Re: After school activities - am I over doing it?



I really appreciate your input. Right now, with the exception of kumon
(15-20 mins. a day) and occassionally violin, I don't make her
practice anything else. She gets it easily without trying too hard.

I'd question if she is being challenged enough, if she can do the violin
with only occasional practice, then she's not being set hard enough pieces,
or scales etc. If she can do a set of scales and not need to practice, then
the set needs to be increased etc.

My background is that you wouldn't expect practice for the dance things at
that age unless there was a performance or exam/test coming up.

I'd assumed the maths and reading was because she behind, but if she's
ahead, do you really want to push it, my feeling is that's likely to build a
vicious cycle of boredom at school. That said, I did do maths at home from
around age 7 or 8, but I think it was at a point where I'd already figured
out that other kids were different when it came to maths, rather than when I
still thought it was just a case of how fast you raced through the sheets,
but I didn't do class or anything, my parents just shoved a text book for a
few years ahead in front of me and let me get on with it.

As you evaluate the activities, chat with the teachers and find out how they
think she is doing, if violin is group taught, she either needs to be in a
different group, or move on to private lessons etc.

Also watch for what she is talented at, and if you can't tell, guess, then
you can encourage those things even if she has bad times with them, it's a
rare child that loves a particular activity always. I could never keep my
feet still and as it was an unfufilled dream of my mothers, I was sent to
dance classes (I think at 7 I was likely doing 3, but I don't recall doing
anything else, maybe Brownies, if it started that year, but that would be
it).

I think what others say about coping now, but maybe not coping in future is
relevant, it was tough for me when I had to stop girl guides as homework
increased, I don't think that my parent's shouldn't have sent me, but that
was just one thing I had to stop, your daughter may have to stop several
things (I'm pretty sure they gave me a choice, but I doubt I'd have been
allowed to stop piano, so it must have been dance and there was no way I was
stopping even one class).

Cheers

Anne


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