We have about five free weeks and both parents are working. One camp runs 9–3 for three weeks; the alternative is mixing sports, art and a family trip. What did your child enjoy more, and what was easier on the family?
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.
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 Kochi and this came up for us last year.
We keep at least two evenings completely free. Once every weekday had a class, even activities the child loved started feeling like obligations. We changed our approach after about a month because the first plan was too hard to sustain.
That makes sense. I think consistency is the part we are currently missing. We review the activity at the end of the term rather than after one bad class. We are in Vijayawada, 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 changed our approach after about a month because the first plan was too hard to sustain. 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.
I agree with this. Once we reduced the number of moving parts, everyone became calmer. Leaving a couple of evenings free kept the activity enjoyable. Your child's response may be different, but this was our experience.
For young kids I would optimise for liking the coach and wanting to return. Serious technique can come later if the interest survives.
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. Your child's response may be different, but this was our experience.
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 changed our approach after about a month because the first plan was too hard to sustain. Batch size made a much bigger difference than we expected. Your child's response may be different, but this was our experience.
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. Your child's response may be different, but this was our experience.
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. Our child reacted better once we explained the change in advance instead of announcing it on the day.
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 only reached that conclusion after trying the other approach first.
Same here. The logistics are what make the 'ideal' option difficult in real life. Batch size made a much bigger difference than we expected. In our house, the practical routine mattered more than the ideal plan.
Interesting — we had assumed the opposite. Helpful to hear a first-hand experience. Batch size made a much bigger difference than we expected. 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. The biggest surprise was that the practical routine mattered more than the option that looked best on paper.