David is 6, we only have one thing going on at at time. So far it's been soccer, then baseball and always swimming in the summer. He's starting martial arts in August and if he likes it, he won't be doing baseball in the fall. I don't even see how that's possible? Martial arts is 2 days a week and baseball is 3. Even if the schedules coincided, that's a lot on top of school for a 6/7yo IMO.
Martial arts and swim class will overlap in August but it's summer so I think it's fine.
Post by whereintheworld on Jun 29, 2015 19:09:52 GMT -5
5.5yo and almost 4yo do swimming lessons (Saturday for an hour) and gymnastics (Sunday for an hour) all year round. In the summer months we are doing tball on Thursday nights and soccer on Monday.
2.5yo does a once a week soccer little kickers class on Sunday afternoons. He'll start swimming soon.
DS1 wants to start tennis so we may pick that up in the fall once tball and soccer are done for the summer.
I stay home, too. I seriously can't imagine that schedule. When do they have time to just, you know, relax?
For the bean's activities, they're only an hour long session (except for art, which is 90 minutes). I also don't schedule weekend extracurriculars, so she actually gets a lot of downtime.
And then she spends that asking me what we're going to do that day. Sheesh.
I'm not judging Shell (or you!), I just can't imagine spending that much time going from one activity to the next. I'm such a homebody, and so are my kids, so it's a big day for us when we go to the grocery store AND to the park in the same day lol
How do you working mothers get your kids to all these things?
Or is someone else chauffering?
It fuckng sucks.
That is why I can only muster up one night a week.
Tomorrow night is baseballand I am already dreading about going straight from work go the ballpark. Getting organized, grabbing dinner on the fly, wrangling a three year old is not my idea of fun. Plus it is the burbs so we have to fight traffic
i am much more of a low key let's just play in the yard type person.
DD does dance Sept-June 1 day a week, 2 in the weeks leading up to each recital. DS does soccer in the fall, 1 hour a week. Nothing in the summer. I do most of the dropping off/picking up because of H's schedule and I can't do more than that.
Rocco is 5 (6 in July) and right now he is just in swimming lessons. He usually does gymnastics but they take the summer off. He also just finished soccer which he did t really like.
Post by ProfessorArtNerd on Jun 29, 2015 19:44:46 GMT -5
Lucy is 7 and does cheer (2x a week), gymnastics (1xa week) and two dance classes (2 hour-long classes back to back) and also art class once s week after school. We like to be busy!
This is how I felt. But we ended up in two (and three for a short time). I didn't want to drop swimming until she gets pool safe so I just added soccer. Then there was a short overlap between the end of soccer and beginning of gymnastics. We had another short ballet and gymnastics overlap. Right now, only swimming but we are going a few times a week.
My kid needs a lot of activity so it actually worked out well. She could do her thing while I watched the baby in the waiting/watching area. All these places had some play area for babies on site. It was easier for me than the park since for much of that time the baby was too small to enjoy the park. Sitting on the side, nursing or crawling in a safe space with her baby friends worked out fine.
This fall, she'll do swimming, gymnastics and dance. She turns 5 in November.
For me, it's less exhausting than two kids at home. No one is dumping all the legos on the floor then trying to scale the kitchen gate when I'm picking them back up. I've got from 6:30 am to 9:30 pm to fill with something. My goal for managing mom rage is to get the kids out of the house. Target, Trader Joes and even the park get old.
She isn't going to be a gymnast. or a prima ballerina. or olympic swimmer. She doesn't need any of these classes. Nor does your kid. I do.
ETA: Once they are school age, the kids here with two working parents usually do one or two activities per day because they are on site at the grade school. (One v. two depends on pick up time). It acts as aftercare. The teachers escort them between the choices. You might find something like that in your district.
For me, it's less exhausting than two kids at home. No one is dumping all the legos on the floor then trying to scale the kitchen gate when I'm picking them back up. My goal for managing mom rage is to get the kids out of the house. I've got from 6:30 am to 9:30 pm to fill with something. Target, Trader Joes and even the park get old.
She isn't going to be a gymnast. or a prima ballerina. or olympic swimmer. She doesn't need any of these classes. Nor does your kid. I do.
"Hello babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's round and wet and crowded. On the outside, babies, you've got a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies-"God damn it, you've got to be kind.”
How do you working mothers get your kids to all these things?
Or is someone else chauffering?
I don't work but most of the kid's friend's parents do. They carpool (I drive working parents kids all the time & am happy to help), they have grandparents in town but most commonly they just have nannies. Many have live-in Au pairs from Europe (despite their kids being in school f/t) or college age Nannies that chauffeur the kids around after school. That's my plan (probably live in because I have the space & it's cheaper) once I go back to work.
My girls each only did one activity when they were still in preschool. For E it was ballet, and for K it was gymnastics. Plus a two-week intensive swim program in the spring.
E is 7 and has done three activities – fall soccer, ballet, and gymnastics – for the past two years. She didn't start full-day school until this past year in first grade, and it was definitely an adjustment for her. I think three activities were too much, but since soccer was only one season, it didn't last too long. Next year she wants to drop soccer and add voice lessons and Girl Scouts which would mean four activities total.
