how do you choose activities?

daisy · Guru

how do you choose activities?

Robin · Guru

I guess I have decided on various activities for a large number of reasons.

When Henry was almost 5, I signed him up for t-ball at our local community center because I thought he'd meet kids that would be going to his school in kindergarten. That was a DISASTER. He sobbed through 2 practices--both of which we were late anyway because of having to eat dinner and rush to the field, then I pulled him out. It was making me miserable.

When Henry was younger, I put him in Kindermusik because I couldn't afford a mother's day out program that year and I wanted him to have some socialization.

I'm lucky that my church offers a variety of activities for kids. Henry and Mark have both participated in the choirs (starting at age 2) that are free. Last year, Henry played chimes in a group of 2nd and 3rd graders; and that was also free.

I let Henry join Scouts in the 1st grade because he came home from school and begged me. After a few meetings, he wasn't too thrilled with it anymore (especially when Glen took him). But since it was his idea, I made him finish the year.

Last year, Henry said he wanted to learn the piano, so I found a piano teacher and he's really enjoying that.

So for Henry, I always ask him before I sign him up for anything. I don't want to waste my money, and I don't want him to be miserable.

Besides preschool, the only thing Mark has done is choir. He'll probably want to do more sports-related things. And I'll do those through my church.

Alison · Guru

For Mason, I don't think he'd really like something that was very structured. I'm putting him in soccer because it's only 55 minutes once a week, and it's 3 and 4 year olds, so it's not going to be rigid at all. He'll love running around and kicking a ball, and hopefully he'll like it enough to want to continue with it.

I played soccer from kindergarten to 5th grade (when there were no more coed teams and I hated playing with just girls, LOL), and my brother played from kindergarten to 10th or 11th grade I think, so it just seems like a "normal" thing to have a kid in, LOL. Of course, my dad was a coach for a while, so playing wasn't really optional in my house!

And it's for selfish reasons too - I'd rather he get into soccer than t-ball and then want to play baseball. I hate baseball. biggrin

He has talked about soccer for a while though, so it's not out of left field so to speak.

I hope to get a better idea of what he might like to take classes in this year when he's at pre-K. But for now, something that helps him blow off extra steam is good for me!

Lizzy · Guru

Don really wants her in dance/ballet. I don't think she would really like that...she is sooooo physical that she would probably love gymnastics or soccer.

Right now, I don't have her in anything. We will be doing a music class again in January. It was parent/child and Don was taking her. I also might enroll her in a swimming class in Jan. We have a new rec center opening up and it looks really nice. Hopefully, she can go in the water by herself (I hate indoor pools)

a_mastermom · Guru

I just signed Natalie up for ballet, but only because she has been harassing me about it. It has been at her insistence and I didn't feel like I could put it off any longer. She is going for 45 min every Sat. Right now, I am not sure how I am going to juggle all the activities between my three kids and I was hoping that she could hold off another year before getting involved in anything - not the case. Believe me, once it starts, it never stops.

As for my boys, I started them off with soccer since it was the only sport offered at an age before kindergarten. It was obvious early on that they both LOVED sports. They now play football, basketball, flag football, baseball, summer baseball and soccer. Yes, shoot me now. If they didn't love it so much, I would not do it. They are the type of kids that get up in the morning and put on ESPN to check scores and highlights.

The scheduling can get insane. And once school starts and you throw in homework, it is even crazier. So, from a BTDT mom, don't rush your kids into anything - they have plenty of crazy activity years ahead of them. It's one thing if they love something specific, but it's definitely not necessary at this age.

Supafly · Guru

Anna definitely has opinions about her activities, as much as she can based on her exposure to things so far. So she really wants to be a ballerina and learn ballet "moves", lol. So we will try that and see how she likes it! I want them to be exposed to dance anyway-I am glad she wants to do it.

Anna is very physical, but she is shy around others, so I do take that into account. She LOVED yoga class, so hopefully we will revisit that again. At some point, I want to get her into something physical like soccer, but she is dying to do ballet atm.

I definitely choose based on what *I* want them to do AND what they are interested in. They WILL take piano, and that will not be optional. That is a must for me (musical household, what can I say!). And dance. And the yoga is very cool. And I do want them to have a sport of some sort. (not all of these at the same times, of course) Otherwise, if they want to try something, that is fine by me!

Supafly · Guru

a_mastermom wrote:

I just signed Natalie up for ballet, but only because she has been harassing me about it. It has been at her insistence and I didn't feel like I could put it off any longer. She is going for 45 min every Sat. Right now, I am not sure how I am going to juggle all the activities between my three kids and I was hoping that she could hold off another year before getting involved in anything - not the case. Believe me, once it starts, it never stops.

