Jean in Newcastle Posted April 19, 2011 Share Posted April 19, 2011 I think I've asked the how much time question before but I realized that we have free time off and on at different intervals through the day. If you could put down the ages of the kids with free time (unless you signature has it) that would help too. Ds13 and dd9 wake up at 7. Have free time until 9 am. Then it's breakfast, chores, start of school. . . More free time around noon (about 12 - 12:30) before lunch. Then dd9 is finished with school around 1:30 and has free time for most of the rest of the afternoon until 5 pm unless I capture her for chores. Ds13 is usually finished with school anywhere from 3 to 4:30. He then usually has freetime until 5 pm. We have family activities in the evening. Then it's free time mixed with bathtime, bedtime etc. from about 8:30 to 9:30. Dh thinks the kids have way too much free time. I'm suspecting this might be true but don't really know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justamouse Posted April 19, 2011 Share Posted April 19, 2011 As long is school work is getting done, the more free time the better. Every day is different with us-and the schedule is going to be changing again, so that's my marker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peela Posted April 19, 2011 Share Posted April 19, 2011 We always had no free time until after school was finished- early afternoon. Morning was structured pretty much from getting up at 7am- chores, breakfast, then schoolwork. A routine. Then basically the rest of the day was theirs, as was most of the weekend. Lots of free time- they have far less now that they are at school/college. We never did a lot of family activities- nothing structured daily. I never saw a problem with free time, although when they were younger we did have to limit electronics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amy g. Posted April 19, 2011 Share Posted April 19, 2011 I think it depends on what they are doing with their freetime. Are they surfing the net and watching sitcoms, or are they playing outside, making up plays or building things in the garage? I am a firm believer in the benefit of play. My 15 year old tried to tell me yesterday that I might have given him too much freedom over his own time growing up. I asked him if he could find his own resources to learn anything he is interested in, if he can play any instrument he picks up and any song he hears, and if he can find his own solutions to real life problems, make his own money, think for himself and reach any goals he sets for himself. When he said yes, I told him, 'That means I gave you exactly the right amount of freedom." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted April 19, 2011 Share Posted April 19, 2011 (edited) My DD14 has 5 hours of school work (core subjects), DS 12 has 4.25 hours. School starts at 8am and they work with a lunch break until school work is done. They have 30 minutes chores maximum. The rest of the time is theirs to pursue their interests. DD spends several hours a day at the barn, has choir once a week, reads a lot, hangs out with her friend. I do not think she has too much time for these things, because I consider them as important for her development as academics. DS is often up at 6am and has free time before school. Edited April 19, 2011 by regentrude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristusG Posted April 19, 2011 Share Posted April 19, 2011 I've been wondering about this same thing lately. We don't really have a schedule and I'm working on that. But DD7 does not like getting out of bed and immediately starting chores and school work. She likes to have play time before she begins. She usually wakes between 8 and 8:30. If she has play time, and then gets dressed, then eats breakfast....it just seems to push school starting time so late. I'm not sure what else to change besides actually waking her up. And I really don't want to do that because sometimes she lies awake for a while at night and she really needs her rest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamachanse Posted April 19, 2011 Share Posted April 19, 2011 My kids are young (8 and 5) but they seem to do best if we get started on school right after breakfast. The 5 year-old has some free time interspersed with school time while I work with the 8 year-old. The 3 year-old is sometimes involved in school activities, other times just playing. My 8 year old reads at least 30 minutes of free reading per day (usually more). When they are done with their school work for the day, they are free to do as they wish...as long as they help with whatever I ask them to do when I ask it. It works well so far. Normally we are done by between 11-12. Then we have lunch and the little kids (and sometimes 5 year old) take naps. After nap time is more free time until dad comes home. Then it's dinner, family walk or game or movie at night. Then story time as a family. Then bed time for the middle boys. The oldest stays up a bit later and hangs with one parent or the other. I normally take that time to read aloud history supplements or look at art books. Dh and ds watch super hero cartoons on their nights. :001_smile: If we both have other things to do, he can read until around 9:30 or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueTaelon Posted April 19, 2011 Share Posted April 19, 2011 I'd say your dd has enough free time, your son could use more. Is he really working on school work for 6-7 hours a day? Thats a lot imo. My dd's (10) free time is all mixed around, she gets about 2 hours running outside playing in the morning, start school around 11, finish about 2ish then free time until karate at 5 then dinner about 6:30, more free time and bed about 8pm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rafiki Posted April 19, 2011 Share Posted April 19, 2011 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted April 19, 2011 Author Share Posted April 19, 2011 Dh has two concerns - 1. he never had free time like this when he went to public school! (I tend to discount this reason.) 