J'etudie Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 After your dc do their lessons, their chores, their scheduled activities, etc., how much time do they generally have for free play? And do you feel it's a good amount, or should it be more? Less? Just curious. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RainbowSprinkles Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 :bigear: I'm curious about this as well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milovany Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 Once we're done table time, sometime a little before noon, they have the rest of the day except for their duties (which probably take a couple of hours at the most). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daisy Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 We are usually done with school & chores by about 1pm. The kids have until their Dad gets home at 3:30 for unstructured play. When Dad gets home, they usually follow their Dad around while he does yard work, etc. or they help me in the kitchen. After Dinner we usually go for a walk, play a game, read aloud, work on Awanas, take baths, etc. So really they probably only have about 3 hours a day of unstructured play. More on the weekends and holidays, of course. I think it is just fine EXCEPT on days when they grouse at each other all day. Then I divide and conquer by putting them to work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawn in OH Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 In our house, it's pretty much up to the kids how much time they have to play. If everyone gets their schoolwork and chores done timely, they will have several hours to play. If they give me a hard time about doing their work (schoolwork or chores) and drag it out a long time, it cuts into their playtime. I've got one child that often stalls on his independent work and his chores. This cuts into his playtime. I remind him of this several times a day, so that it won't come as any surprise to him. Some days he's just plain stubborn and gets very little play time. But I never load him with so much work that the opportunity for playtime isn't there. It's his decision to run out of time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BridgeTea Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 My best guess is 4 or 5 hours minimum unless we need to be on the road a lot that day. The amount seems just right for her. I would say she's outside for at least one hour of that, and much more if friends are over. TheKid is 11, and is our only child at home. I consider "unstructured play" one of our most important subjects. :) She is in much better physical shape, not to mention happier and more peaceful, since being homeschooled. I am thrilled with this. She has lots of indoor and outdoor chores, early in the morning and again in the evening. Schooling takes 3-7 hours, which she'll do uninterrupted except for lunch. The rest of the time is pretty much hers to call her own. She plays on her tree swing, rides bike, rollerblades in the barn, reads, or plays video games. Tonight she invited me to play DDR. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lauracolumbus Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 Depends on the time of year/week. Summer they have a ton. Fall less so b/c it's our heaviest sport season w/football practice 4 days/week and the girls have volleyball and soccer. Next we go into martial arts and wrestling in Dec., but that is a lot less time. Weekends are pretty free if they get the chores done promptly. Just church and Sunday school and an hour long game for each of them (the ones not playing usually play on the playground while their sibling plays his/her sport. Lots of time to play w/friends. I'd say an average of 3-7 hours/day when it's not fall, 1-3 hours when it is. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IsabelC Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 (edited) Our rhythm for an at home day looks roughly like this: 0600 Get up, adult showers, dress, get ready for breakfast. 0630 Breakfast / morning family time, including virtue study. 0700 Clean teeth, wash etc. Kids clear table. Adults wash up. 0730 Morning school: reading, writing, math and read aloud time. 0930 Kids free play. Start laundry / housework, make morning snack. 1000 Morning tea time. 1030 Hang out laundry. Gardening. Kids outside time. 1130 Housework and make lunch, kids help or play. 1200 Lunch time. 1230 1yo nap, kids quiet time in rooms. 1330 Afternoon school: science, history, arts and crafts, etc. 1500 Afternoon tea time. 1530 Kids free play. Do housework, organize dinner. 1800 Dinner / evening family time, including music appreciation. 1830 Kids brush teeth, wash, get ready for bed. Individual bedtime stories. 1900 Kids asleep or reading quietly in bed. 1yo to bed. 1930 Wash up, tidy up. 2000 Adult time. The kids get a lot of unstructured play time. If we're out for the day or part of the day, the amount would depend on whether we're socializing or on an educational excursion. Edited October 24, 2009 by Hotdrink Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyof4ks Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 It depends on the day. Some days they have 2-3 hours and other days it is more like 4-6. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bess Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 2-3 hours on average given that we don't go anywhere that day or evening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKDmom Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 (edited) Mine probably have about 5 hours a day of unstructured time--about an hour before I get around to starting school in the morning, a few hours after school, depending on the day, and an hour after dinner. This is one of the major reasons I homeschool. Kids NEED time to play and be creative--and they don't get enough if they have to be at school 7 hours out of the day. Edited October 24, 2009 by bonniebeth4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwjx2khsmj Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 In our house, it's pretty much up to the kids how much time they have to play. If everyone gets their schoolwork and chores done timely, they will have several hours to play. If they give me a hard time about doing their work (schoolwork or chores) and drag it out a long time, it cuts into their playtime. :iagree: When they get everything done in a reasonable amount of time then they get a significant chunk of playtime at the end of the "working" day. When they play through the day, there's less time to play without being interrupted. This seems more important to me than to them on some days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 As much as they want, except for doing school and any chore(s) they are asked to do. Some days I give them assigned chores, but some days I just ask as things come up. If I need them to do something during their play time, they just stop, do it, then get back to the playing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nestof3 Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 I don't know exactly how much, but much of it is in little spurts before school and between school, and then in the evening, if we have anywhere to go, that is cut into as well. I frankly don't feel like it is enough for the most part. We are night-owls, start school later and end later, but the timing shouldn't affect how much free time they get. School is just taking a long time, and I like it when they have more free time because they are such creative and interesting boys. I love seeing the sorts of things they do to amuse themselves. They get tired of being prodded and rushed all day long. There is a certain frantic feeling I am not happy with. There just never seems to be enough time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jujsky Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 Mine probably get a few hours/day. Some days I think they need more, some days I think they need less. