extracurricular activities - tag team or double up?

I posted recently about our insane schedule.  Lest you think that I brought this upon myself by over scheduling my children, I want to point out that they each only do one activity besides school.  So why does it seem so overwhelming?

Up until this point, we have taken two different approaches to extracurriculars:

• Tag Team (i.e. one child gets to do an activity one semester and the other the next - Linda & Co. also subscribe to this approach)

• Doubling Up (both children sign up for the same class and attend together) 

This system worked fairly well until my kids caught on.  Now, Tag Team backfires because, "How come HE gets to do something and I don't?!?!?!" and Doubling Up backfires because "I don't care if HE likes soccer - I like swimming!" Even better, by the first soccer game, the oldest (who preferred swimming, remember?) was whining, "Why didn't you sign ME up for soccer too?!?  I want to play soccer!"  ARGH.  I am SO back to Doubling Up next fall.

But for now, I find myself in my week two of my first ever attempt at separate activities for each boy.  Only about two more months until choir, soccer, and school end for the summer and we pick up the more relaxing pace of camps and summer. 

Where is it that I think I am going to slide a third child into the mix someday?

Comments

[Krystyn]

Oh, I'm so nervous about getting this right when the time comes.