Wait - Is this for you or for me?

Wednesday, June 23 2010

So I am sitting here, looking over all the signup information for AYSO soccer registration. And I can't help but wonder how many extracurricular activities are too much??

As a preface to this entry, I have to give a little background... Our oldest girl's birthday falls literally on Thanksgiving weekend. (I know you are now wondering, what this has to do with extracurricular activities - but bear with me...) And to everyone who also has a child around 4 or 5, you know what this means. Her birthday falls right before "the deadline"... We had to answer the extremely difficult question of - "Are we going to move Skyler into Kindergarten this next Fall, or wait until she is 5."

Now, at this point I can go into a very long discussion about this topic - inviting allllll kinds of debate. Or I can just mention the reasons for our decision and move forward. I will choose the later. For us, it was a tough decision - but we opted to keep Skyler in preschool for one more year, and have her enter at the age of 5 (and therefore, graduating High School at the age of 18, like we did). The reasons for us are very specific to Skyler. We feel that the added confidence of being an older child in the class will benefit her greatly. And although I think Skyler would do fine in learning arena, the curriculum and expectations in Kindergarten nowadays is intense. So we figured, one more year to mature a bit couldn't hurt. Lastly - maybe the biggest factor (and why we also opted not to do any of the Preppy K classes), is that we want to MOVE! And we know our beautiful spirited child. And transitioning to a new school in the Fall, only to have to change schools one year later - well, that would be pretty tough for her.

Before I go back to the original topic at hand, for those curious about the moving comment - we have no idea right now where we are going. We just know we would like to be settled somewhere as Skyler enters Elementary school. The "where to?" is still up for discussion. We may hop the border into Los Alamitos/Seal Beach - meaning, we wouldn't be going far. They have a tremendous school district that we like a lot, and Dave has liked Seal Beach/Los Al from the day I met him. The other option is moving closer to LA - because altho I am surviving at  being a single parent during the week, it's a bummer not to have hubby and Daddy home in the evenings. The problem for me still tends to be - well... not wanting to move our family closer to LA. Plus the cute little "pockets" that everyone talks about, tend to be cute little "expensive" pockets. (And hello! - I want a yard. We have had a patio for the past 9 years - and altho it was great for 2 workaholics, it's not as great for 2 little girls who would like to go kick the ball around on some grass.) OK - moving on. The last option is - moving to San Diego to be closer to Dave's family. It's really nice down there - and it too has a great school district. We also (obviously) will now need to take into account Alexa's health and doctors - and what that will entail.

Hmmm.... What was this post about??

OH - right. Extracurricular activities. (I am thinking now that this post should have been called "What is in my head this week") By the way, isn't it kinda funny to call classes that right now, since - at age 4, isn't everything they do extracurricular activities?? I know that many parents debate how much is too much. I never thought I would have this debate, honestly. Mostly, because I never thought Skyler would be interested in so many things. Or maybe I thought she would fight me on continuing classes, once she started them. OR, maybe she thinks that these are the classes everyone takes, and she doesn't have a say in the matter. ; )

I have always said that 2 extra classes outside of school is plenty. But now that she is going to be in preschool for one more year, I want her to experience some more challenges. I think now is the perfect time, before she is caught up more in school (and homework). So, right now she has:

• Swim (for summer) - This one is a - "No questions asked, You will take this, You will learn to swim, class."

• Gymnastics - Been taking it for a year now. Originally my idea, instead of dance last year because she loves jumping around tumbling, and being active. She likes it and I like it.

• Soccer - Umm...our idea. I think she really likes the skills part of it. She is quite good at dribbling, and such. Not too natural at the game part tho - you know, where you have to fight 20 kids just to touch the ball. Once. Last week during a little 10 minute game, she came over to say she was too tired to run and wanted to just stand by us, instead. Wha? If I were being honest, she may not even care if she continues with soccer. We are still considering AYSO in the Fall tho. (Or as Dave says "All Your Saturdays Occupied") I really like the idea of her trying a team sport, working together with others.

Other considerations:

• Dance. Poor thing - the only class she ever asked for and she still has not taken. =(  Yes, I feel bad.

What class Sky would like:

Is there a class for dressing up in princess clothes or playing with Pollys? lol.

So - as the title says - are these classes for her, or for us?? And what is too much? My debate continues... My hope, for now, is that she will be exposed to a variety of fun activities.

Without overdoing it, of course.