You’ll find no shortage of enrichment activities these days for kids … from sports to music to coding, there’s something for everyone. With so many different enrichment programs available, choosing the right program for your child is important. Here are a few tips to help you discover the perfect fit for your child.
Tip: Use KC Parent's After School Activities Guide to find the perfect program for your child.
Let Your Child Lead the Way
Do your best to follow your child’s talents and interests and let those lead the way in your decision making. If you have a very active child, try out something to help him burn his energy. Does he love helping in the kitchen? Try a baking class. Your kids might have ideas of their own, or you might have to help them discover what interests them.
Try Out a Class
Before you enroll your child in a new activity, ask whether you can schedule a visit so the two of you can see the activity for yourselves. Many programs offer a free trial class to see whether the experience is going to be a good fit for your child. This is a great way to let your youngster test the waters to see whether the class is something she would like to continue on a regular basis before you make the commitment to enroll.
Take Advantage of Birthday Parties
We love attending our friends’ birthday parties. One of the great things about birthday parties is your children might be exposed to a new activity they’ve never tried before. And occasionally they unlock an unknown talent or interest. My daughter attended a farm party with horseback riding that led her to an interest in horses. We’ve also attended ice-skating parties and learned that is not her cup of tea.
Meet the Staff
Meeting the staff and program leaders is an essential step. To assess the program’s quality, ask them about their skills and background.
Don’t Schedule Too Many Activities
If your child has many interests, choosing just a few can be hard. Try to select only the activities that will fit conveniently into your schedule. You don’t want to overschedule your child and increase her stress levels. Children should still have unstructured playtime at home. To keep from overscheduling, consider enrolling your child in a different program every season of the year instead of year-long activities. This will provide your youngster with a broad range of activities without packing your schedule.
If kids’ extracurricular activities are leaving them exhausted and yearning for some downtime, it might be a sign to cut back on an activity. If you’re having trouble choosing which activity to cut out of your schedule, try to keep activities that will make your kids the most well rounded. If they are in three sports and one music class, it might be time to drop one of the sports.
Schedule Smart
Scheduling can be the most important aspect of enrichment activities. If your children are all involved in the same activities, do your best to schedule each child’s activity in the same night. If they’re all into martial arts, see whether you can schedule all their classes at the same or similar times on the same night to knock out several classes at once. This will also save you from driving to the same place several times each week.
Play in the Off Season
Between the practices, games and tournaments, joining a sports team can be very time consuming. If you have multiple kids playing multiple sports, the hours really add up. If your kids enjoy sports that all run in the same calendar seasons, choose one of the sports to play in the off season. Most sports have summer leagues you can join, and some offer leagues year round. This way your kids can focus on one sport each season and not get overwhelmed by the busy schedule of multiple sports at a time.
Check Your Budget
Before enrolling your child in an activity, make sure you’ve covered all the costs involved and feel comfortable with the financial commitment. Many activities have small fees to enroll but extra costs for uniforms, musical instruments, equipment, competitive fees and traveling costs that really add up. Make sure you aren’t caught off guard by those extra costs.
Look at Each Child Individually
If you have more than one child, looking at each as an individual is important. Even though your oldest child loved martial arts, your youngest might have no interest in that activity. The same is true for parents. Many parents want their children to follow in their footsteps, but your child might be interested in activities that hold no interest for you.
Don’t Be Afraid to Try Something New
Your children might decide to try something that seems out of left field to you. Perhaps they want to join a coding club and they know nothing about computers. Encourage them to give it a try anyway. A major benefit of enrichment programs is that children will gain confidence as they learn new and challenging skills. When they conquer new things, kids feel a sense of accomplishment and feel better about themselves.
Reevaluate
When an enrichment activity session is complete, talk to your children to find out how they liked the activity. Did they enjoy going every week? Did they learn something new? Do they want to continue the activity? If they were asking to skip piano lessons every week and didn’t put in the extra practice time, it might be time to reevaluate and find something new that interests them. You can always circle back to that activity if they decide they would like to try it again.
Find the Fun
Make sure all the activities you enroll your children in have some aspect of fun added in the mix. Enjoying programs they’re involved in is important for kids. Otherwise, they won’t be motivated to continue going. Children also learn better when they are enjoying themselves.
Regan Lyons is a girl mom and freelance writer. She lives with her husband, Cale, and daughters Atley, 8, and Ensley, 2, in St. Joseph, MO.
Tip: Use KC Parent's After School Activities Guide to find the perfect program for your child.