How many classes does your child do?

[Burnt0utMum]

In ordinary times, as obviously lots of activities haven't been running recently, how many activities does your child do each week? Mine are 5 & 6 years old and currently only do swimming once a week but I feel like it'd be good to try some more activities but don't want to overload them

DD10 does two instruments and dance. (Ballet/tap/modern) all after each other and usually once a week but sometimes twice. She stopped swimming in order to do the second instrument. She’d like to join an ensemble but there isn’t one local that we can get her to, so it’s going to have to wait until secondary.

DD4 does swimming and ballet. That’s enough! She is almost certainly going to want to pick up an instrument if not two when she is old enough as she loves mucking around on our piano.

10 year old does Circus School and Scouts. 3 year old did gymnastics (I use the term 'did gymnastics' very loosely - he ran around for an hour each week ignoring the teachers) until it closed because of restrictions, will go back again once it restarts, and was supposed to be doing Circus School too this spring but restrictions stopped that, but hopefully they will try again in the autumn.

At that age DD did swimming, gymnastics and theatre class.

Lots of classes at this age group are starting at 4/5pm, we were still working at that time, that alone limited options unless I found something on my day off.

She is now 13 and added musical theatre and Scouts to her schedule and swimming has given way to horse riding. But all is from 6pm onwards, so easier to do with the additional school work.

I also have a 5 and 6 year old.

6 year old does Tennis, Dancing, Beavers, Theatre group and Football each week.

5 year old does Tennis and Beavers.

They also do one day of after school club which changes theme each term, last month it was Gymnastics and now it is Nature Club, and we all go to a stay and play Art club session each week too.

6 year old would like to start Karate and Piano but I’ve told her we’ve got too much on already to fit them in so she’d have to drop one of her existing clubs which she isn’t prepared to do. But we are a family that likes to keep busy, some of our friends do no clubs at this age so I don’t think there’s one kind of normal.

Swimming
Cubs - if that counts as a class
Judo
Tennis
Piano

8yo

My 9 year old does dancing 3 times a week (working to competition level though so it's a bit more intense) and swimming once a week.

He has Sunday all day free and 2 evenings after school at the moment but soon the annual rehearsals for a show he is in will start so he'll just have 1 evening free a week.

My 7 year old just does swimming and beavers. We can’t afford any other activities. He does often do a club at school but they are currently still cancelled.

1 instrument class, 1 swimming. 1 cricket, 1 tennis, 1 beavers and Sunday school. We do extra tennis in school holidays

That’s my 7 year old.

9 year old 2 instrument classes and an ensemble class, Cubs, cricket, swimming and Sunday school

@Fixitup2 is that all in addition to school or do they do it in school after hours?

2.5 , three swimming, gymnastics and rugby tots. He has a lot of energy... We did a music group when he was a baby it was ok but didn't hold either of our interests for long

My DD goes to after school club Monday-Friday but also goes to a perfoming arts club once a week. Pre lockdown she did go to Rainbows and then cubs but she's not keen on returning so might see if she wants to join brownies, other than that there isn't anything else that she's interested in.

@mooming
Apart from 9 year olds 1 instrument it’s all after school or weekends. They cope well with it and is all stuff they’ve chosen. Youngest has 1 evening and 1 day at weekend free, eldest has 2 evenings and all weekend. It’s all very local too, all in our village apart from the ensemble which is in the next town.

9yo after school sports club, football and rugby.
8yo football and rugby.

Both DC are enrolled in swimming classes too but they're yet to resume after they were cancelled just before first lockdown.

@Fixitup2 thanks. it all sounds fab! I was just thinking about whether we should up the number of clubs we do and was wondering how many we could fit in mostly because am not sure whether we'd have the time to take them after work

Mine posy COVID do one extra curricular and one tutor session.

I cannot tell you much less stressful it is thank it was before.

They don't miss them at all.

They are very competent swimmers, if they weren't I would add that back in.

They used to do swimming, ballet, riding, gymnastics and brownies. Complete ball ache and I don't think they actually got anything from it.

Both my boys do karate 4-5 times a week, DS1 also horse rides and DS2 will join him in the new school year, and football on sundays.

Used to do tennis and swimming but wanted to try new things.

Karate takes up most of their life though as they want to be Bruce Lee...

In normal times:

11 yr old -
Ballet, tap, modern etc 4 hours/week
Other clubs are once a week:
Art
Yoga
Football
Some other sport/arty type club
Piano (weekend)
Orchestra (evening)
Plus ski and sailing lessons in the holidays.

DS 7:
Sports clubs 3-4 days a week.
Ski and sailing in the holidays.

They like being active a lot. Usually the schools offer plenty of after school sports and activity clubs.

My D's is 3 and goes to soccer tots at the local football club once per week for an hour. He doesn't tend to last the whole session though. He also skips some weeks if he is too tired. We want to get him to go to some form of swimming lessons soon if possible because it is an important life skill.

@mooming we’ve always gone with the trial it and if they get tired they can drop but they enjoy everything and it gives them a rounded experience I think. They both love cricket and it’s at the same time, and eldest son guitar teacher lives around the corner so that’s just before it so not too much going back and forth. I think it’d be a struggle if we had to travel far but most things are a 5-10 minute walk away luckily

I am totally led by what my children want to do.
DD1 currently does violin, drums, string band, Cubs, girls football and has maths tuition. She wants to do ukulele and guitar and martial arts. For now I’ve said no just because funds and time are limited and I think down time is just as important. Some of these are during school hours and I keep weekends completely free.

Until very recently DD2 didn’t want to anything but she’s recently taken up beavers and flute.

Both will be back at swimming soon, it’s the only extra curricular I force them to do!

Beavers/Cubs on Tuesday and Stagecoach on a Friday. 8yo dd1 also does netball on Monday. They are shattered by the weekend so no way could they do any more. I think they also need the gap in the middle, dd1 wanted to do something on a Thursday and I've said no because it was until 8pm which is too late when she's got 3 hours of Stagecoach on Friday. I do like keeping the weekends free though, so they can either stay in pjs all day or we can have days out etc.

Currently nothing we were doing has started back again yet but before Covid - Brownies, aerial trapeze, trampoline gymnastics, ballet and felt like we should be doing swimming and music as well.

I have two 8 year olds, they have a swimming lesson, belong to an athletics and basketball club and they play a musical instrument.

2 after school clubs (part of the school, currently coding and cycling, but this usually changes after each term) Cubs and swimming (Although not gone back to swimming yet)