As for my boys, I started them off with soccer since it was the only sport offered at an age before kindergarten. It was obvious early on that they both LOVED sports. They now play football, basketball, flag football, baseball, summer baseball and soccer. Yes, shoot me now. If they didn't love it so much, I would not do it. They are the type of kids that get up in the morning and put on ESPN to check scores and highlights.

The scheduling can get insane. And once school starts and you throw in homework, it is even crazier. So, from a BTDT mom, don't rush your kids into anything - they have plenty of crazy activity years ahead of them. It's one thing if they love something specific, but it's definitely not necessary at this age.

Alicia, I am glad you said this. This is totally how I feel about things, and I am glad to hear this from a BTDT!!!! Anna really wants to do the dance, which is fine, but I definitely do not want to push any of this stuff right now.

Sara · Guru

a_mastermom wrote:

I just signed Natalie up for ballet, but only because she has been harassing me about it. It has been at her insistence and I didn't feel like I could put it off any longer. She is going for 45 min every Sat. Right now, I am not sure how I am going to juggle all the activities between my three kids and I was hoping that she could hold off another year before getting involved in anything - not the case. Believe me, once it starts, it never stops.

As for my boys, I started them off with soccer since it was the only sport offered at an age before kindergarten. It was obvious early on that they both LOVED sports. They now play football, basketball, flag football, baseball, summer baseball and soccer. Yes, shoot me now. If they didn't love it so much, I would not do it. They are the type of kids that get up in the morning and put on ESPN to check scores and highlights.

The scheduling can get insane. And once school starts and you throw in homework, it is even crazier. So, from a BTDT mom, don't rush your kids into anything - they have plenty of crazy activity years ahead of them. It's one thing if they love something specific, but it's definitely not necessary at this age.

Your boys and Bryce would get along well. While most kids want cartoons Bryce wakes up and asks for you to turn on Sportscenter.

Owen is not going to be in anything this fall. We did an intro to soccer and an intro to t-ball program this spring and summer. He had fun but he was still a bit young. I figure next summer he will want to be in something and if not we will hold off another year.

Bryce is in love with sports. He started off with soccer and has since done basketball and baseball. Baseball is his true passion. He absolutely adores it. He is getting ready to start a fall ball league. Had he not played fall ball he would've done flag football. We let him pick one or the other. The games would've interferred with each other but even if they didn't I am not sure I would've let him done both at the same time.

daisy · Guru

Supafly wrote:

Anna definitely has opinions about her activities, as much as she can based on her exposure to things so far. So she really wants to be a ballerina and learn ballet "moves", lol. So we will try that and see how she likes it! I want them to be exposed to dance anyway-I am glad she wants to do it.

Anna is very physical, but she is shy around others, so I do take that into account. She LOVED yoga class, so hopefully we will revisit that again. At some point, I want to get her into something physical like soccer, but she is dying to do ballet atm.

I definitely choose based on what *I* want them to do AND what they are interested in. They WILL take piano, and that will not be optional. That is a must for me (musical household, what can I say!). And dance. And the yoga is very cool. And I do want them to have a sport of some sort. (not all of these at the same times, of course) Otherwise, if they want to try something, that is fine by me!

i hear ya. piano is not optional in this house either. and they can forget about quitting. biggrin

i wouldnt go so far as to say that yoga isnt optional, but i think i'm really going to try and keep them in yoga for as long as i can have a say. it's been a huge part of my life and i think it teaches an absolute ton (not to mention the exercise).

CoffeeQueen · Guru

ya know I was thinking about this a lot in the last few days. Everything here starts soon and I have to register by next week. I do not want to over schedule her since she does go to school M-F from 8:30-3:00. She did only dance last year and that was one day a week and a half hour.

We are going to sign her up again for ballet this year. If by the end of the year she is not majorly into it we may not continue. For me at this point it is exposing her to things to see what she like and enjoys. Along with that I like getting her involved in team sports to have her learn teamwork and sportsmanship. I am not too concerned about anything, but I do not want to wear her out.

I really wished my parents had started me younger in sports. Around here you have to get your foot in the door young for soccer and that. I really want to just start giving her a taste of things to see what she will want to continue with.

I think we will do ballet and that is all year. Then we will do Soccer this fall. It is very low key and only 1 hour on a Sat. That includes practice. IF she likes it then we will continue.

I do also want to look into an instrument or some form of music to expose her too also. Rich played violin and continued to play into college. He played in the symphony and also played Soccer in college. So, I am sure he is going to push Soccer :)

Other then that there is no real rhyme to my reason. I want her to have fun, get some physical activity, meet new friends and figure out what she will want to take as she gets older.

happylib · Guru

We decide what Elizabeth will do based on her interests and based on what we think is important for her to do. She is taking ballet because she really does like it. I can tell because she sporadically will start doing the moves and the girl loves to twirl.

