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We were talking about different activities our kids do in the NSW thread. Alexzander does gymnastics & Dee takes Matthew to Gymbaroo. I was thinking about getting Zander into doing something else on another day as well, but I'm not sure what just yet.
So I wondered.....
What activities do your kids do? How often?
What sort of cost is involved?
Why did you pick that activity for them?
Are they enjoying it?
Gabriella has been going to storytime at the library since she was around 1. Granted as a young un she was sometimes completely uninterested in the actual story and more interested in the kids around her but it was still good to get out and do something different. Mots libraries offer storytime followed usually by some sort of craft associated with that days stories and best of all its free! Both my DH and I are avid readers hence why we chose to take her, she loves it and looks forward to it every week.
We have also been doing swimming lessons since she was 4 months old, We chose that because especially over here in WA we lead such an outdoor lifestyle that it made sense for her to be "waterwise". Usually it is once a week for a term (altho here in Karratha they do twice a week for half a term) and the average cost is $70-90 per term. She loves the water although she does go thru stages where she doesnt want to do things or is "scared" but that soon passes.
Have tried gymbaroo but only did that for a term, found it a bit monotonous. We are considering doing some form of dancing lessons when she turns 3. She is also starting to learn how to play guitar - she is very musically inclined but we are only doing this cause DH plays and can teach her otherwise we wouldnt be paying for lessons at this age.
Hope that helps!:)
Gabysmum - what kinds of swimming lessons does Gabriella do now that she's almost 3 - is it still water familiarisation with a parent in the water or is it just the teacher and them now??
Matilda does gym classes (well did....) I usually try for 1 organised activity like that a week. So gym or swimming lessons depending on the season of the year. And we have 1 playday a week with friends with children, every Friday arvo we meet at the park with one particular friend who lives around the corner too.
But she also goes to family day care 2 short days a week, so she gets social interaction both those days with 4 children & they do craft & songs & storytime daily.
Matilda is an extremely social child who gets very very stir crazy when she goes a full day without seeing other children. So by 4.30pm she's climbing the walls wanting to play with other kids (screaming their names) so I often have to take her down the street to the neighbours if we've gone the whole day without playing with other kids.
Good thread, as I have been wondering this myself.
At the moment we go to playgroup/mothersgroup once a week, but numbers are lacking, it is still good for Maggie to get out of the house though. She goes to childcare one day a week, so she gets some activity there. When we can another mum & I get together normally once a week.
I am now looking into Mini Maestros or Hey Dee Ho as Maggie seems to like music and dancing. They are about $10 per week. I am undecided as yet, seems a lot of money for what it is. DH wants to take her swimming, so I have left that to him to look up.
Jaspen - she is still doing water familiarisation as in me in water with her. Since we have moved to Karratha we ahve gone a bit backward as the pool is closed for 6 months of the year - too cold?! Anyway she is starting up again in a couple of weeks but we are doing private lessons with one other child so will see how we go.
Oh Gaby also goes to playgroup every Friday monring - cost is $25 per term.
I am wanting to start Seth into Gymbaroo... but its soooooo expensive!
Its $175 per term which IMO ($20 off 4 y.o. kinder in fact!) is alot especially when they aren't teaching anything really iykwim? Paris does Ballet and its only $95 per term and they do a concert and everything and she's learning LOTS! I just don't know how they think they can justify it!
I'd love to get Seth into something physical but I'm not going to fork out *that* much money. So if anyone knows of anything in the SE Subs that *isn't* gymbaroo let me know LOL!
*hugs*
Cailin
music classes are great for little kids! they also get to dance in there aswell.
Cai: try your local YMCA, they normally have similar but much cheaper.
some local swimming pools will have a toddler pool so by the time kids can walk, they go alone without their parent.
Do you guys have local libraries? They do story time and toy library?
We dont do anything structured other than MG every fortnight.
I try and get her out doing all the "balanced" stuff every week though.
So in the last week she has had music morning, drawing morning, playing in the park x 2, visiting family morning, and morning tea out, plus playing with kids. Other things I mix into it are swimming with dad in our pool at home, morning bathies with mum, outdoor play, animal play, reading and I want to start going to the reading time at the library.
