Vacation is over and its time to go back to school. Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the plethora of kids’ activities out there during the school year? Managing each child’s after school schedule can be tricky. We know of a local mom-owned business called “Activity Rocket” that might be of help to you.
Every end of summer, I print a blank calendar from outlook or google cal or whichever online calendar I have adopted that year. And hence the jigsaw puzzle process starts – whereby I try to piece together all the activities my kids are asking to do in the fall and figure out how we are going to make it all work – how to get 2 active boys to activities that are often at the same time in different places, how to finagle carpools with friends, how to make sure there is sufficient time for homework , play and down time.. .
This year, my eldest – a rising 5th grader – is doing recreational soccer and Tae Kwon Do. He also wants to do ice hockey and guitar. And I really want him to try Let Me Run – a new running program like Girls on the Run targeting boys 4th grade and up. All in – those 5 activities equal 6 days of activities (7 if you factor in religious school) once you account for weekly practices and games. That’s also 5 redundant registrations to complete and 5 checks to write. And that’s just for one kid for one season. My husband eloquently argues one kid – one activity – one season! That said – aren’t all of these activities good for him? Soccer teaches sportsmanship and teamwork, running is about setting individual goals, TKD teaches discipline, music is a lifelong pleasure, ice hockey is fantastic exercise, and well , religious school is not optional!
My youngest – a rising 2nd grader – wants to do recreational soccer, drums, and 2 days of karate. Those 3 days of activities amount to 4 days of activities (plus 4 registrations and checks) and most of them overlap with his older brother in the most inconvenient way. But would any good mom deny her youngest the same opportunities for enrichment and growth as her older kids? And how do my friends with 3 or more kids manage? Or my friends that are single parents when balancing the needs of 2 boys with 2 parents leaves me frazzled!
We founded Activity Rocket to solve for many of these challenges – the online calendar helps me plot and plan so I can see the days/times/locations of classes and can hone in on those that are closest to home and don’t require me to cross the county at rush hour or run in opposite directions for both boys simultaneously. Later this year we will be introducing even more perks that will save precious time around planning and signing up for activities. If only the Rocket could blast my kids to their respective activities…. hmmmmm
For more information on tutoring or test prep visit ectutoring.com