Extracurricular Activities wrt larger, homeschooling families?

[pensmama87]

Exactly. If you think about the capacities of a 3 year old or even a 5 year old, these children aren’t going to get some insurmountable head-start on physically-fit peers with the same aptitude. IOW, if your child is doing something, they can catch up if they find a sport or art that catches their imagination. The flip-side, of course, is that some kids with aptitude are going to dig their heels in and resist if they’re pushed faster or harder than they are inclined to go.

Now, if you have a small child who is just nuts to start with something like this, then of course it doesn’t hurt to let them. That child is the exception, though, the one whose imagination is really captured by ballet or music or whatever. Most children don’t get that kind of focus until they’re older.

I agree with this. My oldest is two but I plan on letting him feel out what he’s interested in and go from there. I am thinking about signing him up for tumbling classes and swimming lessons after he turns 3 at our local rec center. If he decides that he wants to go for the Olympics based on those experiences and has a knack for it, sure, we could get a bit more competitive with it. But right now my interest is in practicing his coordination, a possibly life-saving skill in the case of swimming, and of course, learning how to listen to adult direction.

 

[EasterJoy]

I agree with this. My oldest is two but I plan on letting him feel out what he’s interested in and go from there. I am thinking about signing him up for tumbling classes and swimming lessons after he turns 3 at our local rec center. If he decides that he wants to go for the Olympics based on those experiences and has a knack for it, sure, we could get a bit more competitive with it. But right now my interest is in practicing his coordination, a possibly life-saving skill in the case of swimming, and of course, learning how to listen to adult direction.

That’s what we did–they got lessons so they wouldn’t automatically sink like a rock if they fell off of a boat, but they had no interest in the advanced lessons, diving, or swim team, so that was that.

The hardest for my husband was piano. Our boys took lessons for a few years, they were fairly good at it and had no stage fright, they liked it for awhile, but then they decided to quit. He had never learned to play piano, so he was very disappointed. I had played piano, too, but quit when I took up sports in high school. Sometimes I wish I had done both, but knowing that I do not do well when I’m over-scheduled, I would do the same thing all over again. I was successful in sports and I know enough piano to take it up again, if I feel the desire. IOW, I’m not sorry I took lessons, but I’m not really sorry I didn’t take more than I did, either.

 

[Usige]

I don’t believe every minute of every day needs to be scheduled.

I think that is a key point. When every moment of a kid’s life is structured it often has odd effects on them. I have a niece who was in children’s theater, children’s choral, competitive soccer and cheer leading, and on, and on, and on. When she got to college she was a wreck for the first semester when she didn’t have classes because she didn’t know how to plan or schedule things because my sister planned everything for her. She said she got anxiety attacks at first because she kept checking her calendar and there would be whole stretches with nothing on the calendar.

It also discounts how much stress it puts on kids. Life shouldn’t be so regimented that it takes a super computer to re-arraign things when the wheels come off the cart.

 

[EasterJoy]

I think that is a key point. When every moment of a kid’s life is structured it often has odd effects on them. I have a niece who was in children’s theater, children’s choral, competitive soccer and cheer leading, and on, and on, and on. When she got to college she was a wreck for the first semester when she didn’t have classes because she didn’t know how to plan or schedule things because my sister planned everything for her. She said she got anxiety attacks at first because she kept checking her calendar and there would be whole stretches with nothing on the calendar.

It also discounts how much stress it puts on kids. Life shouldn’t be so regimented that it takes a super computer to re-arraign things when the wheels come off the cart.

Wow. A very good lesson, there.

 

[Hoosier_Daddy]

Our children do 2 activities per year per child. Basketball and soccer, swimming and gymnastics, karate and piano, etc. We don’t use the competitive leagues but rather family friendly ones that don’t take up our evenings and weekends too much. For instance we had three in soccer this summer, the games were staggered and practice was right before the game. By noon on Saturday we were done with all three. AND they all got to watch and cheer the other. That is the other thing we do. The whole family goes to the games. If only one child does karate, then the whole family watches the matches. We do not use any homeschooling groups as I have never really liked them. But we do homeschool. And the activity aspect has never taken away from family time. Our children have been on swim team, ski team, soccer, basketball, choir, etc.

 

[Kelfa28]

I think you can take it or leave it.

It depends on the child. Some children just aren’t interested in extracurricular activities…regardless of what their siblings are involved with.

My sister is a good example. She had almost zero interest in anything extracurricular.

On the other hand, I was the queen of extracurricular activities. I excelled in both gymnastics and dance from a young age. I decided to take ballet seriously and quit gymnastics. But I still experimented with team sports like soccer and baseball. I also participated in theatre, student council and I spent a lot of time volunteering.

My mother taught ballet for years. She got my sister involved at a young age just out of habit. My sister told my mom she didn’t like it anymore and wanted to quit. That was perfectly fine and my mother never stressed.

If my sister expressed an interest in something, my mother would let her try it. Karate, art lessons, horseback riding and cheerleading were all tried at various points through her childhood.
After a season or a few lessons my sister would want to stop as she’d lose interest quickly.

My husband was the same way. He had no interest in extracurriculars but his sister was.

I don’t think having a massive list of all the extracurricular activities you’ve been involved with will make too much of a difference when applying for college.
I’ve seen the recent state college applications. They don’t really ask for what activities you did in high school.
They just want transcripts, SAT scores and a decent college essay.

I imagine it’s not like that across the board…but I know plenty of my girlfriends who were still denied admission to top schools despite their diverse backgrounds, different sports and activities, leadership roles within the student body and near perfect GPAs.
It’s a toss up as to where you’ll be accepted sometimes.