Right now we have coding twice a week and skating on Saturday. The child wants to add one more because friends are doing it. I like exposure, but I also want free play. What weekly load feels reasonable in your family? I would especially value recent experiences from the last one or two academic years.
During a trial I watch how the coach treats the least skilled child, not the best one. That tells me much more about whether we will stay long term. My spouse had a different view initially, so we tried it for a few weeks before deciding. We review the activity at the end of the term rather than after one bad class. We only reached that conclusion after trying the other approach first.
This is close to what my spouse is suggesting too. I may have been overcomplicating it. The trial class told us more than the brochure. Your child's response may be different, but this was our experience.
We keep at least two evenings completely free. Once every weekday had a class, even activities the child loved started feeling like obligations. The trial class told us more than the brochure. We are in Bengaluru, so local logistics may be a little different.
We keep at least two evenings completely free. Once every weekday had a class, even activities the child loved started feeling like obligations. Our child reacted better once we explained the change in advance instead of announcing it on the day.
That makes sense. I think consistency is the part we are currently missing. Batch size made a much bigger difference than we expected. In our house, the practical routine mattered more than the ideal plan.
We keep at least two evenings completely free. Once every weekday had a class, even activities the child loved started feeling like obligations. We review the activity at the end of the term rather than after one bad class. We are in Visakhapatnam, so local logistics may be a little different.
This is close to what my spouse is suggesting too. I may have been overcomplicating it. Leaving a couple of evenings free kept the activity enjoyable. I would still test it for a short period before making a long commitment.
Replying to @jf5481
That sounds manageable. Leaving a couple of evenings free kept the activity enjoyable. We only reached that conclusion after trying the other approach first.
We keep at least two evenings completely free. Once every weekday had a class, even activities the child loved started feeling like obligations. We are in Chennai and this came up for us last year.
For young kids I would optimise for liking the coach and wanting to return. Serious technique can come later if the interest survives. We changed our approach after about a month because the first plan was too hard to sustain. We review the activity at the end of the term rather than after one bad class. Your child's response may be different, but this was our experience.
This is close to what my spouse is suggesting too. I may have been overcomplicating it. Leaving a couple of evenings free kept the activity enjoyable. We only reached that conclusion after trying the other approach first.
Thank you. I like that this does not require changing everything at once. We cared more about whether the child wanted to return the next week than early performance. We made the change gradually rather than all at once.
Same here. The logistics are what make the 'ideal' option difficult in real life. The trial class told us more than the brochure. We only reached that conclusion after trying the other approach first.
Good point about asking for the details in writing. I had not thought of that. We cared more about whether the child wanted to return the next week than early performance. We are in Chennai, so local logistics may be a little different.
During a trial I watch how the coach treats the least skilled child, not the best one. That tells me much more about whether we will stay long term. The trial class told us more than the brochure. We are in Hyderabad, so local logistics may be a little different.
During a trial I watch how the coach treats the least skilled child, not the best one. That tells me much more about whether we will stay long term. We are in Visakhapatnam and this came up for us last year.
Interesting — we had assumed the opposite. Helpful to hear a first-hand experience. The trial class told us more than the brochure. We are in Pune, so local logistics may be a little different.
We tried something similar once, but probably gave up too early. How long did you continue before judging it? The trial class told us more than the brochure. I would still test it for a short period before making a long commitment.
This is close to what my spouse is suggesting too. I may have been overcomplicating it. We cared more about whether the child wanted to return the next week than early performance. We made the change gradually rather than all at once.
This is close to what my spouse is suggesting too. I may have been overcomplicating it. We review the activity at the end of the term rather than after one bad class. We only reached that conclusion after trying the other approach first.
Thank you. I like that this does not require changing everything at once. Leaving a couple of evenings free kept the activity enjoyable. I would still test it for a short period before making a long commitment.
Replying to @pv3166
Exactly the kind of detail I needed. Leaving a couple of evenings free kept the activity enjoyable. I would still test it for a short period before making a long commitment.
We review activities every term: continue because you enjoy it, continue because you committed to a team, or stop after the term. That avoids quitting after one bad day. Our child reacted better once we explained the change in advance instead of announcing it on the day.
Thank you. I like that this does not require changing everything at once. We review the activity at the end of the term rather than after one bad class. We are in Thrissur, so local logistics may be a little different.
Could you share what you would do differently if you were starting again? We cared more about whether the child wanted to return the next week than early performance. We are in Kochi, so local logistics may be a little different.
I agree with this. Once we reduced the number of moving parts, everyone became calmer. The trial class told us more than the brochure. We made the change gradually rather than all at once.
This helps. I am going to add this to the questions for our next visit/meeting. We cared more about whether the child wanted to return the next week than early performance. We are in Hyderabad, so local logistics may be a little different.
Can I ask roughly what age/class your child was when you tried this? The trial class told us more than the brochure. In our house, the practical routine mattered more than the ideal plan.
A short private block can help confidence, but we moved to group classes once the basics were comfortable because peers made it more fun. We review the activity at the end of the term rather than after one bad class. We only reached that conclusion after trying the other approach first.
We tried something similar once, but probably gave up too early. How long did you continue before judging it? We cared more about whether the child wanted to return the next week than early performance. I would still test it for a short period before making a long commitment.