Extra circulars aren’t extra hassle
Extra circulars or after school activities aren’t just for looks, or to ‘run the energy out of them. It doesn’t help to teach children to think before the do something inherently dangerous or prevent risk taking behaviours that scare every adult in the room. However their are huge advantages to you and your child by affording them the opportunity for out-side of school hours fun, so lets look into why it’s important.
First things first, I don’t encourage you to spend thousands a month on expensive premium classes for children under 10 years. Until, they settle into a activity and have the maturity and understanding to commit to learning the skills required. I don’t believe in forcing a hobby or a sport on a child as they will grow to hate it and feel unrelenting pressure to please you, both of which builds tension between you and your child. Allow young children to find something of interest to them, don’t invest into it more than you have to. I also recommend researching the recommended starting ages for activities. For example most gymnastics and dance classes start at 18 months or 2 years. Some sports meets don’t start taking kids until there six. It entirely depends what’s in your area and price range.
With those caveats out of the way, extra circulars are great for social development. Team sports or performance arts clubs promote teamwork and social skills and encourages children to talk to their peers face to face. A screen can’t compete with that, nor can you as the parent because you aren’t the same age as your child. Even solo sports, that lack a need for teamwork, will support the development of friendships and grow a village around your child. Social development is just as much about learning to communicate with others as it is about finding a community.
Extra circulars are also great for physical development, things like gross motor skills, or the ability to control large muscle groups are greatly improved though constant, intentional use. These include sports like gymnastics, martial arts, and football or performance arts like ballet or jazz which require balance and coordination. Hand-eye coordination is built though games that require a player to catch, hit or throw a ball. Fine motor skills or the ability to control small muscle groups is important too, things like art classes so drawing, sculpting, painting, glueing and cutting help to build strength and coordinate the muscle groups in your fingers.
Lets not leave video gaming out, age appropriate or educational games may be horrible for peer to peer social development. However, their great for working on strategic thinking and problem solving skills, building a ability to think logically is important if we want to have functional adults. If we can teach our children to think logically and strategically their are less inclined to panic or rush when things go wrong, get hard or just don’t go our way. E-sports is a big thing these days and whilst as the peer to peer social interaction is important, learning the skills needed to survive in a modern day workforce just as needed once children are mature enough. In someways, a supervised introduction to online safety is important for emotional development and positive self esteem.
Last but probably most importantly, committing to any given activity, you guarantee you and your child friends that they will see most weeks. This builds a community for you and your child around what your child is interested in and insures they have friends with similar interests. It also puts a group of parents, of similarly aged children around you for you to chat with and have a break from your collective realities with. Maybe you can all compare ‘reasons my kid got mad at me today’ notes and see who gets the biggest laugh.
Activity of the week
Chai grass is a way to grow a real grass like texture quickly. I like to use it for exploration of stories like ‘Going on a Bear Hunt’.
You will need
Chia seeds
water
soil
water
Tray
Make chia seed slime by mixing equal parts chia seeds and water. Chia slim into soil and spread across the tray. Keep soil most, wait a few days and allow your child to explore the lush green shoots.
To explore the above book, add a tray of brown obleck as mud and some straw. Encourage your child to walk though the grass, obleck and straw.