How many "outside the home" activities are your dc involved in?

[AttachedMamma]

I tend to be an on-the-go type of person, though if I'm overscheduled, I get very stressed. DD is also very high energy, spirited. However, I'm wondering whether we are doing too much b/c now every day she is asking me what fun thing we have planned for the day. I think I've conditioned her to expect some fun activity or event every day outside of the house. :jawdrop We're out and about during the week participating in library storytime, indoor play at our local gym, bible study, an art class, etc. I almost always keep Mondays free-nothing planned so we can have a "down" day after the weekend. And when the weekend comes, she expects us to go into the city to a museum or some special outing or festival. She's 5, so I can certainly understand her not wanting to be cooped up in the house. I don't like that either.

Now I definitely *must* HS this child b/c she'd go bonkers in a formal classroom all day! :lol

But back to what I was saying--
Like all children, she needs some quiet time (perhaps more so) and she does enjoy doing lincoln logs, sticker books, coloring, etc. (Also, we're loosely doing some homeschool work b/c she really wanted me to help her practice writing.) Part of me feels compelled to get her out of the house and around other kids b/c she's very sociable. Maybe I'm trying to give her the exposure she would have in preschool, :rolleyes especially since she's an only child and it's highly doubtful the Lord will bless us with another. :( She helps w/some chores in the house, but doesn't have any assigned ones. I want her childhood to be carefree and fun, but I don't want her to think that life is all about fun activities and being on the go. I want her to become a human *being* not a human *doing*. ;) I'm also wondering how this will work when she has to be in the house more often after we get into homeschooling next fall (though, of course, that doesn't mean she's chained to a desk nor will we stop outside activities).

So, tell me, are your children doing something outside of the home most days? Is it unreasonable to have my DD doing some independent activities in the house most days of the week? Your thoughts--

Cindi

[phathui5]

I have a 5 year old ds and we're out of the house most mornings. We're always home in the afternoon (all three kids take a nap, for my mental health). On Monday and Wednesday morning, we usually are at the park from about 9:30 to 11:30am and then we come home for lunch and nap. Today we went to a storytime and nature walk at a nature center. Some days we go to the Science Center.

Right now, we do schoolwork in the afternoon, after nap. My goal for next year is to be home two mornings a week to get it done in the morning.

[hsgbdmama]

Sunday school, library trip 1-2x/week, local hs group.

I have noticed that if we are gone everyday, (a) we do not get as much school done and (b) ds1 gets very antsy on the days we are home (and he expects us to go somewhere every day). With the rise in gas prices and now with the cold weather here :scarf :shiver :scarf :shiver :scarf :shiver I have limited our trips into town to 2-3 times per week, combining as many errands as we can into a trip.

Granted, there are some weeks where things just happen and we have to go into town almost every day, but that is the exception and not the rule.

[Booklover]

Right now, Sunday School, swimming lessons on Thursday and co-op on Friday, plus occasional field trips. If we are out too much, we have trouble getting academic stuff done. And we usually have trouble with that anyway... :rolleyes

[lumpofclay]

We rarely spend a whole day at home. Our oldest is on the gymnastics team, so she practices three days a week. Our 4-almost-5-yo takes gymnastics twice a week, since she's at the gym three times a week. (Does that make sense? IOW, she would only be taking once a week, but since we're up there anyways, she's in two classes a week. It gives her something to do, and she really enjoys it.) Both the girls are in a Girl Scout troop. The (almost)5 yo only meets once a month, but she usually tags along to the 7 yo's meetings (twice a month). She also takes dance once a week. Plus, we're out of the house for grocery shopping, birthday parties, other special events, etc. I like to be on the go as well. I find that careful planning keeps me from getting too stressed, and I keep a close eye on the children to make sure they aren't getting too stressed by it either.

We have lots of (scheduled, even) downtime at home to make sure everyone gets their peace & quiet.

