These aren’t the greatest pictures, but I have a couple really good ones from last fall, so I’ll have to find those and post them here later. She’s not one of those kids that has a passion for the game, but she likes it so we keep signing her up. We feel that if nothing else she’s learning sportsmanship and she’s getting physical exercise. She has been playing soccer for 5 years now I think, the longest she’s stuck with anything. She’s done gymnastics, ballet, jazz, tap, ice skating, piano and viola but soccer is the one thing she’s stayed with. She would have loved to continue with ice skating but since we moved to Davis the closest rink is pretty far away and we don’t want to drive that much. We also stopped piano lessons at that time because they are 4 times as expensive as they were in Logan and we just can’t afford that. She is currently in viola, but she’s asked many times to quit so she probably won’t do that anymore after this year either. Not to mention, the California schools are in a huge budget crisis. In our small district alone they handed out pink slips to 90 teachers and support staff for next school year which includes all the music teachers at least at the elementary level. The schools here in Davis are very well known for their high quality of education so it’s a little concerning that they are going to have to cut so many jobs. A few years ago a school foundation was set up to raise funds for the schools and they had a fundraising drive a couple of weeks ago at all the schools to try and “buy back” some of those positions. In one day at Ari’s school alone they raised $70,000. Pretty impressive if you ask me, but unfortunately I’m sure it’s still not enough.
Anyway, back to Ari and her activities. We won’t let her quit things in the middle of a season, greatly to her dismay with viola because all of her friends have dropped out. I feel it’s important for her to learn to stick with things, I hope it builds character not resentment! So what do you think? Is it better to find one or two things for your child and make them stick with them or let them try out a bunch of different things to find out where their passions lie?
1 comment:
we do the same thing... no quitting mid-season. usually they want to quit because at that particular moment in time, there is something better to do. the plus side is that next year, when they ask to sign up again, they have to really think about their choice. they now know that you won't let them quit in the middle of the season, so they have to really decide if they want to do it or not. it's good for helping them develop some personal responsibility.
i don't let them get involved in more than one thing at a time, just for my sanity.
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