[quote=yamashi1][quote=bearishgurl][quote=yamashi1][quote=bearishgurl]A little “food for thought” here. For $45-$48K per year (a little less than what you are paying now for young kids’ care and activities), you can currently send TWO kids to CSU (different campuses) in URBAN cities in CA (LA and SF bay area) WITHOUT any financial aid!…[/quote]
I put enough money into their 529 plans each month to cover about that much per year in today’s dollars for them when they get older (assuming 3-5% compounded appreciation). Both grandparents have also set aside some money. Hopefully they don’t need it. I told them if they can get a free ride or other assistance, then that money is for them to keep.[/quote] Down the road, you could invest $600-$800 per course on 6-8 week SAT prep courses. THAT’s where the “rubber meets the road” in a child’s life. College admission boards DON’T CARE what your kid did in any grade before grade 9.[/quote]I will do that if they want to, but right now I just want my kids to be well rounded and be able to do things they enjoy. I want my girls to grow up with self confidence and strong self esteem. I feel that if they start young with this, then it will go with them throughout the rest of their lives. I try to also instill values like grit and tenacity so that they don’t give up easily and find ways to get around barriers. I’m not teaching them SAT stuff at this age. I’m teaching them values.[/quote]yamashi, I just saw this long post and cleaned up the hyperlinks so it is readable.
Individual and team athletics and performing arts (vocals, dance and theater) develop the attributes you are seeking in your kids. All the better if they can actually get the experience of traveling (out of their “home turf”) while performing. I will say that even if I was initially opposed to show choir and it didn’t help my kids get into college, it DID instill tons of self-confidence in them and also taught them “presentation” (even though “exaggerated” for the stage). Just something to think about here … your kid(s) could eventually “audition” for a part in their school play. At least your oldest can start off with dance instruction now. You can get a discount on the 2nd and 3rd classes after paying the full monthly fee for the first class (ex ballet, tap, hip-hop, modern). Then continue dance instruction but get voice lessons while she is still in middle school (in preparation to audition for a HS show choir). The one drawback is that a few weeks per year, show-choir duties can take up to 44 hours per week of your kid’s time (incl travel time), the organization frequently excuses them from class and they have to do their schoolwork on the bus.
It might be interesting to see early on if your oldest likes dance. Theater shoes are part of the basic uniform for girls in show choir and tap and jazz/modern shoes are required in many show choir numbers so your kid needs to have a dance background to qualify, especially to appear in soloist and small group appearances.
If you will be hell bent on coaching and coercing your kids throughout HS to qualify to apply to Stanford, participating in show choir is probably not a good idea :=0
