Name: Thrive! NCHE Homeschool Conference
Start: 2025-05-22T00:00:00-05:00
End: 2025-05-24T23:59:59-05:00
Location: Winston-Salem, NC

This topic has 19 replies, 12 voices, and was last updated 14 years, 6 months ago by deltagal.

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November 3, 2010 at 12:44 pm
csmamma
Participant
I want to thank you all for taking time to respond.
DH and I had a long talk about it last night. He decided that he wants to give our ds a chance to play this year and see how it goes. We talked about the fact that this ds currently does all the same outside activities his older brothere does (Co-op, 4H, First Lego League, Robotics Club, Teen Bible Challenge, Piano) that now, he may have found his own niche and really take off with it.
However, I’m glad the season only last 4 months due to all the running around. And though we only have 3 boys, if this sport works out…..we’ll surely need to rework our outside activity schedule next year . Luckily 15yo ds will be taking drivers training this summer .
DH figures that if we see growth from it, if he still has a good attitude toward us & siblings, if we still make time for our bible & prayer time together, and if it doesn’t cause our family to completely fall apart, then we’ll say woo-hoo to sports ! Guess only time (the next 4 months) will tell. I’ll let you all know how it goes. You’ve all been a big help!
I LOVE Sonyas quote and it confirmed what DH & I talked and prayed about last night – thanks for sharing!
Hugs to you all!
Heather
November 3, 2010 at 1:01 pm
csmamma
Participant
P.S. Please forgive me for posting the Maxwell links. As an after thought, I realized that many of you who posted have your dc in sports and that it may offend. This was never my intention, as I myself was trying to work through the entire possiblity of sports in our home. I appreciate you all! My apologies….
November 3, 2010 at 1:52 pm
Esby
Member
I know you already made your decision, csmamma, but I wanted to chime in about the busyness of a sports schedule. Yes, it does get busy! I totally respect the concerns about scheduling.
One solution we have as a family is that the sports become family time for us. My husband coaches one of the sports, and for second sport, my husband and I use the twice-weekly practice time as date time. Twice a week we have some time alone to take a walk, grab a coffee, exercise, talk, etc. Both my husband and I enjoy going to the practices and games. We all work together at home to plan meals, make sure the sports uniforms are ready, etc. We don’t squeeze in sports into our calendar, but make sports part of our lives. In this sense, the sports schedule has given us time, not taken it away. We work together and play together. (And it’s definitely not all up to Mom to organize! Everyone pulls their weight.)
We do not attend games that are Sunday mornings, but we do participate on Sunday afternoon games. In fact, some of our favorite Sundays are when we head to the sports events after church. It’s a long day of family fun. At church, people (kids and adults) often play ball in the church yard in the time between Sunday school and worship service. After service, they often play some more or head to the church gym for a game. I guess I’m saying I don’t see sports as something that necessarily takes away from family life or spiritual life – it can be woven in and work nicely.
I also see the discpline it takes to be physically fit (including being fit enough for competition) to have many connections to the discipline it takes to be spiritually fit. And, working on a team and recognizing the strengths of others also has many benefits off the playing field. (Plus physical activity tends to make everyone in my family sleep well and be in good moods, lol!)
I understand not every family makes the same decisions mine does, but sports has been a true blessing in our lives. All the best to you…and Go Team! 🙂
p.s. When planning meals during sports season, keep in mind the sporty kid will be hungry. I love busy seasons because I know whatever I prepare will be eaten because of the big appetites, lol! But, having quick and nutritious snacks on hand is a challenge for me. Being busy and being hungry means I need to be prepared. Just a heads up on that! 🙂
November 3, 2010 at 3:06 pm
csmamma
Participant
Esby, I appreciate you showing this side of the spectrum; How your family makes this an all together endevour, how you enjoys it, see it as a blessing, and how it enriches your lives…. This is my hope! Thanks for sharing.
November 6, 2010 at 8:13 pm
deltagal
Member
Our family plays sports, as well. However, we do have boundaries on the issue that shape what we do. We don’t play any sports that have games on Sunday. No one plays a sport who can’t tie their own shoes or needs help putting on a uniform! We did Upward for years and loved it – it was one night a week and one game a week. Perfect. However, our oldest boys (13 and 11) asked this spring if they could play football and basketball this year on a competivite team. After some thought we said, “yes.” As a result, we’re not doing any co-ops or other extracurricular activities. Sports is our co-op. It is a HUGE time commitment, but it can be very special experience. When the sport is in season other things go to the back burner. There are a lot of trade offs. However, we’ve been blessed in many unexpected ways.