How to save money on the kids' activities

I wasn't very demanding as a child so it never occurred to me that I should inform my mother that I wanted to participate in activities. I mean, she took piano lessons as a kid, and asked me if I wanted to do that. That question was met with frown and an apprehensive "no." My two cousins played little league baseball, but that wasn't something that appealed to me either. The three of us took gymnastics for a few years until it got expensive, but I think I just didn't know what my options where. That is until I went to my cousin Nikki's dance recital. The stage and lights and glittery costumes was much too much for me and I think I was enrolled at JJ's Dance Studio in Queens within weeks of seeing the show.

Looking back, I realized that I missed out on quite a few chances at activities simply because I never asked my mother. (That changed in high school though, lol). Realizing that my kids are very much my same personality type, I didn't give them the option of neglecting to ask.

As soon as my daughter turned 5 I started her in drill team (but we quickly changed our minds because it was hell-hot outside and she doesn't do well in extreme temperatures). After that was gymnastics which she enjoyed in all of its air-conditioned splendor. When my son turned 5 I put him on a soccer team. It wasn't really his thing since he doesn't yet display the tenacity to get in the mix and steal the ball. Through my trial and error I found what works for the kids and what works for me.

You see, I refused to be one of those parents who lived and died by their kids' activity schedule. They outnumber me, yet I'm the one with the car. SO, I've split up the activities by season. They're 8 and 10 now and for the past two years my daughter has played soccer in the fall (and she rocks--my girl is blazing fast). My son plays baseball in the spring. Baseball was better for him because it didn't involve excessive running and being aggressive. He's a laid-back little guy and always remembers he's playing for fun.

Even from the beginning I knew activities had the potential to get expensive so I took the following tactics:

• Avoid things with a recurring cost: The thing that I liked the most about athletics (as opposed to dance and gymnastics) for the kids was that I paid once at the beginning of the year and that was it. We all know that money can get ignorant sometimes and who wants to be "that parent" who's always late on the tuition?
• Start with the parks and recreation department: Look, my taxes are high as a kite in my little suburb, so from the day I moved in I was determined to get the most of out of my dollars. A family membership to the rec center was about $300 (which could be covered in monthly installments) and covered access to all of the centers within the city with access to their workout rooms, basketball and tennis courts and pools. Every season the class listing comes out with an overwhelming selection of stuff to do for less than $100. Last summer the kids took swim lessons twice a week for a month and it only cost me $105. If I want to take a yoga class or something... $58. There's a class for nearly every mainstream sport, dance, art and music for everyone in the household.
• Get the most from your league: It costs $80/year for my daughter to play soccer and that covers her shirt, shorts and soccer socks. My son's baseball costs about the same and he gets his hat, shirt and baseball socks. The season is usually about 20 games over 3-4 months, and they get trophies at the end of the year.
  
• Don't feel compelled to buy sports photos: Bring your own camera and take pictures of them in-action. I've always liked those better than the posed ones where they'll probably end up smiling all crazy. I do buy the team photo for posterity, though.
• Don't buy a bunch of equipment in first year: That is a hard and fast rule of mine since you won't know for sure how the kids will take to the activity. I get the personal basics and for the first year my kids shared equipment with the team. The coach ALWAYS has extras. I didn't commit to buying full baseball gear until my son's second year. I did notice that Play it Again Sports and sporting goods stores were still more pricey than Walmart. If you're serious about finding equipment on the cheap, go garage sale'ing and check Craigslist.org.
• There's no need to show off when you're on snack duty: There are moms who bring Gatorade and two ore three pricey snacks for the each kid on the team. More power to them. When it's my turn, they get Capri Sun (a 12-pack is like $2 at Walmart), peanut butter crackers and fruit snacks (a 24-pack of Smilies usually does the trick). You're not trying to win their love or tide them over until dinner. You're just giving them something for a game well-played.

While your kids are still young (and not playing sports through the school which IS pricey) enjoy it. There's no reason to start plunking down big bucks yet--especially if they haven't found their niche.