2. he sees me so exhausted and trying to do so much to bring some semblance of order to our house and yard. He feels like the kids should be doing a lot more to help me out. (I think he might have a point here.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted April 19, 2011 Share Posted April 19, 2011 1. he never had free time like this when he went to public school! (I tend to discount this reason.) Does he remember correctly? I mean, even public school is out at 3pm, and they can't have more than 2 hours of homework - so that still leaves four hours... 2. he sees me so exhausted and trying to do so much to bring some semblance of order to our house and yard. He feels like the kids should be doing a lot more to help me out. (I think he might have a point here.) Sure, kids should help - but that can't possibly fill hours and hours. What all do you have to do? Can you streamline? Lower your expectations? My kids certainly aren't the most orderly ones, and I work 30 hours a week - still, I don't have the feeling of being overwhelmed with house work. Can you simply do LESS? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted April 19, 2011 Author Share Posted April 19, 2011 Does he remember correctly? I mean, even public school is out at 3pm, and they can't have more than 2 hours of homework - so that still leaves four hours... Sure, kids should help - but that can't possibly fill hours and hours. What all do you have to do? Can you streamline? Lower your expectations? My kids certainly aren't the most orderly ones, and I work 30 hours a week - still, I don't have the feeling of being overwhelmed with house work. Can you simply do LESS? I'm overwhemed because I have years worth of backlog to go through. My schoolroom is a dump (and I'm not exaggerating here). People have gotten hurt in there tripping over things stacked on the floor. Today we had to move all the junk under the deck because we're getting a new deck tomorrow. The junk left under there instead of having been taken to the dump made me very embarrassed. We worked about 2 hours out there today. We still have at least another hour's worth of work. Dh can't help because he will be leaving his 10 hour job to go to his second job this evening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Rat Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 Now that I work, our schedule has changed up a bit. The boys have no free time first thing in the morning. We get dressed, eat etc., and start reading at 8am. This is our fun read aloud and I usually read for about 30-45 min. During this time the boys can build legos or play as long as they are quiet. Then we do seat work until 11 or so. They have 30 minutes to eat lunch and whatever is left is free for them. Then, I drop the kids off at my folk's house. This is where the bulk of their free time is. My oldest takes 4-5 subjects with him to work on (I grade at night and review the following day). My youngest reviews spelling words and times tables with my mom or brother. They are free to play after their work is done. I pick them up between 4-4:30. After dinner we have activities most days. Hmmm, total? I think 5-6 hours a day is a good average for them all told. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluemongoose Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 Lets see.... DD wakes up somewhere between 7:30 and 8am. She gets herself ready for the day-takes about 15 min-and makes her bed. Her chore board also has a helping hands job/which just means she has to ask me if I have something she could do to help. Depending on how fast she chooses to do this, she has free time until breakfast. Breakfast is at 9am. If she eats at a reasonable rate, gets her teeth brushed, and has her pencil located with time to spare, she gets more free time. School starts at about 10am for her (I do preschool with DS at 9:30ish). We do work that is not independent until we break for lunch. After lunch she has the option to do her independent work (math worksheet, maybe writing a paragraph and illustrating it, handwriting exercise, and look up a vocab word.) right after lunch, or take more free time. She usually plays with her brothers. At 2pm we have quiet time/nap. She is required to work on her independent work if she has not finished it at this time. This is always the case :lol:. She may not come back downstairs for free time until she is finished. This is usually done at 4pm. She dawdles;). She has more free time. She has another chance before dinner time to ask to help, and then we have dinner. After dinner my children clean up their messes of the day, get pjs on, and brush teeth. If they get this done by 8pm they can stay up for about 15-30 min longer to play games/watch part of a movie/play on the computer etc. They get more time to do this if they get ready for bed before 8pm. That is our day in a nutshell. It works because she is motivated to get done at a reasonable time, she knows the schedule, and she doesnt feel like I am micro managing her time. I dont think it is too much free time at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 There's no formula...if the girls are working on something, or have an idea...they do it, and I support it. It all seems to work out ok--for us. Others might worry more, but I see than my hsers are pretty on the ball and get done what they need to get done (and I am always there to nag...er, encourage). My youngest is a speed-ster. lol She will do whatever she needs to do. If I even say "Girlie, how about that math?", she will race to finish it so she can do whatever current project she has that I have not beforehand appreciated. :) I don't worry much. I have a driven 22 yr old, so I know that drive is key. