Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. UM WTF what is this horrible hate posts.

No we didn’t keep our kids inside all winter. But there are only so many family hikes you can do. Plus the recent ice made it unsafe being outside at times.

Come on DCUM- I need some real suggestions. Yikes.

I feel you OP. My kids are also 3 and 6. We HAVE taken them outside a ton throughout winter (family walks, a cabin weekend away, sledding in the snow, parks), but at some point I need them to do organized activities. With their peers. Trying new things that I maybe don’t have the capacity to teach them.

We’ve been looking at soccer or baseball for our older DC. Haven’t figured out what I can do for our 3 y/o. We may try to find something crafty that meets outdoors (if that exists). Or maybe a socially distanced movement/dance class.

My kids also did private swim lessons during the summer and we felt ok with that.

And I’ll add on that there are private play places to rent out (Jolly Yolly is a good one if you’re in or willing to travel to VA).

Anonymous wrote:OP here. UM WTF what is this horrible hate posts.

No we didn’t keep our kids inside all winter. But there are only so many family hikes you can do. Plus the recent ice made it unsafe being outside at times.

Come on DCUM- I need some real suggestions. Yikes.

I feel you OP. My kids are also 3 and 6. We HAVE taken them outside a ton throughout winter (family walks, a cabin weekend away, sledding in the snow, parks), but at some point I need them to do organized activities. With their peers. Trying new things that I maybe don’t have the capacity to teach them.

We’ve been looking at soccer or baseball for our older DC. Haven’t figured out what I can do for our 3 y/o. We may try to find something crafty that meets outdoors (if that exists). Or maybe a socially distanced movement/dance class.

My kids also did private swim lessons during the summer and we felt ok with that.

6 yr old is doing baseball, tennis and chess lessons.

I hear you, OP. We're cautious but not stringently so. That said, we haven't enrolled the kids in anything since everything they were in was canceled last March, and I feel like they lost a year of skills development, and miss the fun of course.

My kid started swimming lessons last February, just after his 5th birthday. I really need to get him back in there since his skills are nowhere near where they should be.

I feel like 5-6 is a big year for testing out different activities to see what they're interested in, and if they have a natural ability for anything. I'm about to throw him in as much stuff as possible this spring and summer to see what sticks.

I know, tons of kids start at 2 or 3. When we put him in soccer at 3, he and almost all of the other kids were more interested in the adjacent playground than the ball.

Bounce places. Several in the area... kids zones.

We are doing lots of activities with our kids. 3 is a little tough, but our 5 year old does ice skating lessons and tae kwan do.

We're also signed up for tee ball, which starts in April, I think.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You kept them inside in the winter?

I don't understand some people.

Poors in apartments.

My apartment is likely worth more than your house.

We did not keep our kids inside this winter.

We're planning on soccer in the spring.

We never stopped activities. Its all about what precautions places are taking and if its feasible to do and maintain CDC guidelines. We kept voice lessons virtual. It made no sense to try to do that in person. My kids continued fencing and tae kwon do. Each was adjusted to keep kids safer. TKD - added virtual classes, no sparring, less kids/people in class and building, no water fountains, virtual check-ins, kids spaced further apart, masks/sanitizer required. Fencing - added virtual workouts, less people in class and building, masks/sanitizer required, no water fountains, kids used their own equipment, and when the fencing mask is off kids are kept separated.

Goldfish Swim School has been great for my three kids. They are very COVID careful.
I also recommend Dance classes at Salsa by Silvia. They have a large space and small class sizes.
A number of the Soccer schools will also offer classes for small groups that you can form yourself. Kicks are for Kids is one we have attended in the past.

Hang in there Op - I completely understand your need to balance safety with the mental well-being of your children.

Also- Judgy, Wudgy was a bear...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You kept them inside in the winter?

I don't understand some people.

Poors in apartments.

We are poors in apartments. The issue is whether or not the neighborhood is safe. In a safe neighborhood, you can take the kids out to a park when the weather isn’t too extreme. In a bad neighborhood, you have threats other than weather and ‘Rona to worry about.

sign them up for i9 sports if it's in your area.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We need our kids in activities. Covid and winter kept them inside . We need them in COVID safe activties ASAP, before the house is totally wrecked.

Any tips on safe sports/ swim lessons?

What are other people doing?

Looking for a 6 and 3 year old.

Rec center has zoom options, like music and art classes. I signed up for a zoom chess class for my 8 year old. Friends do in person lacrosse and it's been fine all thru covid times, surprisingly. I'm too risk averse for that.

No one wants more zoom classes! Especially not a 6 and 3 yo.

Anonymous wrote:We need our kids in activities. Covid and winter kept them inside . We need them in COVID safe activties ASAP, before the house is totally wrecked.

Any tips on safe sports/ swim lessons?

What are other people doing?

Looking for a 6 and 3 year old.

Rec center has zoom options, like music and art classes. I signed up for a zoom chess class for my 8 year old. Friends do in person lacrosse and it's been fine all thru covid times, surprisingly. I'm too risk averse for that.

Ice skating lessons for both
Tae kwon do for older
Swim lessons
Tee ball for older
Soccer for both