Parents Can we talk about balancing training and school work/homework?

[BRB]

As my DD's training hours increase (and as she gets older) I find myself thinking about this more. She does very well in school, but I worry about her getting enough rest. So far, we have managed to juggle everything and have her get enough sleep; however, she is still in elementary school. I know the workload increases in middle school & high school. Anyone want to share their experience and/or tips on how their kids successfully manage school work/homework and training?

 

[mumoftwogymnasts]

DS is 10 and in middle school, last year he had at least 1 hour of homework every night (was set that day at school and due the next morning, so had to be completed on the day it was set). It was a juggle, he had 1-1.5 hours between school finishing and training starting so he would start his homework during the drive to gym, then change at gym, have a snack and finish homework. Anything that he didn't get done before gym (normally because he needed computer access) he would quickly finish when he arrived home at around 8.15 pm. It is an extremely long day for a 10 year old, he left the house at 7.45am and got back home over 12 hours later and he was very tired at the end of the day.

Stuff that helped - doing some homework/study on the weekend. DS would complete all his maths workbook for the coming week on Sunday.
Homework during the drive to gym
Early to bed on non gym nights
Protein based snack after school, too much sugar meant he came home at 8.00 pm totally "wound up"
Having a quick and healthy meal option that was ready to eat as soon as he arrived home.
Some nights I would take dinner with me, heat it at the gym at the end of training and he would eat on the way home (travel time for us is around 30 mins)

It has taught him to be quite good at time management. If he has alarger assignment or project to complete, he realises that the only time he has to work on it is weekends and non gym nights, so far he has managed to juggle getting everything done on time. I did worry this year about the impact on his school work, but his grades were the best he has ever got.

 

[emorymom]

Being able to do some or all of it on an individual pace for the student does cut down on the time school takes to accomplish the same level of academic mastery. Some full day schools allow this for the motivated athlete; there are virtual schools, that often let the kids test out of certain lessons they already understand and move ahead; there is home schooling, where the parent chooses the curriculum, either a full curriculum from one source, or subject by subject. Also, in a correspondence school / virtual school / home school environment, there is sometimes the option to cut down on breaks but shorten the school day. There is a district near me that is considering this idea district wide -- shorter days, longer year.

I believe the above are the general ideas used by "gym schools," where, for example, girls from the same team may get together and do schoolwork under a framework provided by a friendly private school, public virtual school, or accredited distance learning school. They might complete their work from 9-12:30, eat lunch, and start working out at 1pm. No homework.

Some people have great districts that let their kids get PE credit and hours-in-school credit for their sports programs if their coaches sign off that they have X hours a week in the gym. That way the kids can leave early, or do homework during PE.

 

[Granny Smith]

My dd goes to a good ole brick & mortar school. She is a freshman is HS. When she started on team she was back in Kindergarten and it was an invitational group (guess equivalent to pre-team). She went twice a week, so school & gym were never an issue. Through the grades and levels her hours have increased and probably for the last 4 years she has been doing 20hrs in the gym (if all assignments are completed, if not she has to stay until they are so it can be 20+ hrs some weeks). So this has been through middle school and now HS. Because the hours increase at the gym happened over time, it really hasn't been bad at all and now it's just 2nd nature. If you were to take a "normal" high school kid, one who doesn't do what these kids do and put them in a sport for 20 hrs a week and try to maintain their A average, they would probably fail miserably, but this is what these kids have known all their lives. If she has an extra 15 minutes in a class, she'll do homework so that she doesn't have as much when she gets home.

We also have a discussion every day after school on the way to gym about how much homework she has that night, if it's a lot then I will make sure she leaves at exactly 8pm. She goes straight to the gym from school from 4-8pm, so when she gets home is when she starts her homework and eats dinner.

Now that meet season is about to start, the gym has become even more demanding. She has meets the next 3 weekends, with the 1st & 3rd weekends being out of state. Then throw in mid-terms the week of 1/17. She does not get any breaks from school either. She attends school just like everyone else, she takes gym, has no study hall. She's a great kid, I'm very proud of how she handles herself, she's motivated, structured and organized in and out of the gym.

 

[shelovestoflip]

I agree with Granny Smith....if it's all they ever know, they get used to it as time at the gym and academic demands increase. My daughter is an 11 year old 6th grader and is Level 6. She practices M/W/F/Sat for a total of 14 hours. Some of her teammates go one more weeknight adding 3 more hours but I need her to have that downtime during the week at this point. She does well, generally scoring 35s/36s so for now missing the extra night isn't an issue.

