Parent Magazine Flagler February 2022 | Page 10

Five Benefits of Multiple Extracurricular Activities

By Cheryl Maguire

I

’ m bored ,” my 11-year-old daughter grumbled as she collapsed onto the couch . It was a rare unscheduled moment in her life . I cringed as I recalled what can occur when she has a spontaneous second . At the age of three , I assumed she was quietly playing with her toys only to discover the entire wall was covered with a new crayon-drawn mural . We are both happier now that she is enrolled in art classes .
She prefers being busy , which is why she partook in six different extracurricular activities this past spring . Her interests ranged from sign language class to swim team . Besides avoiding boredom ( and messes ), there are many benefits to having scheduled activities for your child . Research by NCES states that students who participated in after-school activities had better attendance , higher levels of achievement and aspirations to higher levels of education .
Better Academic Performance
Even though my daughter was in six different clubs or sports , she received all A ’ s in her academic classes . By participating in extracurricular activities , a child is able to learn new skills that can be applied to the school setting . For example , my daughter was in the garden club and she used the information she learned about plants in her science class . Sports such as basketball , baseball and football use statistics , addition / subtraction , probability and geometry that can be applied to math class .
A number of research studies found students who participate in extracurricular activities perform better in school . Douglas Reeves studied data at Woodstock High School and found students who were in three or four
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