Sorry this is going to be a long one! My ds is in year 3 at school and up until September has done beavers and french once a week - both activities he asked to do. He has always done homework with me most days as well though not always on those days he has had activities. I have deliberately not added any other activities as I have always felt he got tired pretty easily if there was too much going on.
To give you a bit of background ds is a very active child, very full on though he does get tired and doesnt behave well when he is overtired. He is currently being assessed for ADHD - largely for fidgetiness etc. This summer he went to a school sports camp for a few weeks and loved the fact that he was able to play sport every day. The man taking the camp has recently become the p.e. teacher at ds' school and said that he was quite good at football (which he adores) and felt that he should try out for the local area team. We discussed it and said that maybe now he was old enough to try as he hadnt enjoyed the training a few years back when he first went.
We took the teacher's advice and let ds try out for the local team and he has been having a great time attending evening training once a week and games every week or two on Saturdays. However, the p.e. teacher has now started booking inter-school football matches for the year 3 children. This is fantastic as previously the local schools in the area only played matches for years 5 and 6 but he has encouraged them all to put together teams and let the younger children play. He has also initiated training one lunch time a week. As I say this is great and ds loves it. He has been picked for all 3 matches so far and also for the 2 matches that have been arranged this week. The problem arises that ds now has a match one day, lunch time training the next, after school match that same day, training for the club that evening and a match on the Saturday. It all seems too much!
Ds had a mini meltdown in class the other day and told the teacher he was doing too much and the teacher took from it all that he was doing too much homework rather than the football. Now admittedly the football is great for ds, he is less fidgety etc BUT he obviously isnt coping with it all. So I am after some advice ... do I cut out the school football, the club football or a bit of both? Is there a greater benefit in playing for your school than in a local team (especially when you arent the best in the world!). He seems to prefer playing for the school, but is one of the weaker players as many of them have played for the local club for 3 years now, so I think he is worried that if he doesnt play when asked that he will lose his place on the team. Similarly, the local club have quite a few teams and again he would be concerned about losing his place if he repeatedly doesnt turn up for either matches or training. The fact that we have paid for the season for the club is annoying but not the most important fact.
This week is obviously not a normal week but I am not sure what to do for the best. Do dcs adapt and get used to the extra activities or do I need to be ruthless and just cut something out altogether? Any advice would be welcomed.
I am afraid I do not agree with the school in saying he should drop the homework. He was fine last year doing homework, french and beavers .. its only football that is new to the equation!
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bodiddly · 20/11/2012 11:17
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