I am fine with this because I think it gives her some physical movement while developing muscle coordination and following directions, etc.

We also have enrolled her in swimming lessons and we purposely waited to do it now. We wanted her in a smaller class because she seems to be timid around water. She has not said she wanted to take swimming lessons, but we feel that knowing how to swim is a real safety issue.

At some point I would love for her to play a musical instrument. Occasionally I will sit with her at our piano and show her some basic things. She is not interested long, but when she starts to show it, I will start lessons. I doubt that will be anytime soon though.

Michele · Senior Member

Lauren and Anna will both be in ballet this year. Lauren loved it last year and Anna seems to have a natural gift for it so I'm going to enroll her even though she is only 2. Lauren is begging to take tap too but I'm on the fence about it. I just don't know if she really understands it.

That's about it. Lauren is not a sports person. I considered soccer but she hates being hot and it is so hot here that I know she would quit 5 minutes into playing. Anna would love it but she's too young still.

If we ever move I am planning to move my piano from my mom's house to our new house. I will definately have the girls take lessons. Lauren already is showing a big interest in piano and guitar so I am excited to get her involved in those things when she gets a little older.

Supafly · Guru

Michele wrote:

Lauren and Anna will both be in ballet this year. Lauren loved it last year and Anna seems to have a natural gift for it so I'm going to enroll her even though she is only 2. Lauren is begging to take tap too but I'm on the fence about it. I just don't know if she really understands it.

That's about it. Lauren is not a sports person. I considered soccer but she hates being hot and it is so hot here that I know she would quit 5 minutes into playing. Anna would love it but she's too young still.

If we ever move I am planning to move my piano from my mom's house to our new house. I will definately have the girls take lessons. Lauren already is showing a big interest in piano and guitar so I am excited to get her involved in those things when she gets a little older.

OMG I always wished I had taken tap!!! My mom was a big "no overscheduling" type, so I had to choose between that and jazz dance (I already took ballet), and I went with jazz. I always regretted that!!

That and the fact that I didn't practice piano. My mom told me I could either practice or wash dishes. And let me tell you...I can wash dishes like nobody else. wink

I really did myself a disservice by not practicing and putting forth the effort, which is one of the big reasons I intend to force it on my kids, at least until they learn the basics. Definitely one of those "you'll thank me later" types of skills.

Lizzy · Guru

happylib wrote:

We decide what Elizabeth will do based on her interests and based on what we think is important for her to do. She is taking ballet because she really does like it. I can tell because she sporadically will start doing the moves and the girl loves to twirl. I am fine with this because I think it gives her some physical movement while developing muscle coordination and following directions, etc.

We also have enrolled her in swimming lessons and we purposely waited to do it now. We wanted her in a smaller class because she seems to be timid around water. She has not said she wanted to take swimming lessons, but we feel that knowing how to swim is a real safety issue.

At some point I would love for her to play a musical instrument. Occasionally I will sit with her at our piano and show her some basic things. She is not interested long, but when she starts to show it, I will start lessons. I doubt that will be anytime soon though.

yes she does!! she and Ivy were so cute twirling together :)

Alyssa · Guru

Ethan has taken swimming and soccer. Swimming, he liked and we've signed him up again for the fall. Soccer, I think he was still too young and the class was too long. Plus he was very timid, like he'd sit on the side for the first half of the class. It was when he was home with EJ so that may have contributed but honestly, Ethan just takes a while to warm up to situations and he didn't know the kids and they kept switching coaches on us.

So the plan is swimming this fall. After that we'll offer soccer or swimming or nothing, and my guess is he'll pick swimming. And in the spring, EJ wants to sign him up for t-ball--they've been practicing--but if he doesn't like it, I won't push it after this season.

Ethan is not interested in sports really, which is hard for EJ because he so is. I think he'll end up doing track or something more solo. He's fast.

I'd love to sign him up for piano but I don't think he has the attention span yet and he hasn't expressed an interest at this point.

LDSMOM · Senior Member

I wanted to do ballet when I was young but my parents never had the money. So when I heard there was a dance studio around here (Rebecca was 4 at the time), I called and got her and Crystal in right away. I was fortunate that they both like it a lot. They've also done soccer, which they asked to do, and gymnastics in the summer (same story as dance, but they don't like that as much so they quit a couple years ago).

Kyle wanted to do dance like his sisters but after a year I was looking for something else for him because he wasn't very good and he didn't seem to like it. He's much better with tae kwon do. He likes it and he's pretty good at it.