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 Oh. My kids do have chores. We have many animals etc. I never think the work the children do to help us function well interferes with their own personal interests. ? ? It might be that my children don't have the same chores. I don't know. ? Dh has two concerns - 1. he never had free time like this when he went to public school! (I tend to discount this reason.) 2. he sees me so exhausted and trying to do so much to bring some semblance of order to our house and yard. He feels like the kids should be doing a lot more to help me out. (I think he might have a point here.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngelaNYC Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 My 10 y/o and I do academics from about 10:30am to about 12:30pm/1pm. Everything before and after that is his free time. It was that way with my girls, too. Worked out great. I can't imagine what "too much free time" even means. My kids almost always use their free time very productively. I wouldn't worry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 My dd, the only one currently homeschooling, has about an hour in the morning while she eats breakfast and I get ready, kitchen cleaned up, etc... She gets another 45 min to and hour at lunch time and usually has school and practicing finished by dinnertime so plays and does her own thing from about 4:30pm on. Often her "own thing" includes doing more schoolwork or playing more fiddle but I still consider it free time if she is chosing to do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BakersDozen Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 My older three have very little free time. They get up at 6:30, school starts at 7:30, lunch is from 11:30-12:15, and they finish at 3:30. They have short breaks of 5-10 minutes between subjects but not a longer block of time until 3:30 (if they have completed all of their work; if not, they use their free time for homework). After dinner they have about 45 minutes of chores and such (showering, exercise). If they have everything done on time then they get from 8-8:45 for free time. My younger dc finish their schoolwork by 2:30 so they have a bit more free time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawn in OH Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 I think I've asked the how much time question before but I realized that we have free time off and on at different intervals through the day. If you could put down the ages of the kids with free time (unless you signature has it) that would help too. Ds13 and dd9 wake up at 7. Have free time until 9 am. Then it's breakfast, chores, start of school. . . More free time around noon (about 12 - 12:30) before lunch. Then dd9 is finished with school around 1:30 and has free time for most of the rest of the afternoon until 5 pm unless I capture her for chores. Ds13 is usually finished with school anywhere from 3 to 4:30. He then usually has freetime until 5 pm. We have family activities in the evening. Then it's free time mixed with bathtime, bedtime etc. from about 8:30 to 9:30. Dh thinks the kids have way too much free time. I'm suspecting this might be true but don't really know. You must have some really productive kids. It takes forever to get my kids moving and keep them moving at anything that isn't their choice. I have to follow them around; "Brush your teeth", "take a shower", "get some clothes on", "eat breakfast", "clean up your mess", "get ready for school"...etc. etc., etc. Oh the agony. My kids would get a lot more "free time" if they were more focused and productive. It does sound like your kids get a lot of free time. Good thing mine aren't reading this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest momk2000 Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 It depends on the kind of day we are having. Some days they need more free time than others. Sometimes we take it in several breaks throughout the day, or they might go straight through and take it all at the end. We are pretty flexible, as long as the work gets done. