Extracurricular Activities ARE Education

I'll admit that I was not one of those super-involved parents in the classroom who volunteered all the time and helped their kids with homework every night. I've always wanted my kids to be responsible for their own learning, and mostly they followed through and completed all their homework on their own.

As homeschoolers we are no longer depending on someone else to educate our kids. All the learning doesn't happen in the classroom, and we are now customizing our kids' education to their interests, needs as well as areas of weakness. Enter extracurricular activities and the "very busy homeschooling parent!"

My calendar is beginning to feel pretty overwhelming: swim lessons for an hour a day all this past and coming week, basketball, rock climbing, religion class, Scouts, forensics and volunteering are all ongoing activities, and this week we're starting wrestling, art classes, another basketball team and play practice. This doesn't include our family activities of downhill skiing/snowboarding every week, church activities and other miscellaneous meetings. Luckily swimming only lasts another week and forensics two, but it is enough to make my head swim. This is why we moved closer to town: so we can run home and regroup and recharge between activities!

If we weren't homeschooling I know we wouldn't be doing as many of these things. If the kids were in school they would be fried by 3:00 and would be screaming for a break. As it is, because they're at home in a relatively calm, peaceful environment working all morning, by afternoon they are ready for activity and social interaction and a break from the books. I think this is harder on me than them since I have chunks of time while they're in their events to fill one way or another. I have gotten more reading done (I guess I should say 'scanning') lately as I hang out here or there, and it provides a chance to run errands as well.

My bottom line, though, is that the kids are really enjoying their activities. They are discovering new interests and developing skills that might otherwise have gone unearthed or undeveloped. I am not an advocate for overloading a kid's schedule, and I stay aware of how the kids are handling it to make sure it's not too much. They still have the time to read anywhere from one to four books each week, so they can't be too busy!!