MAG Juggling school and gymnastics

[OwlGalLiz]

We're new on this ride, both with team (he's level 4 practices 3 days a week for 2 hours each) and official school (he starts kindergarten in a week and a half). Any advice for juggling both successfully? Fortunately his practice is 415-615 so we have time for dinner and homework (bus arrives at 335 and we have a 20 min drive min through two school zones to get to gym). Any tips for a newbie at this? He's been doing great this summer, so I want to ease the transition into school/gymnastics as smoothly as possible.

We did preschool and two days at recreational gymnastics successfully, but there wasn't homework, etc. and we could occasionally take a day off from school.

 

[fuzi]

He shouldn't have much homework in kindergarten.

Assuming he was practicing the same amount this summer, he'll probably do fine. The first month might be a little tough as he adjusts to a busier schedule, but most kindergartners have plenty of energy.

Let him have down time on the weekends.

 

[Azgymmiemom]

Really, he shouldn't have that much homework as a kindergartener. Ask for a weekly homework packet. That way he can get his work done on his off days. One thing I've learned from this competitive ride is: these kids learn to make it work if they want to compete. And usually, they are the best students in the school.

Anticipate that he may be very tired until he adjusts in a few weeks. Just be encouraging. Good luck!!

 

[profmom]

Be prepared for him not to have much focus and energy on gym days when he gets home. Getting DS to focus on homework and just get it done was intermittently a challenge for us, really until just last year (fourth grade). Chocolate milk, then homework!

 

[OzZee]

Just see how it goes.
I panicked about my little one starting school this year along with hours ramped up in two sports for competition.
And all that worry was for nothing. Not a problem at all.

And I find it motivates them to do their homework - no homework done, no gym, lol, they soon get moving on it.

Not sure how kindergarten is over there, but here (Australia) the kids don't get a lot anyway, so easy to fit in the reader and bit of homework around gym. We do have one long training night where the reader has to be done the next morning, and Sunday mornings she does the bulk of her homework.

 

[Quadqueen]

I think my kids had homework maybe 5 times in kindergarten (although our district works hard to give the least amount of homework as possible, and has a policy limiting how much homework can be given by grade). He might be more tired than he has been in the summer, but he should be fine. He is just starting kindergarten? Will he be old enough for L4? I thought they needed to be 6. My DS wasn't 6 till 1st grade.

 

[skschlag]

D was competing when he was in kinder. Luckily, as everyone has said, kinder should not have homework, and if they do, it should only be 20 minutes a night. Little bodies and minds don't need to be doing much at home yet.
Some things we did that have helped over the years:
*books on tape to help meet reading log requirements (he loves doing this now just for fun!)
*bought one of those clipboards that have storage for the car. he can do some homework in the car if he needs to.
*snacks for immediately after gym, mainly chocolate milk. This will help avoid the meltdown that can happen from the long day!
*if it is too much, talk to his teachers. Right now D gets his homework on Monday and it is due the next Monday. this allows him to space it out and gives him plenty of time to get it done!

Good luck!!

 

[Iwannabemargo]

as a non-US person can I ask how much homework is normal in your school system and at what age.

We start full-time school over here at "rising 5" (September before 5th birthday). In infants (to age 7) its normally 10 mins reading 5x a week and maybe some sums. In Juniors (7-11) its normally maths and English - an hour a week and maybe 12-15 spellings.

In secondary school, in my experience, its no more than 3-5 hours a week.

Sounds like you get a lot more

 

[Canadian_gym_mom]

Can I just say that I have been looking at the title of this thread and ALL I think when I see it is that yes, gymnastics probably would give you an advantage at Juggling School.

 

[OwlGalLiz]

Thanks. He's a bundle of energy (and with a Dec 25th birthday he will be six and can compete as level 4 is six by Sept 1 or turn six during season before any meets he competes in) and though we'll miss a few late fall meets (only two) he's slated to start in Jan as long as all goes well.

Our school gives some homework each day in kinder, but that's a great heads up about asking for it ahead of time.

Yeah, we already know he's going to be one of the "smart kids"- he skipped pre-k4 and went to transitional kindergarten last year at a preschool. Our district does a kindergarten evaluation and he had his yesterday- so they know what they are in for ("he sure has a personality" and "he's ahead in some things").

Fortunately we practice not long after school is out. The downside, we practice not long after school is out. I will literally be meeting him at the bus stop to get in the car to go.

I guess keeping him focused is the main thing...

Thanks for the tips and suggestions!

 

[claudidoll]

Can I just say that I have been looking at the title of this thread and ALL I think when I see it is that yes, gymnastics probably would give you an advantage at Juggling School.

I was thinking the same thing

 

[Fliptwisttumble]

DD is entering grade 4 in September. Last year was really the first year that her homework and gymnastics "butted heads" a few times. But her teachers were very good to work with, and English homework was given out on Thursdays, due the next Thursday. Mandarin homework (she went to an immersion school) was given out Mondays and due a week later.

A new school this year - 100% English speaking. Hopefully I can make a similar arrangement, as she only has Wednesday nights "free" and weekends. After an almost full day of school, then 5 hours of gym, dinner nearing 8pm, it will be tough to get much out of a 9 year old after that. She focuses on her reading on gym nights.

