Can Reception Children cope with after school activities?

[LondonSuperTrooper]

Hi,

My DC is starting reception and I'm wondering whether to his name down for any of the afterschool activities. Can reception children cope for an extra hour after school by playing golf, tennis etc?

I guess that I can wait till say January but then I've heard that places get filled up and it's practically impossible to secure a place.

What would you do?

Thanks!

[festi]

I would say it depends on the child, my dd did tennis as an after school club but only in the last term and I was required to stay.

she has been doing swimming lessons however through out but not at shool, coming home for dinner swimming strating at 6pm, she was fine with this. also rainbows but this has been problematic and Im looking at her giving this up, as its a waste of money anyway.

If he is interested no harm in testing it out.

[merrymonsters]

I wouldn't sign him up for any activities for at least a term or two. They really do get tired (and grumpy in my sons' cases) doing full-time school. I think they need to chill out when they get home. I'd leave it and see how it goes.

[iggly2]

My Ds loves all afterschool activities, it is a chance for him to do fun things and sports I could not organise for him . He is in year 1 but enjoyed lots of activities (football, rounders, judo...) after school in reception and nursery. I do think it will depend on the child though.

[TastyMuffins]

I think schools don't offer activities for reception children in the first term. Our school has one or two activities offered which include reception, these must be applied for each half term.

[Fennel]

It depends on the child, and their previous habits. All mine had gone to nursery from babyhood so they weren't very phased by reception, they were used to longer days in childcare, and they all did clubs after school as usual that term.

[plinkplonk]

We didn't start afterschool activities until the last term of year 1, but my dd gets tired quickly and is summer born. DD2 is sporty and winter-born, but I won't be planning anything after school until she has got used to it. I expect her to be tired and grumpy at the end of each day for at least a term, probably two!

[Seona1973]

ds has just started school and he goes to a gymnastics class after school on tuesday and a swimming lesson after school on wednesday. Neither of them are offered by the school and he was doing the activities already prior to starting school

[woolleybear]

Similar to the previous poster, my dd started reception yesterday and will be doing swimming and gymnastics outside of School. Se has been doing both these activities for a while and is reluctant to give them up so we are going to see how it goes. She is 5 next week so an older one in her year, and she needs alot of physical activity so I think she will be fine.

[meditrina]

It didn't really occur to me to sign up the DCs for anything when in reception - though I did for DD for once a week ballet.

Personally I'd wait until later in the school year, or leave it until the start of year 1. Even if some clubs fill up, others don't and you'll find something they like.

Word of warning - ferrying DCs round activities can become a huge chore over the years. Only start something you know your DC is desperate to do!

[LondonSuperTrooper]

Thanks for your reply everyone.

The after school activities will be based at school. I think i might just try out one club (instead of 3 ) and see how he gets on.

[BsshBossh]

Good luck, and follow your child's lead. If he's tired you can withdraw him and start again another term. My DD's not in school yet (2012) but she's been in full-time childcare since she was 10 months old and has a lot of stamina. She's just turned 3 but can cope with two post-nursery activities a week (multiple-skills and gym) and she sleeps like a log so the activities despite being after a busy day suit her well.

[munstersmum]

DS is an Aug born & he did just 1/2 hr swimming once a week. It was more than enough & school didn't offer any activities for reception at all. At the end of each term many of the kids were shattered incl. DS who had done 9-4 at pre-school.

[LawrieMarlow]

DD is in Year 1 and during Reception she did dancing once a week, Rainbows once a week and from Easter onwards Tennis once a week (the same day as Rainbows. Tuesdays were busy).

She seemed fine - occasionally she didn't want to go and so she didn't. School only does clubs for Reception in the Summer term I think, but she was fine with out-of-school ones.

[sittinginthesun]

Agee with cat, there is plenty of time. DS2 starts Reception this week. He has a swimming lesson once a week, and I am playing it by ear as to whether to skip it this week.

DS2 is Year 3, and has suddenly become very keen on clubs. He has something every day, except Fridays and Sundays. We're only two days in, and I'm knackered already!

[colditz]

No.

[EustaciaVye]

Dd already does ballet and swimming so we are sticking with those. However if she is a bit tired we'll skip them.

[Mowlem]

It varies on the child, their energy levels, what they're used to doing and so on...

When my DD1 started reception, I listened to the know it alls wise ones on mumsnet who all said it would be too much, and that she wouldn't cope etc. So I took DD out of almost all of her classes. I left her in one - Gymnastics.

However, she is a whirlwind so I don't know why I ever listened to that advice and way before Christmas I put her back into all her activities again. In the January, she was selected for gymnastics development squad and started doing 3 hours a week gym + ballet + swimming. She still wasn't knackered.

Her hours have greatly increased since then, but I'm still waiting for the day when she gets knackered .

[Saracen]

If in doubt, keep him out! It is hard to take a child out of a class he enjoys, however exhausted it makes him. "Try it and see" may sound sensible, but if the child likes the activity and yet you see it is taking its toll on him, what will you do?

My dd likes everything. I am finally learning not to jump into things which I may regret.

[Fennel]

In our primary the after school activities are often run by the official after school (childcare) club, and lots of reception children go to that anyway while their parents are working, so there is an overlap between going to an activity, and being in after school childcare. That's one reason reception children might do clubs - if the parents need the childcare.

[madamarcati]

I hope so! One of mine did 4 hours of gymnastics a week in reception

[JemimaMuddledUp]

Mine all did after school activities in Reception, in fact DD started going to one the term before she started in Reception as I was helping out as a parent volunteer and they let her tag along!

[LondonSuperTrooper]

Thanks for your replies. I'm glad that I'm not alone in wanting my DC to participate in an extra curricular activity after school. All the activities are based at the school and is run by teachers & headteacher (apart from football). Reading the above posts makes me feel really fortunate that my DC's school is offering so many activities to Reception children.

I do work & the extra hour at work whilst he's at the after school activity will help me alot.

Cheers.