Trying to Strike A Scheduling Balance

Today D. enjoyed his first gymnastics class today. It was great to watch him enjoy himself and to see some of his natural tendencies (like jumping, hopping on one foot, jumping over obstacles) channeled and affirmed. In the midst of New England winter, it is a great way for him to direct his incredible energy. There is also some family pride operating here as his grandfather was an NCAA gymnast and I studied gymnastics and dance in my youth.

Another activity. It is a constant balancing act between unstructured free time and scheduled activities which will be fun, engaging, and give my son a good channel for natural interest as well as give him a diversity of experiences from which to be inspired and challenged. News articles and academic studies warn of the negative consequences of overscheduling children. One of the many reasons I have chosen the homeschooling path is to hold off on formal academic work in favor of engaging my son's creativity through physical activity, art, music, and play while he is young.

Right now he does a preschool program at the local Audubon society once a week. He attends a fun and games session at the local community center twice a week, swimming lessons once a week, and now gymnastics. (My goal of one daily period of directed and vigorous physical activity, I will admit, is so that we can all maintain sanity as much as for his physical development.)  He practices violin for 1 hour a day and attends a private and a group class once a week. He has a separate Music Together class weekly. Once a week our homeschool co-op gathers for learning and playing. Finally, he attends Spirit Play at church on Sunday.

He seems to be happy with the activities. In fact, he seems to be happiest with a structured daily routine and at least one activity a day.  I carefully guard at least a 2 to 3 hour chunk of time each day for unstructured play for him while I do things around the house. We also read throughout the day and he reads with his dad nightly. When I secretly observe his playing, he incorporates bits and pieces of all these experiences in the most creative and unexpected ways. He's like a little sponge, soaking it all in.

So where to draw the line? That is always the question.