I would love to go to something structured, but I dont know how much she will get out of it when I know its stuff I can do at home wiht her? Sure its good for the interaction, but she loves being with other kids in the park.
I think the only thing I am really missing out on is interaction with other kids. Is that really worth $100-$200 a term??
Fi well said... I don't know if its worth the $$ if you are getting it elsewhere. I think we do gym or swimming because we needed the activity with other children and she loves them. She craves them. We haven't gone to gym this term & haven't started swimming yet, and she asks for them every single day. I may offer the park & she looks at me & says "mmm... park later, gym?" LOL.... so I say "sorry Matilda its either park or play with blocks at home" Sometimes she chooses the blocks... but she often wants to be in the structured activities with the other children.
DD is the only social butterfly in our household atm, ill start DS when he is old enough but.......its Tuesdays Pre-school, Thursdays swimming for both its $12.50 a lesson for DD and $7.50 a lesson for DS, its expensive but worth it for me. Friday is Kindygym for DD and thats $66. a term.
I ask DD if she wants to do Kindergym but swimming is non negotiable till they no how to swim. I enjoy going to all of the above and my kids love it to. Gets us all out the shed anyway.
We do lots of things at home as well, but I like the activities they do at gym ford something different. Also Zander is very unsocial at the moment & is quite scared of other kids so it's good for him to interact with others.
Hi Sarah, DD did a little kid's music class, it was great. The teacher was absolutely fabulous, and each week they did different activities introducing the kids to rhythm and pitch, as well as teaching them how different instruments sound and how they are played. Lots of singing too! DD loved it!
How old do you think they need to be to do a musical sort of thing? Zander looooves any sort of music so it might be a good thing for him to do.
DD#1- 3 years
Monday - swimming lessons (30 mins)
Wednesday - Kindy (10-4pm)
Friday arvo - dancing lessons (30 mins).
Breaks the week up (im a SAHM), gives us all something to look forward to.
Swimming is $10 per lesson ($100 per term), Kindy is approx $32 per day, and dancing is $6 per lesson.....worth every cent, we all enjoy it :)
sarah they have toddler music. My nephew was about 2 when he joined :)
great thread, i must admit i am soooooooooooo slack when it comes to poor dd, she does nothing organised not even playgroup (trying very hard to get in that is suited to her age group etc) we did do gymnastics but in all honesty it was an expensive expense for her to bounce around a gym floor lol. i would love for her to do swimming but atm ds does it at a cost of $150 a term sheesh 2 x kids equals $300 a term WHICH WE CANNOT AFFORD, i will probably put her in swimming when she is 3 and i don't have to go in the water with her. i must check out the library etc, but in all honesty i seem to be busy running ds around everywhere and dd just fits in, i guess her daily activity is an 1hr or so after school at the park, i meet up with my old playgroup friends every week however the youngest one of them is now 4 so they are all growing up - looks like baby making days with our group are jsut about over.
cailin to reply to you
i had lani in proper gymnastics (boys did it to of course) through the YMCA at endeavour hills - it was still around $110 for the term but heaps cheaper than gymboroo and it was proper gymnastics which was suited to there age groups. maybe ring your local council or check out some local YMCA's and see if they have a similar program, the one we went to was run through gymnastics victoria and was very well run, a 45 min lesson, with first 15 minutes of free time to explore equipment, then some time on the floor to discuss different poses and then they did a sort of obstical course, with beams (very low to the ground) trampolines, rings etc etc, all suited to the young ones. we then usually spent the last 10 mins in the "pit" heaps of foam and stuff that was soooooooo much fun:
I'd love to get Seth into something physical but I'm not going to fork out *that* much money. So if anyone knows of anything in the SE Subs that *isn't* gymbaroo let me know LOL!
Christy - Jenna is the same. Loves being around other kids. Thats almost why our structured swimming lessons were too bloody hard. She just kept wanting to play with the other kids?
Whereas in the park she can go nuts, they are all different ages, and the parents are really laid back too.
We have a really, really great park down on the waterfront in Geelong, and I can almost guarantee everytime we go down there will be 10kids that she can talk to.
I think the only thing I'm really tempted with is music liek Hey de Ho or something similar.