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Extra-curricular activities

How much is too much for a Reception child?

11 replies

cheapandcheerful · 23/11/2015 11:17

5yo dd currently does ballet after school on Tuesdays and swimming on Thursdays. She has never been very confident physically (late walker, struggles with balance, can't ride a scooter etc.) and I think both of these activities have helped with her confidence.

She has now however said that she would like to start one of the after-school clubs offered by her school, specifically the craft club which a few of her friends go to and which is definitely more her cup of tea. We have said that she can start craft club but that it means she will have to stop doing ballet after Christmas.

She does enjoy ballet but it is expensive and I'm not sure how well she'd cope with 3 after school activities in a week.

However, I just spoke to the ballet teacher who said that dd has been playing up a bit in ballet the last few weeks so she wondered if she was getting bored and needed to move up to the Year 1 group. She was in the Reception class last year so she is repeating it and is apparently noticeably more able than the others.

So, would 3 after-school activities be too much?

OP posts:
alwayssurprised · 23/11/2015 12:02

Can you move swimming to the weekend? DS is in year 1 and the DC starts to work quite hard during the day at school this year, so he does two activities after school and one at weekend.

cheapandcheerful · 23/11/2015 12:23

Hmmmm. Maybe. The only problem is that Sunday is a work day for dh so Saturday is our only day together...

OP posts:
dodobookends · 23/11/2015 14:09

Perhaps you could ask the ballet teacher if your dd have a go at the Y1 ballet class, and see how she gets on?

The craft club will be fun for her, and probably similar activities to what she would like to do if she were at home anyway, so she probably won't find that tiring.

My dd was a real live wire at that age and would have been able to cope with 3 activities just fine.

cheapandcheerful · 23/11/2015 14:32

That's a good point about craft club...

Thanks everyone :)

OP posts:
R0nJ0n · 23/11/2015 14:39

In terms of physical development your DD sounds very much like mine. My DD chose to give up ballet in year 1 because it became clear to her that she just wasn't as good as most of the others. Rather than helping with her confidence it was knocking it. Which isn't to say your DD should give up, but if she does go up a class she might find it hard to keep up.

dodobookends · 23/11/2015 14:45

The ballet teacher has said she might getting bored in the current class though, and is better than the others, which is why they suggested that she moves up Smile

attheendoftheday · 06/12/2015 13:31

My reception age dd1 does 3 after school activities and it's OK. I had similar worries, she did swimming and ballet and wanted to join the school-run cooking club. I let her, but I'm careful about her getting to bed at a reasonable hour. She probably found it hard for a couple of weeks (but not so hard she wanted to stop) and then adjusted and has been OK.

She does generally need me to have a snack to hand when I pick her up, though.

Alanna1 · 06/12/2015 13:37

Have you had medical advice on your daughter? My daughter who is also in reception has hypermobility. It is thought that a number of children who have it go undiagnosed. Not being able to ride a scooter and having poor balance are two of the indications (especially if it is still showing at primary school - many children grow out of it). Ballet is one of the sports she does to improve her core strength. However, her consultant-led team also advises that I keep an eye on the ballet, because once it becomes more competitive she would be better off in other sports, because she won't ever do that well at ballet exams. Also hypermobility means many children (and we have this) are more tired. So you have to choose where to spend the time and she might really benefit from the arts and crafts type activity instead, and switch it for a different sport. I wouldn't move my daughter up a class at ballet though. She wouldn't cope.

Madcats · 07/12/2015 13:52

It sounds as if your daughter has settled into school well if you are already doing 2 after-school activities (without major meltdowns at the end of the school day).

I'd be tempted to let her try all 3 activities (assuming you can afford it and it doesn't mean that bedtime is too late).

DD is now in year 4. As she is an early riser we've always tended to get reading and maths etc done in the mornings before school or done some prep before classes start. I also try to serve quick/reheat-able suppers on club nights.

dodobookends · 10/12/2015 19:53

Alanna1 - did you know that around two-thirds of professional ballet dancers are hypermobile? It can be a positive advantage.

teacherwith2kids · 11/12/2015 11:52

DD - dancer, including ballet - is very hypermobile, and it is really common amongst her peers. In many ways it is an advantage, because waving her legs up around her ears, doing the splits , turning out etc etc are relatively easy for her. However, she does have to take care of herself - she had physio treatment a year or so ago due to a problem that was linked to how she holds her whole body when at rest.

The ballet helps her to be very aware indeed of individual muscles / joints and to know when to hold something in tension and when to extend it to its 'natural to her' extent.

She has always done extremely well in ballet exams. If you are worried about your DD's hypermobility and ballet, then talk to her ballet teacher - a good teacher will have encountered it very regularly and be able to advise you .. which the medical professionals, unless you have access to a sports physio with an interest in dance, may not.

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