We talked a little bit last week about how hectic life is now that school is back in session, but we didn’t even discuss how absolutely busy is gets when it comes time for extracurricular activities. I can’t even with this discussion right now. While I am a firm believer in the benefits of extracurriculars (more on that later), I do acknowledge that they are very time consuming and require a lot of work, organization, communication and time from the entire family. The important thing is to just be prepared.

For reference, my high-school aged daughter plays volleyball and basketball and my middle-school aged son plays basketball and they have both done other activities along the way. We also have a toddler though and that means we need to be extra prepared for these extracurricular activities, we cannot just hop in the car and go (even though we often wish that were the case). When we are getting ready for an event, we have to be fully prepared to go and here’s how we do it:

• Have a family discussion before signing up. Before any extracurricular activity begins, we have a family discussion to make sure that this particular activity will work within our budget and our time availability. As unfortunate as it may be, not all things are possible to do, but if they are at all possible we make it work. Our family communication is key to making this work though.
• Bags packed and ready to go. Whether you have a dancer, a ball player, or a violinist, you have stuff to bring! Make sure your child’s bags are packed and ready to go. Check out these great bags that we have here that will help get you prepared
  • Dance Bags (Dancers need their gear!)
  • Travel Bags (great for sports, school and more)
  • Lunch bags (do me a favor and always pack a lunch before you go. You don’t want all of your budge going toward concession stands and fast food)
• Get a family calendar. If your kids are old enough to have a phone, make it an electronic calendar, if not, then place a big calendar in a spot in your home that everyone will see. Family calendars are great when you have a busy family so that no one is caught off guard by a practice, or game, or performance. Everyone can be kept on the same page. I bought this calendar on Amazon and I love it.

Do your kids play a sport? Go to dance? Learn an instrument? Extracurricular activities can be any of hundreds of activities, but the reality is that they are a vital part of your child’s upbringing. Participating in an extracurricular actually has quite a few benefits for your children:

• Builds Social Skills - Participating in an extracurricular activity helps to build your child’s social skills, by offering them the opportunities to meet more children their age, interact with coaches and other adults.
• Better able to deal with adversity - Extracurricular activities often deal with competition and choices. This means that whether your child is playing a sport or an instrument, they are more likely to face adversity. Facing adversity and dealing with the issues that come up during these activities are a great way for your child to build the skills needed to face tough times in the future.
• Looks good on college applications - If your child is planning to go to a four-year university or college, and you (or they) are concerned about admission, taking part in extracurriculars can help to give them the edge that is needed to get that acceptance letter.
• Extracurriculars are fun - Sure extracurriculars are helpful to your college transcripts and they help build your skills in your preferred activity, but they are also just a lot of fun! Who doesn’t want to have fun?
• Builds friendships - The friends that my children have made during their extracurricular activities are some of the best friends that they have still to this day. As a matter of fact, as a 30-something year old woman, I am still friends with kids I did music and sports with as a child.
• Builds life skills - The skills learned during extracurricular activities will help your child to build life skills that will help them well into the future. These skills include, but are not limited to;
  • Setting and reaching goals,
  • Time management (who among us doesn’t use this daily?)
  • Working in a team environment
  • Leadership
  • Problem solving
  • And more
• Boosts confidence - I have many thoughts on my kids doing extracurricular activities and I am always proud of them when they try new things, they develop a love for something and they give their all. I will acknowledge though that hands-down 100%, my favorite thing about my kids being involved in extracurricular activities is the boost of self-confidence that it gives them. To see that kind of confidence and pride on the face of your children is something you never get tired of.

Sorry, my friends, I've got to go.  We are off to practice.