We keep it very easy and stress-free in our house. DD8 and DD10 used to do one activity per week, but this year they do nothing outside of school.
Here's why:
1. They wanted to have more free time than be rushed around to get to their activity.
2. As great as I think it is for kids to have opportunities, I like to focus our attention on spending time together as a family. Offering our kids activities feels like a gift from a parent, but in reality, most kids just want more time with their parents.
3. I'm bucking current cultural norms that in order to live a fulfilling life, we need to: work a ton and be involved in as many opportunities as possible. Life is so much more than that!
4. Stress is killing our health. And I don't want to teach my kids that living a stressful lifestyle is healthy.
That being said, I realize my kids will get more busy as they hit middle school in the next few years (well, just 1 1/2 years for DD10). So we'll take it one activity at a time, but even then, I will limit what my DD's do in order to prevent burn out and allow them time to be kids.
