This week's Heart of the Matter topic: Extra Activities, Helping or Hindering?
What is your weekly extra-curricular routine? Do your kids take music lessons? Sports? Are they involved in church activities? How much time does this leave for family time? Are you over-scheduled or relaxed in your outside programs? Share with us your thoughts on this!
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This is actually one of our "down" years for outside activities. There have been years when we have had extra activities out the wazoo. But this year we have no organized sports, so that's a huge one gone. For the past many years Duncan and Laurel have done soccer, which of course takes up and evening or two and a Saturday, and swimming (Laurel only). Eliminate those and we free up evenings and the whole weekend! Also, Randy and I aren't teaching a Wednesday night class at church this year, so that is a huge difference.
We still have places to go every day.
* On Mondays we have our enrichment class program.
* On Tuesdays, Laurel has flute lessons and Jesse has his class at the community college.
* On Wednesdays, Duncan has "boot camp" at a gymnastics center (my friend takes him!), Jesse has guitar lessons and then a chemistry class all the way across town.
* On Thursdays, Laurel has a theater arts class in the morning, Jesse has his college class, and then twice each month, we have Cub Scouts and American Heritage Girls in the afternoon.
* On Fridays, Jesse has his geometry class (but he can walk to that) and we have a group of AHG girls who meet here to work on their God and Family award in the afternoon.
(A couple of things that make all of this easy: all our activities are close by. Music lessons and the community college are 2-5 minutes away. Everything else, except chemistry, is about 10 minutes away. Even chemistry is only 20 minutes away.)
In general, we've always been fiercely protective of our evenings. We love evenings at home. This year Randy and the boys are going to church on Wednesday evenings. Laurel and I stay home, which is lovely. On the 2nd and 4th Friday evenings, Randy and Jesse have Boy Scouts, but that's only for an hour or two. Weekends are blissfully free, although something usually pops up.
One big thing I've learned in the course of homeschooling is that one's choice of outside activities is a hot topic. We like to pass judgment on people who do "too much" or "too little."
This is one of those places where we all need to hike our own hike.
What is your weekly extra-curricular routine? Do your kids take music lessons? Sports? Are they involved in church activities? How much time does this leave for family time? Are you over-scheduled or relaxed in your outside programs? Share with us your thoughts on this!
********
This is actually one of our "down" years for outside activities. There have been years when we have had extra activities out the wazoo. But this year we have no organized sports, so that's a huge one gone. For the past many years Duncan and Laurel have done soccer, which of course takes up and evening or two and a Saturday, and swimming (Laurel only). Eliminate those and we free up evenings and the whole weekend! Also, Randy and I aren't teaching a Wednesday night class at church this year, so that is a huge difference.
We still have places to go every day.
* On Mondays we have our enrichment class program.
* On Tuesdays, Laurel has flute lessons and Jesse has his class at the community college.
* On Wednesdays, Duncan has "boot camp" at a gymnastics center (my friend takes him!), Jesse has guitar lessons and then a chemistry class all the way across town.
* On Thursdays, Laurel has a theater arts class in the morning, Jesse has his college class, and then twice each month, we have Cub Scouts and American Heritage Girls in the afternoon.
* On Fridays, Jesse has his geometry class (but he can walk to that) and we have a group of AHG girls who meet here to work on their God and Family award in the afternoon.
(A couple of things that make all of this easy: all our activities are close by. Music lessons and the community college are 2-5 minutes away. Everything else, except chemistry, is about 10 minutes away. Even chemistry is only 20 minutes away.)
In general, we've always been fiercely protective of our evenings. We love evenings at home. This year Randy and the boys are going to church on Wednesday evenings. Laurel and I stay home, which is lovely. On the 2nd and 4th Friday evenings, Randy and Jesse have Boy Scouts, but that's only for an hour or two. Weekends are blissfully free, although something usually pops up.
One big thing I've learned in the course of homeschooling is that one's choice of outside activities is a hot topic. We like to pass judgment on people who do "too much" or "too little."
This is one of those places where we all need to hike our own hike.
I agree, outside activities IS one of those hot topics! It's always interesting to see how it works in other families. Mine is a young family(ages 7, almost 4, almost 3, 10 mos, and baby #5 due in March) so we choose less activities. I can see a time in the future when that would change, as we have mostly teens who can drive to classes at the college, etc.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the peek at your week!
Tristan
We are a "too little' family, LOL.
ReplyDeleteWe have one thing this school year. Homeschool PE on Tuesdays with a Homeschool co-op/support Group. I'd prefer NONE, but I know my boy need something with other kids. Last 2 rs we did none, the year before they each took a class at a local Christian School. Before that is was piano lessons once a week for a couple years.
"We all need to hike our own hike"
ReplyDeleteLove that one! I thought that was what homeschooling is all about anyways.
We all have a unique plan that God has prepared fo our families. It would be silly to try to say what every family should do or shouldn't do for that matter. Then in a way wouldn't we be taking the position of God?
Kristie
around here we play a different sport every night, at five ...and tonight we are going to a mumu (a traditional fire is made and the food is cut up small, wrapped in banana leaves, covered in dirt and cooked for hours)
ReplyDeletesometimes, on a Saturday morning, we would drive almost an hour into town to go to the market or second hand clothing stores ... we are missionaries after all. actually, there isn't any place to buy new clothes so everyone does it. other than that, you would go to a beach or watch a soccer game down the road. definitely a slower pace!
I agree that different schedules work for different families. The ages of the kids have a lot to do with it as well.
ReplyDelete