and dance studio. She was mediocre at them all.
She moved to Texas and wanted to be a cheerleader so bad but didn’t make it. If she had focused everything she had on cheerleading exclusively I would bet she would have made it.
Anonymous wrote:Serious question- do your children also attend aftercare or do you have a stay at home parent/nanny? I would love to have my child in more afternoon activities but I don’t think she could handle it after a full day of school and then aftercare.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:The question should be, is it enough for YOUR 1st grader. If she’s home at 3 and watching TV for several hours while you’re working then no that’s not ideal.
If she’s outside playing with neighborhood kids or having play dates, or needs time to decompress from her day, then yes those 2 a week are fine.
This! My DD does a lot better with structure, which means she is in a lot of activities.
“Does a lot better with structure” = doesn’t know how to entertain herself without an adult telling her what to do. Or screens
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:The question should be, is it enough for YOUR 1st grader. If she’s home at 3 and watching TV for several hours while you’re working then no that’s not ideal.
If she’s outside playing with neighborhood kids or having play dates, or needs time to decompress from her day, then yes those 2 a week are fine.
This! My DD does a lot better with structure, which means she is in a lot of activities.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:One solo sport (tennis) and one creative (dance). She hasn’t expressed interest in organized sports or music yet. She does each once a week after school and comes home the other three days for free play
Activities don’t have to be organized. You can practice tennis together. Bike ride, playground the usual.
I tried a few things with my oldest but dance / ballet was all she wanted.
If you had a different activity every day that would be too much. Jack of all trades, master of none. Hopefully you’ll be able zero in on her favorite in a few years.
You think kids should specialize… in 1st grade? I think it’s fine to try lots of different activities at that age. Heck, at any age.