10/10/10

Activities: Too Many or Just Right?

As the school year started, we signed the kids up for a variety of activities and sports. They include figure skating, hockey, karate, tennis, dance (modern and ballet)....not to mention homework and religious school twice a week. I'm happy they are getting a well rounded sampling of a lot of different types of activities, and the hope is that something will stick, and they will find a sport they can play for the rest of their lives. (Yesterday, Joshua spent some time hitting a golf ball in the backyard, and actually had a very nice swing).

But with all these things going on in their lives, I think it's also good for kids to have some quality downtime, where they create their own games, and play quietly by themselves without any structure. Rebecca spends a lot of time reading her Harry Potter and Nancy Drew novels, and Joshua enjoys creating small towns with his Lego sets. These types of activities are very valuable for them, and should not be put aside for the structured team sports. There is definitely a balance here....somewhere. I just hope we are achieving it.