Tell me about your after school routine

flyingsaucer

DS will be in kindergarten next year and I am curious to see what your after school routines are like.  When you do homework, play time, reading, etc

Thanks 

littlemermaid

I let my kids play on the playground for a bit right after school.  Then we go home and I start dinner.  If they can do homework on their own they will start it, otherwise we do it after dinner.  If we have dance classes or any other afterschool activity then homework is either squeezed in before or after the activity.  Once all homework is done they can play until it's time to get ready for showers and bedtime.

neverblushed

I work p/t and I am home to get my kids off the bus 2 out of every 3 days.  On other days, they go to my next door neighbor's so the routine is slightly different on days when I work.  But on "normal" days this is the routine:

--get home at 3:15, relax, tell mom about the day, have a snack, play

--4 pm, start homework. Both kids have a dedicated place in the house where they work on hw with all their "supplies" available.

--finish hw around 4:30, do any chores that are needed (folding laundry, feeding cats, scooping litter boxes, taking out recycling,) play

--6ish to 6:30ish, eat dinner

--6:30 to 7ish, help clean up dinner

--7 to 8, family reading time

--8, get ready for bed, read in bed, lights out around 8:30 or 8:45.

My older kid's routine is the same except that she is usually doing hw right up until dinner.  DS has to play quietly while she's still working.  The routine is also different on nights when he has karate or another activity.  He does one regular weekly activity right now.

jlw2505

My older DD is in kindergarten this year.  We are a late start school and don't get out until 4pm.  Most days of the week either DH or I pick up the girls at 4 when school gets out (younger DD is in prek in the same building).  We are home by around 4:30 or so and then we have down time to play, read or whatever until dinner.  We eat anytime between 5 and 6 depending on what we are having/how hungry, etc.  If we are doing showers, we start those sometime between 6 and 6:15 (later if we start dinner later) and on non-shower nights we start the bedtime routine at around 6:30.  Each night we have the girls pick out school clothes, pick out a morning snack (they eat breakfast at school during before care) and make sure the bags are ready to go and also get lunch ready for the next day if bringing from home.  We brush teeth, read books and stuff like that right before bed which is between 7 and 7:30.

Right now we don't have home work other than on the weekends (and its just reading) but we will fit that in after school before dinner and if needed, after dinner.  DD#1 has ADHD so we really need to work to get her homework in before her meds wear off or its a lot harder for her to concentrate on it.  At some point, we will change her meds to one that last later in the day so this won't be as big of an issue but we don't feel its needed at this time.

The girls have swim class one night a week and for that we go from school, to a fast dinner and then to swim class.  They shower at swim class and we have them wear their PJ's home for now although in Jan we are switching to an earlier class so we will be done with class at 6 so will just put PJ's on at home since we won't get home so late (class ends at 6:30 now).

 DD is also in Daisy Scouts and they meet once a month after school and she gets done with that at 5:30 so we eat dinner once we get her home.

mrsseguin

DS gets done school at 3:15.  We come home, the kids play while I get dinner ready.  After dinner, they play some more (no homework yet), but I'll do it after dinner when they do.  I never liked doing my homework right when I got home after being in school all day.  I needed a 'break'.  We start our bedtime routine at 7 and the kids are in bed at 7:30/8pm.  I try to read to DS before bed.

2brides

It is really gong to depend on if you WOTH, how long your commute is, etc. Even though I leave work at 4:30, I don't get to the kids school till 5:15, and we don't walk through the door till 6. It is a mad dash to get homework done, fix/eat dinner, get everyone bathed, read for school, and have lights out at 8. 

AquaFlowers

When DS comes home he does his little bit of homework he has with his afternoon snack and then he can play. He's really good with completing his homework and understanding if he finishes he can play. I start dinner while he plays and then I'll usually come over and play with him.