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Florida Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 (edited) I think I've asked the how much time question before but I realized that we have free time off and on at different intervals through the day. If you could put down the ages of the kids with free time (unless you signature has it) that would help too. My son has taken to sleeping later in the mornings. Sometimes, I get proactive and wake him, but he's tough to wake. So, too often, I let him sleep. This week, he has rehearsals every night except Wednesday (and we have theatre tickets) and Friday (and we have a church event), making it even more tempting to let him rest while he can. Usually, we gets up between 9:30 and 10:00. He eats breakfast and gets dressed and makes it to his desk between 10:30 and 11:00. When I'm feeling energetic, we read aloud over breakfast. Otherwise, he reads his current fun book. He puts in an hour or, if I'm lucky or persistent, two and then breaks for lunch. He prepares his own food. Again, sometimes we do assigned reading together. If not, he reads either school stuff or for pleasure. After lunch, he gets back to schoolwork and usually continues until it's time to leave for afternoon or evening activities. Mondays, we leave at 3:45 (choir and, until last week, opera rehearsals). Tuesdays, we leave at 2:30 (voice lesson and dance class). Wednesdays, we don't have to be out the door until 5:30 (dance class). So, if he's been efficient, he might have an hour or so of free time before we leave. Thursdays are later, too. We don't have to leave until 6:00, and he sometimes has some free time after schoolwork on those days. Fridays are currently activity free. So, once his schoolwork is done, he may do as he pleases. Saturday, he has rehearsals from 10:00 until 6:00, but his evenings are free. Sunday, we're at church from 9:30 until 1:30, after which he's unscheduled. Monday through Thursday, we usually get back home between between 7:00 and 8:00. Normally, he's got a couple of hours of free time before it's time to shower and go to bed. And he has 30 minutes of reading time before lights out. Lately, though, because he's been so busy with theater commitments, he's struggling a bit to keep up with his schoolwork. Consequently, we've started requiring an hour of homework in the evenings when we get home from activities. Edit: It occurs to me that my son actually has lots of free time. He just chooses to use it participating in classes and activities. Edited April 20, 2011 by Jenny in Florida Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justamouse Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 You must have some really productive kids. It takes forever to get my kids moving and keep them moving at anything that isn't their choice. I have to follow them around; "Brush your teeth", "take a shower", "get some clothes on", "eat breakfast", "clean up your mess", "get ready for school"...etc. etc., etc. Oh the agony. My kids would get a lot more "free time" if they were more focused and productive. :grouphug::grouphug: They're still young and you're deep in habit forming. They'll get there, it will be easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheryl in NM Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 (edited) ds, 14, is required to begin school work by 9am so that he can finish in time to leave for BJJ at 3:30pm. He must have eaten breakfast and had a shower before beginning. Those are our only requirements. He gets free time when his school work is done for the day. Sometimes, he gets antsy or has a brain freeze. In those cases he's allowed to take a bike ride, walk, run, work out, but no screen time. Lately, he's been battling some insomnia so he's been waking up between 4-5 am so his school work is done by 10am. He spends the rest of the day working out, reading or on the internet. ETA: Kids need free time. They need time to dream and be imaginative. They need time to puzzle out life. Yes, they need time to veg. It's how their personalities are developed. Life has to be more than rote learning. Edited April 20, 2011 by Cheryl in NM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 Dh has two concerns - 1. he never had free time like this when he went to public school! (I tend to discount this reason.) 2. he sees me so exhausted and trying to do so much to bring some semblance of order to our house and yard. He feels like the kids should be doing a lot more to help me out. (I think he might have a point here.) My son has free time spread throughout the day. We start school at 10:30, he usually gets up by 9am. We usually take an hour for lunch from 12:00-1:00. He is allowed to be on the computer during those times. He's not supposed to be playing Xbox, we just had to reconfirm that rule. We are usually done with school by 4. He is free until dinner, when he helps me. He usually has about 15 minutes of chores per day. The majority of his chores are done on the weekend. In the evenings most of the time we hang out as a family. A few nights a week he hangs out in his room. Now that the weather is breaking he'll have more outside chores and we try to walk the dog every evening. I'm a big believer in free time. We kind of go through seasons. At 13 we are adding a few more help-out-mom responsibilities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joannqn Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 (edited) My 11 and 9 year old have very similar schedules, though my 11 year old gets more free time. They must be up, dressed, eaten (unless I tell them that I'm cooking breakfast), and chores done by 9am. Then school until lunch break which is about an hour to an hour and a half depending on how distracted I get. Then school until 3 or 3:30pm. They have free time until dinner which can be anywhere from 5:30 to 8:00pm. After dinner, they have chores. If dinner was early, they have free time until 9pm. If dinner was late, there isn't time for anything but bed. They are allowed to read for 30 minutes in bed before lights out. On Wednesdays and Fridays, DS doesn't really get free time at all because he has taekwondo. On regular days, DH and DS leave for TDK around 4:15 and return at 6:45 on Wednesdays or 7:30 on Fridays. Some days, DH needs to check his business PO Box so they leave at 