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**Would *limiting* offering new activities to once a week be about the right
amount to keep from taking charge of their learning? I would be offering
these activities with the idea of exposing them to new things. **

Ouch. My head hurts just thinking about this. :) You're trying SO hard to
find a formula you can use to guarantee results.

My opinion, nope, yup, maybe. <g>

So what are you thinking of here? One day a week is marked on the calendar as
"mom's activity day"? Or you get to offer an activity any day but then you're
done for the week? Or just trying to average things out? What happens when
there are three great things going on in town on the same weekend that your
kids won't know about unless you tell them?

What happens if they don't respond to what you offer, even after trying it?
Exposing kids to new things is like exposing them to chicken pox. Sometimes
they'll catch them, sometimes they won't. And the kids should be able to say
"no thanks" without feeling guilty.

I'm wondering what you mean by "offering" new activities? Places to go,
people to see, things to do? If it's just once a week, how do you keep from
making those things seem more important and compulsory than everything you
didn't choose to offer? And how will you deal with rejection?

Some days, we exist in a virtual sea of "new things", others we're content
and snuggled up with the familiar.

On the other hand - <g> it can be a help sometimes to have a plan to always
get out on the same day every week. When my youngest were smaller it was
sometimes a real chore to pack everyone up to go ANYWHERE, and so if it
wasn't planned it didn't happen.

Deborah in IL