She goes from school to extended day (in her same school building) to practice. She has learned to prioritize assignments. She does the 'hardest' first and saves the 'easy' for last...in her case, math is her easy subject so on the occasional nights she has HW after practice, at least it's not some huge writing assignment!

While we are only 15 minutes from the gym, I bring her dinner when I pick her up and she eats in teh car on the way home. This way, she can just take a shower when she gets home and finish any HW that is left.

She's not a morning person and would rather get it all done at night than set the alarm for earlier than usual!

I wish her school would give assignments on Monday but most are given and due the next day. When there is a long term project, she knows she can get it done on weekends so that works out well.

Hope this helps!

 

[BRB]

Thanks, all! This is very helpful and helps me to see that she is on the right track. Her schedule is similar to the ones your describe. Although she does well now, I have started stressing about how middle school will be for her. However, like some of you said, I think being involved in gymnastics can help them learn how to manage their time (because they have to). Also, I agree that the training hours and homework have increased gradually, so it is most likely easier for our kids than for someone who goes from 0 to 15 hours a week, for example. My DD goes to a "regular" school, but it would be nice if she could use her PE time to do homework once she gets to middle school, since she is doing so many hours of physical activity outside of school. I may look into that to see if it is an option in our school district.

 

[Granny Smith]

Thanks, all! This is very helpful and helps me to see that she is on the right track. Her schedule is similar to the ones your describe. Although she does well now, I have started stressing about how middle school will be for her. However, like some of you said, I think being involved in gymnastics can help them learn how to manage their time (because they have to). Also, I agree that the training hours and homework have increased gradually, so it is most likely easier for our kids than for someone who goes from 0 to 15 hours a week, for example. My DD goes to a "regular" school, but it would be nice if she could use her PE time to do homework once she gets to middle school, since she is doing so many hours of physical activity outside of school. I may look into that to see if it is an option in our school district.

One thing to think about before taking her PE class from her. Gymnasts put in so many hours in the gym and miss out on a lot of activities at school, PE class is the one time they get to have fun and be social with school friends. They also tend to be able to shine since they are so physically fit. I didn't want to strip one of the fun aspects of school away from my child. Now that she is in HS she really only has her freshman yr where she has to take a standard PE class, then she's onto Driver's Ed and then optional PE classes. I don't know if you read the keeping the balance as they get older/become teenagers thread - but to me this is part of the balance. I didn't want to take PE away from her.

 

[MamaofEnS]

My DD is an 8th grader, and has always done very well in the past in terms of school. This year, her grades are lower than usual, but she still made honor roll. Woohoo! Three days a week she has about 1 hour after school before she needs to be at the gym, she usually gets it all done, but if not, she does it after dinner. That means 3 days a week she may be doing homework between 9-10pm. She does have time in the morning, so that helps a lot. The other 2 days, she goes to gym immediately after school, so she has dinner and starts homework at 8-8:30. This week, I actually kept her home from gym to do homework. She had been absent from school for 2 days because of she fractured her foot, and can't do much at the gym anyway.

 

[gym law mom]

Thanks, all! This is very helpful and helps me to see that she is on the right track. Her schedule is similar to the ones your describe. Although she does well now, I have started stressing about how middle school will be for her. However, like some of you said, I think being involved in gymnastics can help them learn how to manage their time (because they have to). Also, I agree that the training hours and homework have increased gradually, so it is most likely easier for our kids than for someone who goes from 0 to 15 hours a week, for example. My DD goes to a "regular" school, but it would be nice if she could use her PE time to do homework once she gets to middle school, since she is doing so many hours of physical activity outside of school. I may look into that to see if it is an option in our school district.

My gymmie was brought up much like GS did with her dd. Mine started pre-team in 2nd grade which increased in hours and started competing L5 in 4th grade. The key is planning and working ahead. Yes, she learned to take that down time in class to get started on homework. We still discuss what she's got to do on a regular basis and she is also in 9th grade.
My gymmie loved the PE classes. Yes, her school would let her out of it(with a letter from the coach), but they would just put her in another elective class. She liked having some time to just play around and usually these girls end up being the stars of the PE class when it comes to conditioning and running. Mine is not very skilled at basketball, but she got a chance to try that and other sports.

Also, if she had just way too much homework, I would take her out of practice early. Doesn't happen often, but here and there she needed 30-45 minutes more to get work done.

 

[BRB]

Good points about PE, Granny Smith and gym law mom. I will definitely keep this in mind.