The Lure of Enrichment

For three years now, my older daughter has dabbled in a range of early childhood appropriate enrichment activities, including community soccer,  music,  library story time, creative movement, and swim lessons.  However, what she has longed to do is to take a hip hop dance class.  This weekend, my husband,  our two "Darling Daughters" (DD1 & DD2) and I visited the Open House of a new dance studio in our community, and before we were through prospecting we had signed up each daughter for a dance class (beginning hip hop for DD1 and beginning tap for DD2) and we are even considering the possibility of enrolling them in an additional African dance class per week.  We are also anticipating the release of the school enrichment schedule this week for the upcoming term, which will likely entice us to consider in what other weekly enrichment activity, such as art, science, or drama, we could engage DD1.

Yet before I get carried away by the lure of enrichment activities, I do not want to forget what matters most to my daughter(s).  My daughters love to lose themselves in imaginary play, and to create scenarios in which they are the actors, directors, costumers, and stage crew.  After a long, scripted day at school, DD1 prefers to let off steam on the school playground for an hour, come home and eat graham crackers and milk, and then play for an additional hour with her sister before dinner and our daily bedtime ritual.  Perhaps this preferred after school routine should be sufficient and does not warrant the intrusion of more formal enrichment/extra-curricular activities.  Perhaps I should attend more to the suggested daily homework rather than looking to supplemental actives to extend and/or augment the kindergarten school day. What I do know is that I am committed to staying conscious and thoughtful about the quantity of scheduled activity in which my daughter(s) are subscribed beyond the required school day.

One of the high points of the transition to our local elementary school is that I have had the chance to get to know families outside of my normative circles.  In fact, my older daughter's favorite new kindergarten friend is the child of parents who immigrated to this country as adults.  I have talked with the mother about what she believes a good education can forge for her daughters, and how she is committed to ensuring that they all get into good colleges with significant scholarships.  In order to solidify her daughters' credentials for this college-bound path, the mother has indicated to me that every evening after school their family time is dedicated to reading, practicing their instruments, and doing homework.  Her children watch no television, nor do they have much time to play at home during the week.  So as I fret over which and how many enrichment activities to take advantage of for my children, my new acquaintance worries over her daughters' futures.  What a poignant contrast.