How beneficial are extra-curricular activities for my 8 year old?
It’s widely accepted that extra-curricular activities help children to learn and develop outside the classroom. But what are the actual benefits of extra-curricular activities, especially for children in years 2 & 3?
Social Development
Children at this age are quickly developing their social and emotional skills. They begin to learn self control and start to understand the world around them.
Allowing your child to engage in team activities such as soccer or drama class will develop their ability to work with others. Social activities will teach them to empathise with other children and begin to develop skills in managing friendships and collaborative tasks.. Your child will also learn to compromise and take accountability for their actions. our child will build on their relationships and make new friends.
Gross Motor Skills
Although most of your child’s fine motor skills have already developed by this age, their gross motor skills are still being fine-tuned. Dance, martial arts or sports like soccer, netball or gymnastics will help develop these. Things like running to kick a ball, jumping over a skipping rope or balancing on a beam will do wonders for your child’s gross motor skills whilst also keeping them healthy, active and entertained.
Developing New Skills
Trying new things will give your child a sense of accomplishment. Pursuing particular interests like playing an instrument, learning a new language or mastering a dance routine will give your child confidence and help build their self-esteem. Children at this age are very impressionable and begin to develop a sense of self-consciousness so it’s crucial that they find an outlet that will make them feel happy and accomplished.
Developing these skills will also teach your child about self-discipline, accountability and motivation. Practising and developing their skills in their own time will teach them about setting and attaining goals as well as time management, which will come in handy later in school as well as adult life.
Assists Academic Learning
Studies all over the world have suggested that children who engage in extra-curricular activities are likely to perform better academically than those who do not.
A study in the UK found that children engaged in organised sports at ages 5, 7 and 11 were almost one and a half times more likely to reach a higher than expected level in their national standardised maths tests at age 11. It also discovered that children who participated in organised sports and physical activities had better behavioural, social and emotional skills than children who did not.
Extra-curricular activities instil confidence in children, develop their skills and teach time management. Amongst many other things, these skills will help your child with doing their homework and assist them when completing classwork or studying for exams later in their academic journey.