What is the best investment of time & money for extracurriculars in primary school age? [closed]

Question

I am trying to research what extracurricular activities are most valuable for grade school aged children and really not finding anything that's compelling. I have a few months before I have to choose, so I am trying to spend the time finding reasons why to choose one over another.

We homeschool and live in a an area where there are no day classes offered for such things. As such, I have to select what we can do based on how times overlap. For instance, we cannot do the dance classes we have been doing and find a workable situation to take music lessons for all the kids. I don't have other people to assist in transportation currently as my spouse has to work on call. He usually is available, but I can't really plan for that, as last minute he may not be.

I want then to do at least a foreign language and am thinking that is of more value than dance long term. I can make language lessons with music lessons if dance is out. The concern in dropping dance is that it is more social than either of the others and they enjoy it and have friends there now. None of them show any interest in any sports either, so it's the only physical activity any of them have other than general playing, bikes, etc.

The biggest obstacle is that everything starts at 6pm or later and with different kids at different levels, it's hard to coordinate and I can't seem to find a way to make all 3 types of the classes work. So we need to decide what will be most beneficial and when I research that, I am not finding anything definitive. So I know it will be opinion, but I thought perhaps those that have taken such classes (I never did) or have raised kids that may have taken them, might offer their experience to what they felt was the most benefit. Putting them into school wouldn't make any difference either as none of this is available in our local schools at their ages.

Answer 1

From personal experience, I never liked any classes and saw zero benefit in them at the time, and I still see it that way 30 years later. Having kids now, I direct those activities with them and nurture their interests first hand. Not too dissimilar to home schooling.

Most of these things are free or close to it, but obviously some cost.

We rock climb. All indoors at the moment, but eventually want to get into more natural bouldering in the mountains. General skills for balance, grip strength, etc. Could have probably helped that girl in the well in Silence of the Lambs.

Swimming. Public pool is pretty cheap, but we know a few people with pools. Arranging play times where you structure the swimming activities like challenges and participate, they may not realize you indirectly taught them to hold their breath longer, kick off the bottom of the pool, etc. We hide swimming lessons in each play time in the pool and they're taking to it pretty well.

Not sure if you have boys or girls or both, but if they like beating you down, you can hide self defense into some game like reaction battles. Not my favorite per say because they always last much longer than I do in these cases but it is good to exercise with them. I'm not a fan of martial arts classes because it's hard not to directly associate it with fighting. I'm talking about natural reactions to dodging, blocking, etc with use of pool noodles, foam sticks, pillows, etc. Kids get quick reflexes pretty well and leading them into something closer to being attacked later might make a smoother transition in my opinion.

Learn a language with them. If you already know another one, quiz them throughout the day, and in repetition. Well, you home school. You know how you teach then. But I would integrate it in normal daily life and not specifically restrict it to a class. I sometimes say things wholly in Japanese and ask my girls if they can figure out what I said based on when I said it and why. I can't guarantee this would lead to fluency, but it could help ease things should they decide to learn it in greater depth later.

In general my point is togetherness. You can psychologically twist any lesson into a fun activity, get to spend more time with them in various ways, and have them all learn at the same time. Maybe their social development would be best served in a non-educational environment. But assigning the role of "most beneficial" to strictly classes or extracurricular time is what I'm saying to sway away from. Or pay close attention to how each child reacts to know whether or not classes are really their thing. You don't want to accidentally build resentment because what they really want to do is stay home and draw or go camping in the mountains instead of spending all day jumping over imaginary barrels in some valueless self defense class that is ruining their summer.

Today is archery day for us. Just to give an example. No class, it costs us nothing, and they seem to enjoy battling paper beasts with us.

Answer 2

In this situation I would suggest joining your local Boy/Girl Scout Troop. They have outings during the after noon of the weekends. This program also build social skills and loving the outdoors. Have your kid attend a troop meeting to see what they think.

Answer 3

Have you considered martial arts for your children? Karate, tae kwon do and jujitsu offer plenty of benefits that go beyond physical fitness. They are a fun way to teach children self-discipline and socialization skills. Typically clubs offer classes for various ages, so you can have your children in a class together.

Answer 4

I was in a similar situation with my two kids. We go to public school, but as you mentioned, the issue isn't 8- 3, it's the hours between 3 and bed and then the weekends. We're on a limited budget.

1. Local Park District. This depends greatly on where you live, but most offer a wide variety of activities for kids +/- adults. This often includes options for education/languages, physical activities, and art.

2. Swimming. Again, this depends a lot on where you live, but a family membership to a local pool, health club, or beach is generally fun for the whole family.

3. Church/faith-based activities. This can create a lot of social contacts as well as engaging the family in charitable ventures.

4. Museum memberships. Every year, I think we've grown out of our children's museum, but my kids keep finding new things to like and play with. We also do our museum of science and industry.

5. Boy and Girl Scouts (or your country's equivalent). Meetings and events are usually open to the whole family.

As for foreign languages, there is no doubt that exposure to foreign languages before 6 can lead to relatively rapid acquisition, but you may be setting your goals too high unless you live in a multi-lingual society. To learn 2 foreign languages between 1st and 8th grade would take a great deal of time and effort, at least an hour a day. There's nothing wrong with this, but I would be cautious about using extra-curricular time in this regard.