[MagnoliaMommy]

My preschooler (almost 4 yo) is involved in Awanas and Children's Church...that's all for now. We do go to the library a few times a month and we like to go up for the craft nights and movie nights.
He may get involved in swimming lessons later on. :)

[hearttender4]

We don't go much of anywhere during the day. Maybe once a week we'll do something very simple like get a snack at the store. In the evenings, they do Pioneer Club (Methodist version of Awanas) and basketball practice. I feel like we might all benefit from getting out more, but we don't seem to have many choices without spending money.

[allisonintx]

We have American Girl History class on Mondays
Tuesdays are basketball in the evening, but staying home all day
Wednesday has piano lessons for the older 3 and then Church at night from 7-8:30
Thursdays the two oldest have basketball
Friday we are home all day.

ETA: my dh's family are a bunch of 'joiners' and their children were involved in dozens of activities every week and were in PS. I can't even imagine being so busy. Once I asked my dh about how they could eat a healthy meal running around so much and his answer was that they ate a lot of hot dogs.

[Roses]

Ds will be 6 in a couple of weeks. He has swim lessons once a week at the Y. That's the only *set* in stone thing he has right now. We go to the Children's Museum at least once a month, most of the time twice a month. We swim a couple of times a month (other than the lessons). We go to the library once a month.

I feel like between that and regular stuff (grocery store, even though that's only a couple times a month, birthday parties, homeschool get togethers every now and then with our homeschool group), we are gone a LOT. I wish we were home more! I definitely feel like we get too tired running around, and I personally feel like a vegetable.

[This Busy Mom]

My oldest is 10 and he goes to gymnastics on Monday nights. We also go to Weds. night church (just started back).

My 7 yo is involved in more. She has cheer prep on Mondays and on Tuesdays she goes to ballet (and weds. is church). She actually loves the cheer, though. Ballet's harder, but she likes it.

[erinee]

Zach does HS gym twice a week, Cub Scouts Thursday evenings, Science Co-Op one Friday morning a month, Bible Explorers (kind of like Awana) on Wednesday nights, and of course church on Sundays.

Megan does preschool 2 mornings a week, dance class on Tuesday afternoons, Bible Satellites Wednesday evenings, and church on Sundays. She also goes to science co-op with us, as they have a preschool class.

Both kids also go to library programs if they are available at a time when we are having nothing else going on or don't have to scrunch it in too much. They also go to LLL meetings twice a month with me (well, Megan is in preschool during the Tuesday morning meeting, but Zach goes, and both usually go to the evening meeting with me if dh doesn't get home in time to keep them with him). Sometimes there are special church activities as well.

In the summer, Cub Scouts is replaced with 4H.

:phew And we're not half as busy as most of the families we know! Usually I've thought of CHristmas as being busy, but this year it will seem like a break, since most of our activities will take a break.

[ArmsOfLove]

Our scheduled out of the home activities:

Saturday: Shabbat and we're gone most of the day for services
Thursday: DS1 has piano and DD has ballet
Friday: Mornings we have our homeschool coop classes and afternoon we have our park day with the same group.

[Jillian]

Mondays we usually stay home all day, to regroup from the weekend.
Victoria is in gymnastics and piano. Christopher is in gymnastics. We all go to our HS playgroup, its scheduled once a week, but we'll only go maybe twice a month. The older two go to the Boys and Girls Club a couple times a week - not a scheduled thing. We also have a monthly meeting at my midwife's house. And Nicholas will be starting 4H next month and Tae Kwon Do after the holidays.

[mommyTay]

Both Sis & Bug are on our church Bible Quiz team. Sis really enjoyed it last year, this year they are really struggling. Romans is a very hard book to study!

Sis & Bug are also in 4H. It is an activity they enjoy with Grammy, as she is the head advisor of the club.

In the Summer, Bug plays baseball.

Sis attends some youth group activities. Unfortunately, she doesn't feel she "fits in". It is so hard to join in, when you feel like you seem to be INVISIBLE! :hissyfit

[SueQ]

Sundays- Church/Children's church
Tuesdays- once a month LLL
Wednesday- learning group (Sept-Dec) and (March-May), also library/story time and errand day with the two younger guys