Brenna and Brittany have done gymnastics a couple of times in the summer and really like it, but the only time for gymnastics I knew about until a month ago was only offered in the summer. For now they're in ballet. They've wanted to do ballet like their older sisters since they were very young (like since they could walk). I think Brittany likes gymnastics better, so I've been trying to find a gymnastics class that's more than 4 weeks per year. I found one they did (and apparently they do it every year) at the high school last year, but they don't have the information up for this year yet. I'm hoping I can get Brittany into that.

ETA: Kyle has done t-ball but didn't like it much and he wasn't very good at it. Also, instruments in this house are not optional. My kids must learn to play basic piano and must take at least one year of an instrument or voice. I didn't even think about this being an activity until I read the other responses since it's part of their schooling and I'm the one that teaches it to them. Also, my kids have church activities that aren't really optional, either. I've never forced them to go, just expected it of them and I've never had any problems with them wanting to go.

-- Edited by LDSMOM on Thursday 20th of August 2009 10:32:52 PM

Alison · Guru

Sara wrote:

a_mastermom wrote:

I just signed Natalie up for ballet, but only because she has been harassing me about it. It has been at her insistence and I didn't feel like I could put it off any longer. She is going for 45 min every Sat. Right now, I am not sure how I am going to juggle all the activities between my three kids and I was hoping that she could hold off another year before getting involved in anything - not the case. Believe me, once it starts, it never stops.

As for my boys, I started them off with soccer since it was the only sport offered at an age before kindergarten. It was obvious early on that they both LOVED sports. They now play football, basketball, flag football, baseball, summer baseball and soccer. Yes, shoot me now. If they didn't love it so much, I would not do it. They are the type of kids that get up in the morning and put on ESPN to check scores and highlights.

The scheduling can get insane. And once school starts and you throw in homework, it is even crazier. So, from a BTDT mom, don't rush your kids into anything - they have plenty of crazy activity years ahead of them. It's one thing if they love something specific, but it's definitely not necessary at this age.

Your boys and Bryce would get along well. While most kids want cartoons Bryce wakes up and asks for you to turn on Sportscenter.

Owen is not going to be in anything this fall. We did an intro to soccer and an intro to t-ball program this spring and summer. He had fun but he was still a bit young. I figure next summer he will want to be in something and if not we will hold off another year.

Bryce is in love with sports. He started off with soccer and has since done basketball and baseball. Baseball is his true passion. He absolutely adores it. He is getting ready to start a fall ball league. Had he not played fall ball he would've done flag football. We let him pick one or the other. The games would've interferred with each other but even if they didn't I am not sure I would've let him done both at the same time.

OMG, your siggy! :swoon x3

Alison · Guru

Oh, and I think all the little girls should take ballet, because the pics of them dancing KILLS me!

Erin · Guru

I want Kiera to learn to love a team sport and a solo sport she will be able to do for a lifetime. I didnt start sports until late, and I do feel like I was at a disadvantage - not because I wasnt awesome, but because I didnt get a chance to try many things.

Soccer is a good team sport for this age, and we are a big soccer family. I just found out tonight that I will be coaching her team. Im pretty excited. So much of it is the "team traditions" aspect- getting a uniform, oranges at half time, etc, and I am excited for Kiera to be a part of that. The soccer itself will be a short "practice" followed by a 20 min three on three game.

I never did dance, and I wish I had. Kiera seems to have a natural coordination for it. Kyle seems to really not like gymnastics, and I dont really care, so we are moving her from gymnastics to ballet.

Down the road, she will obviously have more input, but, right now she seems pretty excited for my choices.

:giggle

Alison · Guru

Erin wrote:

I want Kiera to learn to love a team sport and a solo sport she will be able to do for a lifetime. I didnt start sports until late, and I do feel like I was at a disadvantage - not because I wasnt awesome, but because I didnt get a chance to try many things.

Soccer is a good team sport for this age, and we are a big soccer family. I just found out tonight that I will be coaching her team. Im pretty excited. So much of it is the "team traditions" aspect- getting a uniform, oranges at half time, etc, and I am excited for Kiera to be a part of that. The soccer itself will be a short "practice" followed by a 20 min three on three game.

I never did dance, and I wish I had. Kiera seems to have a natural coordination for it. Kyle seems to really not like gymnastics, and I dont really care, so we are moving her from gymnastics to ballet.

Down the road, she will obviously have more input, but, right now she seems pretty excited for my choices.

:giggle

Oranges at halftime!!! I had totally forgotten about that until I read this! Thank you for eliciting a very fond memory from childhood right before bed. :)

And yay for coaching! That's going to be so much fun!