K is 5 and starting full-day kindergarten in the fall and will do two, maybe three activities. I signed her up for fall soccer since the deadline was earlier this month, but I'm planning to hold off on returning to gymnastics for a couple months until she adjusts to the longer days of school (since as of now she still naps a few times a week). She also wants to start ballet, which I think will be overkill for her, but I feel guilty saying no since E gets to do it. Ugh.
Meanwhile poor J doesn't get to do anything but drive his sisters around with me. lol. He's almost 2 and will start preschool two mornings a week this fall, and since the girls will be gone all day, I'm thinking of signing him up for toddler soccer too. I know he would love music class as well but I can't handle any more scheduling!
eta: We don't do any activities in the summer, but once we get around to joining a pool other than their grandparents' backyard, I want them to do swim team like I always did. Although, to be honest, I enjoy our lazy summers, which probably explains why we're not even on a waiting list at any swim club yet...
Post by wanderlustmom on Jun 29, 2015 22:14:22 GMT -5
DS is 10 and plays travel soccer, three practices a week and 1-3 games on weekends. Carpool helps a ton. He also does science Olympiad, one day a week for an hour.
DD is 8 and year round swims. Practices three days a week and meets once a month. She also does Girl Scouts
Post by sawyerthedestroyer on Jun 29, 2015 22:22:55 GMT -5
Four years old. Tae kwon do once a week. He's in tball right now, which has been two games per week, but last game is tomorrow (hallelujah). He'll do soccer when that season starts. We also do swim lessons, but they're with a friend and we just squeeze them in whenever.
Post by textbookcase on Jun 29, 2015 23:11:42 GMT -5
Well, we homeschool and have time for lots of extracurricular activities.
B is 3 and right now she is doing the summer program at the library, 1x/week. She will do a few little half-day camps through the city, and she might do a mommy and me music and art program for a week later in the summer. She will start soccer in the fall and t-ball in the spring.
K is 8 and C is 11. During the "school year" they were in soccer, a children's choir, 4-h (they were in the rabbit, goat, cooking, gardening, arts and crafts, sewing, and photography projects, all of which have their own meetings), various monthly activities with their homeschool charter school, and youth group at church.
The children's choir teachers retired the program after 30 years, so we need to find something to replace that next year. Probably music lessons, K wants to do piano and C wants to do guitar. They will probably each do a spring sport next year as well. C is an officer for their 4-H club next year, so she will be busier with that, too.
How do you working mothers get your kids to all these things?
Or is someone else chauffering?
I do most of the driving but occasionally my sitter takes DD to one of her dance classes. It can be hectic but it's OK. I really like my kids to be active and experience a variety of different things. I also have a predictable job with relatively predictable hours so I can make it to the kids in time for their activities
DD is 4.5. She does gymnastics and ballet year round (classes during the school year, camps in the summer). She wants to add soccer this fall. Soccer is only a 7 week commitment so I'm okay with adding it. She does really well with lots of activities and would do one every day if I let her.
ETA: And yes, it's less exhausting for me to have her in lots of activities. I tried to just have her in gymnastics camp this summer so we could have more downtime, and nope. She was a mess without the structure. So we added back in ballet. She is an only child who is very social and doesn't play by herself worth a crap. We do some playdates and go the pool every day in the summer but it still isn't enough for her.
For me, it's less exhausting than two kids at home. No one is dumping all the legos on the floor then trying to scale the kitchen gate when I'm picking them back up. I've got from 6:30 am to 9:30 pm to fill with something. My goal for managing mom rage is to get the kids out of the house. Target, Trader Joes and even the park get old.
She isn't going to be a gymnast. or a prima ballerina. or olympic swimmer. She doesn't need any of these classes. Nor does your kid. I do.
.
This is us too. A full day with no plans is just hell for me. I am not MOTY enough to enjoy hours and hours of playing or coming up with a million activities for an almost 3 year old. We are out doing something every single morning, even if it's just a play date with friends. When she's sick and we have to stay home I am counting the seconds until we can get out of the house doing stuff again. It's less about her and more about me. I'm too lazy to stay home. Lol.
Post by jeaniebueller on Jun 30, 2015 7:20:31 GMT -5
DS is 6.5, my H and I work FT and typically he does one activity at a time. Last spring, he took swim class one night a week. At the end of the summer/early fall, he will do soccer. Later this summer, he will take tennis one night a week. He is also interested in tae kwon do or karate, so I am going to pursue that for the fall or winter as well. At this age, I am mostly trying to get him interested in living an active lifestyle because otherwise he wants to just watch TV or play video games, and try to find an activity that he really is interested in. He already vetoed T ball and flag foot ball, which was fine by me.
How do you working mothers get your kids to all these things?
Or is someone else chauffering?
I have a flex schedule and I work 730-430.
H picks up one, I pick up the other, go home and change and we meet at the park at 6.
My schedule is the same and this is generally how we handle it too. Luckily the baby is too little for activities, but its mostly the logistics of getting her picked up from daycare on activity nights that cause issues.
He's 4 1/2 and involved in 1 activity. Really, that's all we can afford in our schedule and financially.
We've gone from soccer to swimming to, currently, tae kwon do, which I hope we'll stay with for a while. But he's mentioned an interest in basketball, so we'll see what the winter brings.