Help me get my head round ds1's extracurricular stuff...

[tortoiseSHELL]

I have always been of the 'don't give them too much to do outside school' parenting style. Now I'm finding my life is being taken over by extracurricular stuff - any advice?

Ds1 (5.9) currently has gymnastics on Tuesday (which he absolutely loves and I love too, so that is totally sacrosanct as far as I'm concerned, dd will also do it in Sep), after school club on Wednesday, always meets a friend on Thursday (again don't want to change that), swimming Saturday morning (9.30). Now he's got the opportunity to do orchestra Saturday morning at 9.30. So what do I do?

Orchestra would be REALLY good for him (I'm a musician btw), as it's why I got him doing the violin at this age really, socially it's good, good for learning that music is fun, making friends, learning to count/play in time/follow a conductor, improving sightreading.

Swimming - he's a bit of a dunce at this, but he NEEDS to learn to swim. Also it's a nice family time - dh takes dd swimming at the same time, and ds2 and I watch, and I will take him in when he's a bit bigger (it's v cold in the big pool!).

So do I change the swimming time, and somehow try and make it as nice a family time, making sure dd gets to swim, or not do the orchestra, or what? Can't get my head round the best thing to do, and am not a natural 'pushy' parent, and want my children to have time at home to chill and play firemen!

i think the thing to do is to review it in september, he's not going to miss much is he! that's a really good idea about a minimum of a term's commitment, will do that i think!!! and you'reright, it's only by trying things that you find out what they love!

BTW, Marina "Steve Redgrave lookylikey in teeny Speedos" - bleurgh!

Trust me anchovy, by SE9 standards he is extremely easy on the eye - also an excellent teacher, which also ups his appeal "good with kids"

I too would move the swimming .

We have stopped swimming lessons for a term (and like marina, have that niggling guilt!) but I booked the children on one of these half term courses at the local pool where they go every day for half an hour and it was great and they hadn't 'forgotten' how to do anything (will prob try and restart the lessons in the summer term anyway if possible!).

Don't they do swimming through the school at some point (is it year 3/4)?

they have done swimming this year (Yr1), but tbh I don't believe children learn to swim through school, I've seen too many lessons with the flounderers (like ds1) stuck splashing in the shallow end.

yes, tis true - I sort of feel swimming is non negotiable at some stage - we found ours did better with a short burst of v small class swimming lessons (expensive tho!) and then going back to bigger, cheaper classes once they'd 'got' it iyswim

what a lucky ds to have so much fun stuff to do!

In NL, it is the norm for all children to start swimming lessons at about 4 - everyone does them privately as there are no swimming courses run by schools. It costs about 30 Eu per month for a 45 min lesson every week. There are about 12 kids in the average swim class, although you can pay more for smaller classes. The classes are run at loads of different times through the week and at weekends.

Children have to pass a swimming diploma - 'A' is the first, then B and C. For an 'A' diploma, kids have to be able to swim about 400 meters showing front crawl, backstroke and breast stroke, they have to be able to swim underwater, tread water, swim about 50 mtrs in pyjamas, jump in the deep end of the pool and a few other things I forget now. No child is allowed in a public swimming pool without arms bands and adult supervision until they have passed their A diploma. B and C are obviously more difficult, with kids swimming greater distances.

It sounds very prescriptive but it seems to work and I don't know of many kids who are unconfident swimmers by age 7.