What extra curricular activities to choose?

[Hellenabe]

I'm really glad I stumbled upon this forum as I've been wondering whether to sign my children up for activities for a while now but didn't have the finances.

How did you decide what to go for? We have tried piano but my children didn't love it and we didn't have the space for a piano. Swimming lessons locally are hugely expensive (80 pounds for 30min). I really want my children to do more than me (I was very academic but nothing else). Im just not sure where to start. Ages are 6 and 7.

It's been a while, mine are grown up now and it feels a bit to me as though children didn't quite do so many activities at such a young age as is normal now. For me swimming was the only absolute must as for me that's a safety thing (lessons only until they were competent swimmers, could do a length of the pool without touching the bottom etc, then we just took them swimming at the local pool casually). Other than that it was just dependent on their interests and what we could afford at the time, one child was into horses (my hobby also) so that did take up a lot of time and money so I wouldn't recommend lol! One turned out to be quite musical so we started her off with taster lessons on a variety of instruments until she found the one she liked best then did regular private music lessons on that from 7ish onwards, plus saturday music school/band from 11ish onwards I think, from that she asked to start a second instrument so did some extra classes for that, at secondary school she joined school choir and also did music theory and joined extra ensemble and performance groups etc (her school was quite musical luckily so lots of activities arranged via school). My youngest boy was more sporty but also not really a 'sticker' to any one thing so we did a lot of chopping and changing between different activities which he'd do for a term or two at a time before getting bored and whingy and asking to change to something else, think we went through football, touch rugby, cricket, tennis, scouts, karate, cadets, cycling proficiency, drama/stagecoach etc over the years, he didn't get to a brilliantly high standard in any but all good general experience and confidence/fitness building etc., he's more of an 'all rounder' than a specialist!

Where to start, you know your kids best, what kind of thing would they like, something sporty or more artistic, more outdoorsy or indoors, a group activity or more individual, then google what's available in your area and that fits your budget and schedule. Ideally I'd look at something that will let you do taster sessions or pay as you go rather than having to commit to a terms worth of lessons at once or commit to buying lots of expensive kit or equipment when you don't know if it's something they'll enjoy yet. Maybe look at brownies or cubs as a good all-round start as they do all sorts of different activities as well as being community minded which is a nice starting point? But generally I'd say don't feel too much pressure to fill their whole schedule with loads and loads of formal/organised extra curriculars at this young age, the main thing I'd say when they're this little is that they have lots of time for play and to use their imaginations, you can encourage this through doing crafts etc with them at home, encourage them to develop a love of reading (through library books etc), play music and dance together, take them out locally to parks or the countryside etc at weekends and holidays and so on. There's lots of time for their talents and interests to emerge as they get a bit older....

Lots of clubs offer a free trial session, so you could go along to a few and see what your DC enjoy?

Mine are sporty so do football, netball, cricket and in the past have also done tennis, dance, gymnastics and beavers / cubs.

Thanks both, I'm a single parent so can only commit to say one activity after school (tennis) and one Sunday.

A lot depends on your child, and what they like to do but, being a cub leader, I would always recommend beavers/cubs. It's very reasonable (usually works out at around £3/4 per session) and, depending on the group, the children get to participate in a whole range of different things. For instance, this term alone we are doing a theatre trip, a visit to an agricultural show, archery, a trip to an airshow, a family hike and bbq, and a weekend of camping - all free or cheap. This is on top of the weekly meetings.

Scouting is the only club that my children stuck at for a long length of time.

The swimming lessons sound expensive, but learning to swim is important. You could always take them to family swimming sessions and teach them yourself, which would probably be cheaper, and more fun.

Do you mean £80 for a block? It really is hugely important for them to learn to swim. Here the council sometimes does a week course where they are giving trainee teachers support, they are loads cheaper. I did find however that paying for private lessons was more efficient than the council weekly ones. If you are on a limited budget, cubs or girls brigade/ boy's brigade provides a range of activities and is really social.
If you want a musical activity, choirs are usually really cheap, or group guitar lessons. In Scotland we have 'active schools' which provides blocks of different sports free as after school activities, it's great. They are often run by local clubs hoping to sign kids up but you could just treat it as a multi sport taster through the year. Don't stress about filling up every minute though, they will enjoy their spare time. You can often get multi sport camps in the summer which let them try out things and double up as child care.

Agree with swimming being a life skill, and doing that until they can at least swim reasonably well.

Are there any school clubs they could join? Drama, dance, sport of some sort?

Hi, no it's 60 actually, per child for just 30min

Mine love football, swimming and brownies. Football is the favourite though. We have in the past done drama, dance, gymnastics, ballet and netball. I’m afraid it can be a bit of trial and error until they find what they really like.

£60 per an 8-10 week block is very reasonable I'm a swimming teacher and that's in line with what we charge.

Where do you live (roughly)? Those swimming coats are ridiculous

scouting has been a firm favourite here. Loads of different activities and very cheap compared to other things.

ours have both learnt an instrument too - first in school, then privately in secondary

rugby and football are good for team sports and usually fairly cheap.

@Starlitestarbright that's per lesson!!! This is London!

Unfortunately Rainbows is a no because of the timings, I'd need to take them from school to there but I'm also working. At the moment I can get away with the school pickup (1hr round trip) but not going back out again to the same area for another trip to get then to Rainbows during the working day, unless I take a cab

Thanks for all your tips, I'm going to look into a few things over the next few months. In terms of ages for instruments, how old would you say to start? We tried piano but they didn't take to it (at 5) but I think that was the teacher plus we just didn't practice much

Are you sure that's not for private lessons?
Look into competitive swimming clubs that offer lessons to supplement the clubs income they are often cheaper.

