Extra Curriculum activities

Life experiences

Now that children have gone back to school, I realised that more extra curricular activities which cannot be done on line may also start once the country if fully open. It got me thinking about how and why we got our children to take part in activities when when we first arrived in England.

When my two older kids arrived in the UK we quickly figured out that there was not enough for them to fill their day outside of school. Back home the weather was always lovely and the children were able to play outside everyday after school. The schools had state of the art sporting facilities and we expected even better in English schools. Lo and behold the primary schools were a bit of a shock because the primary school we enrolled them in did not have any sports facilities at all.

The out door space at the school only had a playground, there were no net ball and basketball courts, there was no swimming pool or even football pitch. The school had a sports day once a year and on sports day the children took part in activities that do not resemble adult sports for an example, the kids took part in egg race and sack race and other children\’s fun races.

Compared to Zimbabwe where in primary school the primary schools held sports days whereby there were various track and field events eg 100 metres, 200 metres, shot put, high jump you name it we had that array of sports activities. School children also had a chance to compete with children from other schools. As for swimming, there was a swimming pool on site and the school held a swimming gala twice a year and and also competed with other schools regularly.

Considering all the exposure we had as children, we had to find all possible ways to get our children busy and active. This was a really good way to get our children out of the house and get them to do other things outside of school. My husband and I had to budget the extra time and money to make our children more out going and not be stuck in front of the TV or playing video games.

I am going to list a few points to consider when selecting extra curriculum activities;

What to consider when selecting

Budget for the activities

Be prepared to budget for the extracurricular activities. These may come with equipment hire or purchase, before you commit to these activities find out how much it costs for both the lessons and for the equipment. If you are not sure if your child will continue with the activity, find out if you can hire the equipment initially, then commit to purchasing one if your child continues with the activity.

Besides money, also ensure you also budget the time as well, for you and your child as activities take time, not only for the activities but also for practicing and implementing the skills leant in the lessons. The reality is that some of the time for other activities will have to be re assigned to learning of the new activity.

Ensure you allow your child to choose the activity

When choosing activities, ensure that you are not pushing your own interests on your child, but get your child to have a say as to what they like. I really wanted my son to play piano, but he decided on guitar and he has flourished and even taught himself before we enrolled him in the school guitar lessons. Although with children, they may not really be aware of the their interests, so ideally find clubs that offer trial sessions as this can help to ensure that you child likes the activity.

Get your child exposed to as many activities

Try and expose your child to as many activities as possible so they can discover their interests, these can be introduced slowly without pressure. Find out from the child\’s school teacher if they feel there are some activities that would benefit your child. Watch some videos of the activities and also read about the activities so you have a better understanding of the activity and what it involves.

Be prepared to help your child with the activity

Be prepared to help your child in the beginning as they get accustomed. Some activities may not be easy and your child may need more help when practicing and therefore you as the parent should make yourself available to ensure you provide the assistance. Better still you can also enrol in the same activity, this can also help your child have a bit of moral support and a class mate to discuss various aspects of the activity.

Do not obsess with being competitive

Do not allow yourself to obsess with the competitive, let your child enjoy the wins but to also not be too stressed about losing. Remember this is meant to be your child\’s activity and they do not need to be under undue pressure, allow them to enjoy it for themselves without needing to be pressured. We enrolled our son in a martial arts club and I would watch him during the lesson and when we got home I would make him rehearse and I would be really hard on him. This back fired and after the fourth lesson he gave up and sited that I was too intense when practising at home.

Where to find the activities

What I have learnt is that some schools will offer things like music, chess etc as extra and as parents we should always ask the school first if they offer any such activities before finding activities outside the school setting. This will make it easier even for managing the time. The guitar lessons that my son took in primary school where offered by the school but we had to pay extra for them but they’re so worth it. My son has continued to enjoy his music and he even enhanced what he leant by exploring other guitar resources on line by himself.

The city council website also helps as it runs some local clubs at local councils run some activities for children and adults.

There can also be some privately run clubs that you can find online or by asking other parents were they send their children. My daughter joined a dance and gymnastics club that one of her friends at school was part of. The club used to organise dance troupes which fuelled her competitive spirits and enhanced her social skills .

I hope these few points will help you to make good decisions when selecting extra curricular activities. Please feel free to add any other things to consider when selecting extra curricular activities in the comments section. Do not forget to subscribe so do not miss any future blogs.