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tricia Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 As much as I can muster up to give them. Unstructured play is an essential part of childhood and I am all for it. Charlotte Mason style. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earth Angel_79 Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 Since I discovered the WTM forums.....LOADS! :lol: I really love the idea of "unstructured play", but I think it gives me an excuse. ;) I know I need to get in the living room and get my bum on the floor for some train track making and tea parties too (or better yet, go outside and kick the ball around, play hide and seek...). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionfamily1999 Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 Since I discovered the WTM forums.....LOADS! :lol:I really love the idea of "unstructured play", but I think it gives me an excuse. ;) I know I need to get in the living room and get my bum on the floor for some train track making and tea parties too (or better yet, go outside and kick the ball around, play hide and seek...). :lol: Oh my, yes! Luke gets an hour outside before we start school (Andrew's still in bed). Then for lunch we go out and Luke gets some more outside running around (at this point Andrew's eating and reading). After school I try to kick them both out of the house for at least two hours. After four, Andrew has two hours to run around with his friends. I have a hard time calling what they do inside with their free time 'play,' because most of the time they end up reading or coloring, not so much 'play' to my way of thinking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 On a noraml school day they have 1-3 hours of free play if we have extracurrics that night, on Mondays and Wednesdays they have 3-5 hours free play. On days like we have been having lately while I purge the house of clutter and set up for my dayhome they have full days of free play as school has been put aside until next week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peela Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 Plenty of time. They have plenty of chores but they don't take long if they just get in and do them (half a hour? ). And apart form dishes, they are first thing in the morning. Ds13 likes to start early and get his work over and done with ASAP, so he is often finished by lunchtime. He has friends on the street- he is out once the school kids come home, and doesnt come home till about dark (6ish). Dd15 is more slow and steady- and not a morning person- so she sometimes doesn't finish till 3, and then works- but she likes her work so she doesn't mind. But neither do anything on weekends except scouting activities when they come up. It leaves a lot of free time. We dont tend to do breaks during school time. They happen naturally when one or the other decides to go and make popcorn or something, but we don't have official ones- we just keep going, so as to finish sooner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 School takes about 4 hours, and we have to pick up ds from school between 2 and 3 most days. Other than that, it's unstructured most of the time, so maybe 6-7 hours. One day a week, she comes with me to babysit--it's playtime, but also work. She does the chores I ask of her; sometimes, when people are coming over, she'll be working beside me nearly all day. Her only extracurrics are choir, which is right after church/Sunday School on Sundays, and piano lessons, which are for 30 minutes on Mondays. She's basically an only child now--ds is 18 and very busy doing homework (he's at school, as I said) and going to his meetings. Other ds is in college. I think Nature Girl has too much free time by herself, but there's no one around to have over right now. We are still getting back into the structure of homeschooling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olan719 Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 I would say a few to several hours a day, but my kids are still very young. They have a little time to play in the morning before school, which generally takes 2 to 3 hours. Then after lunch, they have the whole afternoon. Occasionally, they will watch a TV show or movie, but they prefer to play. Of course, their big imaginations lend them to pulling blankets from the linen closet to make tents, or raiding my kitchen cabinets for bowls, or my "favorite" - dumping out all the game pieces and using it for "soup". :lol: I am so glad they are big enough to pick up and reorganize things themselves now! But I do love to listen secretly on their playing - they say some funny stuff renacting life with their babies and dolls! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J'etudie Posted October 24, 2009 Author Share Posted October 24, 2009 Thanks for the glimpses into how things work for each of you. We place a high value on unstructured play. My oldest is beginning to spend more time with lessons and adding more household responsibilities, so I am trying to find the right balance of work/play. Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J'etudie Posted October 24, 2009 Author Share Posted October 24, 2009 Several hours a day. Really, my kids have no idea how good they have it. Isn't that the truth? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 Several hours a day minimum. Six or more hours isn't terribly unusual (at least once a week, maybe 2-3x). 4th and 6th grades; I think we have a fairly stiff curriculum but they both tend to be fast workers. They can often work straight through, so we don't have a lot of small breaks adding to school time, and they get a fair amount done while trapped in the car (spelling, grammar, listening to history, memory work). Oldest has piano lessons and usually one other class/activity going (right now it's drama); youngest generally has one class/activity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SheWillFly Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 My answer will be a bit different considering my children go to school. My oldest who is in 2nd grade gets from 4pm until 8pm of free play. She has some responsibilities when she gets home but they don't take her long. We purposefully don't have our children in lots of outside activities so they can have free play with friends throughout the week. So much of their time is structured that I really think they need their own time to use their own mind in the way they would like, within reason of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reya Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 Not enough!!! DS LOOOOOOOVES organized activities with other kids. I'm not so sold on them. I guess time will tell... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moni Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 how much time do they generally have for free play? And do you feel it's a good amount Hours and hours. And yes, I think it's a Good Amount If I ever think it's not a Good Amount, I restructure so that it becomes again a "good amount" :seeya: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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