The most important thing is for them to do something BUT when they want to move on to something different let them. It's quite easy to get your own social life entangled in extra curricular or you've sunk ££££ into it and the child ends up doing it when they've had enough.

DD did dance, drama and signing, then moved onto swimming lessons then swimming competitively, drum lessons and a bushcraft club, now she does recreational tennis and rugby which seems like a good fit to see her out as she is mid teens now.

That cost for swimming can't be right, surely? It'll be £80 for a course of lessons.
Otherwise find another school that uses the same pool or another one nearby.

My dc did swimming and another sport. Football, gymnastics and karate were all tried. I think physical activity is really important for kids.
My dc aren't very musical and weren't interested in learning an interest. They were given an opportunity at school.
They also did some free clubs at the library.
If cost is an issue, then look there and look at what your dcs school offers.

We pay £50 for swimming per month but for us, unless dd absolutely hated it, was non negotiable as its so important. Luckily she loves it and it makes me so much more comfortable known if she can swim confidently at 6

Do you have local council pools offering lessons as that is a crazy price. At various times mine did an instrument, swimming, football, karate, tennis, gymnastics, dance, Horseriding,Cubs. Hockey. Some they stuck with for a long while, some briefly.

£60 for a lesson is too high. I'm in London & pay about £120/130 a block.

Does your school offer any clubs after school, that was a relatively cheap way for us to try things out, see what they like

Normal swimming lessons won't be £60 per lesson, even in London.

Obviously don't know where you are but London Aquatics centre is £30 a month for lessons. Have you spoken to your local leisure centre?

https://www.londonaquaticscentre.org/swimming/lessonsandd_courses/kids-swimming-lessons

Here's another one for £30.50 in Bromley so I reckon it's the going price in the area

www.mytimeactive.co.uk/activities/swimming-lessons

I agree with others, that swimming price is a 1-2-1, not a group lesson. Our local leisure centre is £33pm for a weekly 30 min lesson per child. 2 towns over (home counties), I know it is a bit pricier and closer to £40pm but that's still a world away from £60 per lesson! As a PP said, swimming clubs are even cheaper (as staffed by volunteers and not making a profit past what is needed to supplement the costs of the older competitive swimmers), but in my area won't take DCs until they are already able to swim at least a length in each stroke. Our swim club lessons work out at £5/hr for the youngest ones, reduces as you move up the levels, and finally drops to £2.50/hr for the Performance teens who are training 9+hrs a week.

For us, swimming was non-negotiable until competent. Different families seem to have different definitions of 'competent', but to us that is completing the basic Swim England 'Learn to Swim' scheme (ie get their level 7 badge) and earning a high-ish distance badge such as 600m. Both DCs have chosen/are choosing to carry on beyond this.

Scouting has been a huge success and very reasonably priced. They do a great range of activities, although this can be very unit-dependent. Some are much better than others! It's about £3/wk for us (that's 1.5hrs).

Gymnastics was great at preschool age as an all-rounder for fitness, strength, flexibility etc. That was £30pm for 1hr/wk.

They now do karate. This is £25pm for 1hr/wk, although getting them set up was expensive with equipment and insurance/membership. They need their gi, pads, gloves, and gumshield, and this particular club also requires specialist shoes and nunchucks.

DCs are 6 & 8 currently.

We haven't started music lessons yet. We've chosen to wait until they could do these during the school day to lessen the running about after school. Our 8yo should have been able to start a year ago, but a lot of local music teachers seem to have not returned after covid, and her school haven't been able to get new teachers. She starts middle school in September, so will be able to begin lessons then.

Swimming was non negotiable- they didn't have to love it - and not just to 10m either because that would hardly save a child in a real situation. Mine does piano because originally his eldest sister wanted to, we got a piano and seeing his eldest two sisters playing the piano, he wanted to as well. He also dances and has singing lessons. Dancing is his biggest hobby and he has dance lessons every night after school, Saturday and some Sundays. He did this again because he saw his older sister go to lessons, we were waiting for her anyway, so he wanted to go as well. This was 7 years ago and it has really taken off since then. I think out of all 3 of my children, their interest have only ever been instruments, dancing and singing!

That price for swimming can’t be right. I pay £30 a month for DD’s lessons at local leisure centre in central-ish London.

DD (7) currently does swimming, ballet and Stagecoach (dance/drama/singing). We tried brownies but it wasn’t for her. You have to try a few things to see what works.

For us swimming was non-negotiable, but we pay £16 a month (so £4 a lesson) at our council pool. It would be very negotiable if it was £60 a lesson! In fact I'd probably stop caring about it at all! That's grossly unfair for lower income families if that's the going rate near you.
On top of swimming mine chose one hobby of their own too. Beavers is mega cheap and gives children amazing experiences that are usually subsidised- a day canoeing down a local river for £4. A 3 night camp for £12. When schools go on about cultural capital/lack of resilience/children with low esteem I genuinely believe that if there was some way for the government to subsidise some childrens places in cubs/beavers etc it would help these children a lot. I saw one school who have been running a beavers session through the day once a week and I thought that was amazing.

Anyway I'm going a bit off topic but lots of single parents i know seem to do hobbies alongside their kid - usually like a family martial art session.