After School Activities: 5 Ways to Tear Your Kid Away From the TV

After school activities: 5 ways to tear your kid away from the TV

There are so many wonderful activities that kids can do after school that are intellectually stimulating or involve physical fitness. Unfortunately, many kids are tired from their day and sit down in front of the TV for the rest of the afternoon. Although a little bit of TV watching can help kids calm down, especially if there’s an educational element to the program, too much TV prevents socialization and often leads to lack of motivation at school. Luckily, there are some great things kids can do other than watching TV that are also fun and entertaining.

1.  Arts and music programs

There are some fabulous arts and music programs available for kids to try out after school hours. These types of classes range from basic arts and crafts for all ages and abilities that primarily stress creativity to courses for the serious artist and musician. Because core subjects do not promote a lot of creativity these days, it’s great for kids to have this outlet as one of their extracurricular activities. Additionally, kids have the opportunity to socialize in a semi-structured environment while attending these types of programs, which can lead to increased success when it comes to learning how to share and cooperate with others.

2. Sports activities

Some kids love being part of an organized sports league, but many find that it’s too much of a time commitment and takes away from their ability to do well academically. Fortunately, there are tons of alternatives to being on an official sports league. Many places offer kids classes where they can learn how to swim, do yoga, and play basketball or just workout in the gym in a safe environment with positive role models. Many communities also offer sports activities that are less of a time commitment or only have a short season of 6 to 8 weeks during the year. Physical activity after school helps kids remain healthy and burn off all of that energy they have kept inside while sitting in a classroom during the day (READ: 5 Reasons Your Child is Frustrated With Reading Comprehension).

3. Educational apps

Certain times of the year, especially when it gets cold outside, it’s just really hard to tear kids away from their electronics. However, playing an educational game or working on a learning app is way more stimulating than just watching TV. There are countless educational apps available for every type of device that can help kids strengthen their academic abilities while playing a fun and stimulating game. These activities keep kids occupied while their parents cook a meal or do other household chores after school hours.

4. Creative writing

Creative writing is another great indoor activity kids can work on during winter months. Most writing required for the classroom involves responding to a prompt or analyzing certain information. However, creative writing is one of the best ways for kids to spark their imaginations, broaden their vocabulary, and improve their overall writing ability. When kids work on a creative writing project, they also tend to become more interested in reading fiction novels or other types of prose that will improve their overall intellect.

5. Semi-structured socialization

Most kids have 30 to 45 minutes to socialize during the school day, but this socialization is often heavily structured. It’s important for teachers to be able to maintain a certain amount of structure so they can manage to look after 20 or more children. However, kids learn some of their best socialization skills in a less structured environment. This means that there is at least one adult present to supervise the children, but they have more of an opportunity to interact freely. Some of the most important social skills, such as conflict resolution, sharing, taking turns and compromising occur when kids have to work things out for themselves. A semi-structured environment is one of the best ways to promote these skills.

Speak with your private Irvine academic tutor from TutorNerds for more great after school activities.

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