5 Extracurricular Activities You Should Explore For Your Kids
While I have great faith in our education system, plenty of educational activities outside of school are available for exploration. Extracurricular activities for kids offer amazing benefits, and I think it gives them a much more rounded education all round. Life, after all, isn’t just about textbooks and study. It’s also about experiences, creativity, and enjoyment. Here are some suggestions for you to think about.
Sports
Not all kids are sporty, of course. But, you don’t have to send them to your local football team, or hockey practices. Martial arts will help give them confidence and self-discipline, and swimming could save their life one day. Getting your child involved in any kind of sports club is a great way for them to start creating a social circle, too. Once they get to high school age, they will know a lot more people from all over the area, which is a great way to start their adulthood relationships.
Cooking
It can be tough to find the spare time to teach your kids how to cook. We’re all so busy these days that we can barely feed ourselves, let alone teach the little ones the basics of a good casserole. But, if you can find the time, I urge you to get them more involved. It will help them learn about where their food comes from, develop their tastes, and set them up with an important life skill.
Music
Learning about music benefits children in an enormous amount of ways. It can boost their brain power, improve their memory, and can build up their confidence. There are a few routes you can go down, but I would encourage you to let them make their own choices. The classical instruments can result in a wonderful career – but some kids might be happier with a set of Pearl drums or a couple of Taylor guitars. Have patience with them, too. The violin is not a pretty sounding instrument in the hands of a learner, for example. But, with the right encouragement and practice, they will make progress quickly!
Finances
I find it astonishing that children learn so little about personal finances at school. So, to make sure that they don’t fall into problems when they turn into an adult, it’s wise to teach them about the value of money. There are a lot of little things you can do. One good example is teaching them about how saving money pays off. Try giving them a small amount of pocket money every week, and tell them that at the end of the month, you will double what they have left. With a little luck, it will teach them that by saving, they can get a lot more out of their money than they will by spending.
Travel
Finally, make sure you take your kids on adventures. I know it can be expensive, but if you can introduce different cultures to your children, they will understand and appreciate the world a lot better. Get hold of a little passport for each of them, and try and give them as many experiences as you can.
OK, so have I missed anything off my list? Let me know in the comments section below!
i LOVE this. We got ours into sports and he loves it, we also teaching him about saving. His school luckily has music class and they sing and perform in front of the other students at school. Such great things for parents to explore for their children.
I agree. I think teaching our children about finances is so critical to their future success. I think taking our children to the grocery store and showing them how we budget what we spend would be a great activity. Thanks for sharing.
Love this! I think most ppl hear the word extra and become intimated but so many of these can be incorporated into everyday life and it’s so important to think beyond sports (not that anything is wrong with an active kid)
Thanks Lauren! You are SO right about “extra” – we are all so super busy in our day-to-day life we get stressed when we hear that. BUT when you’re cooking dinner, call the kids over and get them involved in the prep! Thank you for stopping by!
Love these ideas – my little ones are young but I’m starting to introduce some of these to my toddler! He loves helping in the kitchen. I’d love to get him involved in something “musical” or “athletic” at some point because those seem to be areas he has a personal interest – he loves sports and dancing/singing! 🙂
Sounds like you are a very hands on mama, Erin! Keep up the awesome work!
These are great suggestions. I want my kids to at least try everything. If they don’t like a certain sport, at least they’ve tried it so that they know. I love the idea of them learning finances, and we will be doing it. Along with music, I also think that other art forms are super important too.
Thanks Shann! I do the same with my boys – I let them pick the sport to see if it is something they want to pursue further. My older one loved karate for a long time but my little one didn’t – so we kept the older one in karate and looked for something more on par for the little guy. You hope they like the same sport (I guess out of convenience 😉 but my two have totally different personalities!
My son loves sports, unfortunately at 3 we haven’t been able to find any team sports that accept anyone under 4 where we live. Still looking though he’s got great hand eye coordination and has a great arm (my opinion may be biased). 🙂 My oldest also enjoys being able to help in the kitchen, mostly mixing different foods when we make things like waffles.
It is hard when they are that little to find team sports but even bringing him to a gym class may be fun (and tire him out some!). I love that your older one likes to be in the kitchen – my little one is starting to ask to help and it’s great time spent together!
I think these are all great ideas, and they are all important! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Leah! I’m going to try the “adult” shirley temple drink tonight!!
I agree! We’ve been having all our kids help with food prep and been making them tithe their own “income” for church as well as save some for things they want! It’s terrifying to me when I see 18 year olds who don’t know how to write checks
Lauren, that’s awesome! Your kids will thank you in the long run!
I like your ideas. Finances are a big one for us. It’s so important to know the purpose of money. It’s not simply there to just buy stuff. I think that’s a clever way to teach that some accounts do have interest you can earn when you save your money.
Thanks Latonay – once I realized that the boys had no grasp of the value of a dollar, I had to put something into action ASAP.
So many great ideas! My son is only 16 months so some of these are a little big for him. But in due time!!
Thank you Chrissa! Yes, he’s a little young, but before you know it he’ll be playing sports and helping you cook!
I don’t have kids, but I think these are all great! Finance is a huge one!!
Thanks Rachel, I totally agree with you that finance is huge for the kids to learn.
Great post. We cover cooking with hubby who is a chef and travel with my parents and extended family. Sports and music are thanks to the great school district we are in and our local dance studio. Finances/jobs are probably an area of weakness we have.
Thank you Sarah – looks like you have all bases covered!! You are super lucky that your husband’s a chef!
This is a GREAT list. Our 10th grader is taking an econ class now and is learning so much! Cooking – is one that all ages can do with such fun! Thanks
Thank you Carissa! I love cooking with my boys – it’s a lot of fun and there’s definitely math and organization involved.
I love this list! These are definitely things they might not be exposed to very much in school, yet they’re all valuable life experiences. I agree with you about finances. Growing up we learned the very basics, but now as an adult I feel kinda clueless. That’s not something I want my children to feel when they’re older.
Thank you Samantha! I completely agree with you regarding finances as an adult. It’s kind of thrown at you when you’re not looking and it is very stressful until you get the hang of it.
This is an awesome post! I’m so happy to see finances on this list, as it’s an area so often forgotten.