hours in the day

ben t. is pretty much overscheduled this summer. each individual activity would be fine on its own, but somehow his days got filled in to the point that I'm wondering how this might add up for fall.

he's taking summer gym from 7:30am until 10:30am M-F at the middle school. this is because kids who take a language and play music don't have enough class hours in the day during the regular school year.

then he goes over to the high school for weight training from 10:45 until noon, 4 days a week. could be for football, but he's mostly interested in doing it for wrestling. same coaches, though, so even the wrestling coaches say, oh, maybe sign up for football if only to stay in shape for wrestling. we'll see what he decides.

then at the high school he's got noon to 1:30 with the wrestling team, only twice a week. those days he comes home pretty tired. sometimes he plays his cello. sometimes not.

3-4 days a week he has a baseball game or practice at 5:30. sleeps well, the kid does.

I'm not worried about the summer. it looks like it's been good for him. however, the fall has classes (lots of honors classes) and if he adds football and say math club, I just don't see how he can do the regional orchestra one night a week, too. have to send in the registration and major payment in the next week or so.

he stresses when he doesn't have downtime, not to mention what happens when he doesn't get enough sleep. but do we say: you've got to choose?  he's pretty cautious. I don't know the answer.

Comments

[Catherine]

I'd outline our concerns with Ben T and let him figure out how to work his schedule. My son is going into tenth grade and we have to regularly adjust schedules to ensure coverage of all activities. My going into fifth grade daughter is a big overscheduler so I started doing this with her as well last Fall. She knows that if she can show how a new activity would fit into the existing schedule, she has a much better chance at getting it. We include downtime and sleep in the master schedules, too.

Good luck!

[Catherine]

Uh that would be *your* concerns with Ben T's schedule.

[timna]

:-)
thanks, Catherine!