Family Time: Go to a Sports Game!

I blog for the love of writing and making memories, but it can come with some great perks! This week, we got to go on a tour of Stanford University’s Maples Pavilion, AND courtside tickets to their men’s basketball game versus Bucknell University. We were all pretty excited – Mike and I are both alumni (we met first day of freshman orientation at Stanford), and this was the kids’ first sporting event! That’s another thing I like about blogging – it gets me to do activities with my kids that I wouldn’t necessarily prioritize by default. I’m not an athlete, and nor is Mike. Neither of us grew up going to games, but our kids LOVED this one, so I think we’ll be going to many more! Seven-year-old Emma adores soccer, so that is probably next on our list, followed by a request for baseball from Johnny. The timing for this was perfect, because four-year-old Lily was apparently learning about different sports in school this week! She was very proud to know a little bit about the different team sports.

Basketball has always been my favorite spectator sport, and this game was no exception. Stanford won (always fun, when your team wins), but Bucknell played a great game that kept us watching to see how it would all turn out in the end – even one-year-old Anna!

Since we got a behind-the-scenes tour before the game, the kids got a glimpse into the many pieces that make up a basketball game. It’s not just players dribbling, shooting hoops, and passing the ball; it’s hours of working out with coaches and practice drills. We also got to see the screen-filled media room where they send out the live game feed, and the press room where players and coaches meet with the media after games.

Kids can learn some great lessons from team sports – about playing fair and losing graciously, especially! There were a few Bucknell fans who were clearly disappointed in the outcome of the game, but I heard one of them say on the way out, “We played a great game.” – and they were right! I think it’s important in life to learn to love what you are doing, do your best, and accept that sometimes you win and sometimes you don’t – but it’s still a great thing that you are doing.

2013 After School Party HOSTS

The Educators’ Spin On It
Afterschool for Smarty Pants
Boy Mama Teacher Mama
Coffee Cups and Crayons
Little Wonders’ Days
Mama Smiles
Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational
The Measured Mom
This Reading Mama
What Do We Do All Day

It might seem early to talk about Christmas activities, but this Christmas Book Tree Activity Countdown from Enchanted Homeschooling Mom is a neat idea that takes a little bit of time to pull together. What is your favorite way to spend time together as a family during the holiday season?

This week, we focused on gratitude with this elegantly simple gratitude tree – very easy to put this version together! The kids also enjoyed making art (post includes a US giveaway for some gorgeous art journals), and seven-year-old Emma discovered a new adventure chapter book series (US giveaway for the first three titles in the post!)

I hope you’ll share your fun and educational family time activities for elementary aged kids in this week’s linky! By doing so, you give us permission to feature your post and pin it to our After School Activities & Adventures Pinterest board!

MaryAnne Kochenderfer

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MaryAnne is a craft loving educator, musician, photographer, and writer who lives in Silicon Valley with her husband Mike and their four children.