Most parents would agree that they want their children to be involved in more than just school. However, finding your kids’ interests outside of the classroom can be a challenge with all that school demands of them. Sometimes though, one of these interests can change the entire course of a child’s life for the best. Read on to learn about some of the benefits to several extracurricular kids activities.

Organized Sports

Athletic pursuits are one of the most popular extracurricular kids activities because of the tremendous amount of recognition that professional athletes receive. Sports are excellent for promoting discipline, hard work, and cooperative work in the case of team sports. As a bonus, it provides your child with regular exercise. Check out this article from the Huffington Post on the benefits of competitive team sports for children.

The Arts

Whether it is music, painting, photography or the theatre, the arts provide an incredible outlet for young minds. As a result, the arts are included on our list of extracurricular activities because many children find a life-long love from their first play, piano lesson, or landscape painting. There are also numerous academic benefits to studying an artform.

Academic Clubs

Particularly as they advance into middle school, there are a ton of academic, extracurricular kids activities that become available. Participating in debate club, rocket team, mathletes or a book club can further their curiosity about subjects they care about. These types of clubs can also provide valuable skills that can be used in a future career.

Volunteering

It’s never too early to start teaching your children about serving others in their community, and the experience often teaches them valuable lessons about showing compassion to others. In fact. Many school districts around the country have service hour requirements for graduation. Helping your child join a service organization is not only one of many excellent extracurricular kids activities but also provides opportunities for you to bond with your child by serving together.