When you have a weekly package for homework it makes it SO much easier.... 10 minutes here and there are best utilized, and allows you to make use of the larger chunks when you have them.

 

[Quadqueen]

our district has a policy of ten minutes per year/grade, so first grade gets max of ten minutes, 2nd grade gets max of 20 minutes, 3rd gets max of 30 minutes. And that includes their required 15-20 minutes of reading each night. This policy may stop in middle school, I'm not sure....middle school is 7th-8th grade for us.

I know some teachers will give out a packet each week...we have never had a teacher like that. DD gets homework every night and it's due the next day. I think this year I will be meeting with her teacher to find out if she is willing to give her the homework weekly, if possible, so she can fit it in when she can.

 

[mommyof1]

I hear lots of parents talking about how difficult the transition to kindergarten was for their kids, but our experience moving from private-kindergarten-at-a-preschool to public school (first grade in our case) was really quite painless. Having attended transitional kindergarten, your son should be better prepared to handle "big school" than the majority of his kindergarten classmates who went to pre-K or stayed home.

Our rules of thumb for homework survival are: (1) Make the child responsible for getting as much done as possible before school (but not the day the assignment is due!) and at the after-school program before practice. (2) Review math facts and spelling words in the car or during bath time. (3) Above all, feed the child immediately after practice. (Corollary to Rule #3: Never try to get the child to do homework after practice until said child has eaten a full dinner.)

 

[Aussie_coach]

It might seem like a lot but with organisation you and he should have no trouble coping.

The first term is always the most difficult but as they settle into the routine things do get a lot easier.

One of the keys is to make sure he gets a good healthy afternoon tea between school and gymnastics, this makes the world of difference. Also make sure he is drinking lots of water throughout the week, especially before during and after practice.

 

[Faith]

Sounds fine to me. DD managed fine at that age, although here kindergarden is the year you turn 5- have I read it right that your DS turns 6 before christmas? That would put him in year 1 under our system..

as a non-US person can I ask how much homework is normal in your school system and at what age.

In secondary school, in my experience, its no more than 3-5 hours a week.

Sounds like you get a lot more

Infants here (UK) is usually reading 2-3 times a week, and a "worksheet"- colouring, matching objects etc. DD in juniors gets spellings, a written exercise and a maths exercise. Takes her about an hour usually, done on the weekend or her night off.

StepDD is in secondary (11-16) and gets 1.5-2 hours homework a day, and has done from year 7. It's why her mum won't allow her to join a gymnastics club (or any other club) apparently.

Personally I feel if a kid gets so much homework they don't have time for sports or other hobbies they are getting too much homework. School is important, but it's not the be all and end all.

When DD was in kindergarden I worked and she went to after school care- I did struggle with homework that year but after school club was effectively 13 hours a week, so her reading had to be weekend bedtimes. They shouldn't be getting so much homework he doesn't have time to fit in 6 hours of gym.

 

[gymboymom]

We never had a problem when practices were 2 hours ( level 4 and in k). It was when they went up to 4 hours ( mid 1st grade) we started to struggle. I am going to take some of the advice here this year and talk to the teacher about homework in advance and get one of those clip boards. I did talk to the teacher last year and did the 20 minutes of reading only in non gym nights and caught up on weekends. We also did spelling in the car on the way to gym. We are going to experiment with homework in the car or eating snack in the car this year too. We are home too late to do homework when we get home, but sometimes complete an assignment in the morning, but I hate to make that a habit.

 

[momto2js]

We were in your shoes last year. DS was training level 4 when he entered K. We had 20 minutes of homework each day and an additional 20 minutes of reading time was expected. He trained 2x during the week for 2 hours and then he a Saturday practice too.

You need to remember that he is 5. You are the parent and it is OK to make adjustments to meet his needs. If that means you miss a gym night, fine. For us, our issue was the timing of the practice. It was scheduled from 5-7pm. Not much of an issue for most but school here starts at 7am and he had to leave the house by 6:30. Mornings after gym were horrific. I talked to the coach after the first week of school and we worked out a plan that let him leave practice at 6:30. He ate dinner in the car on the way home and then strait to bed.

This year, the practice is 3x a week for 3 hours. He is training with the level 5s and will compete level 4 again. After school, we are finding that the third hours late in the week is pretty pointless, so during the transition time while adjusting to school, again he is leaving about 30 minutes early. Both the coach and I feel like we want him to leave the gym too early and want to come back than burn out at age 7.

My point is that you are the parent and you need to make sure his needs are met. Both at school and in the gym (and everywhere else for that matter) Good coaches will work with you to do that. Welcome to the ride.

 

[OwlGalLiz]

Great advice, thanks. Today is the first day of school so we shall see how it goes the next few weeks. Coach adjusted practice to start a little later (some of us were going to have a hard time getting there on time) and they go 2.25 hours two days a week and 1.5 the third. Fortunately school starts at 815 (bus picks up at 740) so hopefully the schedule will work.

 

[GymBeeMom]

Ds is level 5 and will go 4:30-8:30 M,T,F and 12:30-4:30 on sat. The only nights I worry about are M and T since he will have school the next day. The nights are late and he is only 7. We'll see how he does with the increased hours and late nights.