3:30pm. Right now, they'll leave at 3:30pm every Wednesday and Friday because one of DS's black belt requirements is 25 hours assisting as an instructor in the younger classes. DD gets free time while DS is at taekwondo but the last half hour or so before the boys get home, she has to help care for the littles so I'm free to finish dinner. Edited April 20, 2011 by joannqn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joannqn Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 I'm overwhemed because I have years worth of backlog to go through. My schoolroom is a dump (and I'm not exaggerating here). People have gotten hurt in there tripping over things stacked on the floor. Today we had to move all the junk under the deck because we're getting a new deck tomorrow. The junk left under there instead of having been taken to the dump made me very embarrassed. We worked about 2 hours out there today. We still have at least another hour's worth of work. Dh can't help because he will be leaving his 10 hour job to go to his second job this evening. One of the best things I've done is been ruthless about decluttering my house. When we moved, we took three or four loads to the dump. Since then, I've done even more decluttering because this house just doesn't have the space. Really, what are the odds that you need that junk under the deck? Have you used it recently? Or even as recently as last summer? If not, toss it. Don't even try to organize, sell, or give it away. It isn't worth your time and energy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rootsnwings Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 You must have some really productive kids. It takes forever to get my kids moving and keep them moving at anything that isn't their choice. I have to follow them around; "Brush your teeth", "take a shower", "get some clothes on", "eat breakfast", "clean up your mess", "get ready for school"...etc. etc., etc. Oh the agony. My kids would get a lot more "free time" if they were more focused and productive. It does sound like your kids get a lot of free time. Good thing mine aren't reading this. I have a little gift for you! :D http://www.myjobchart.com (you can thank me later! ;)) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted April 20, 2011 Author Share Posted April 20, 2011 One of the best things I've done is been ruthless about decluttering my house. When we moved, we took three or four loads to the dump. Since then, I've done even more decluttering because this house just doesn't have the space. Really, what are the odds that you need that junk under the deck? Have you used it recently? Or even as recently as last summer? If not, toss it. Don't even try to organize, sell, or give it away. It isn't worth your time and energy. 3/4 of the stuff under the deck is in a big dump pile. It was always destined for the dump. We mainly kept it because we didn't have the money to rent a truck and take it to the dump. This time we will be paying for the contractor to take it to the dump along with the old deck. The remaining things were 1 dog house (relocated) and 2 compost bins (also relocated). The second compost bin was a big one and was full. It took us 3 hours to dig it out and put the compost in our raised beds. Both kids helped me in their free time today:) Dd9 told me that she loved doing this kind of hard outdoor work during her free time. Ds13 did it without complaining but did not have the same enthusiasm as his sister.;) The test will be if I can move tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joannqn Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 Ok, now apply the same principles to your school room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flobee76 Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 My kids are little. They are free from about 3pm until dinner. Our days are like this: 630am: awake, snack, chores 730am: breakfast 830/9am: schooltime with one break in there 11am: lunch 12pm: naps/quiet time 2pm: enrichment/schooltime 3pm: FREEDOM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted April 20, 2011 Author Share Posted April 20, 2011 Ok, now apply the same principles to your school room. :svengo: It would also require a shovel!:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 :svengo: It would also require a shovel!:D Hand the kids shovels! lol :auto: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 Around here, I aim for a fairly structured morning -- get up, get dressed/do a couple of household tasks each, breakfast, schoolwork. How much free time they have after that depends on how quickly they do their schoolwork. They do often end up with a little random free time here or there, like between breakfast and schoolwork, when I'm getting the little one ready and all, but it's usually okay. I am happy for them to have plenty of free time in the afternoon, as long as they're using it well. If they start fighting or something, I find something more structured for them to do (usually cleaning something). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mejane Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 Very little. Between schoolwork (ds is in high school, dd in college) and dance (30+ hours per week), they have about two hours in the evenings and Sundays free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanaryMelody Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 Dh has two concerns - 1. he never had free time like this when he went to public school! (I tend to discount this reason.) 2. he sees me so exhausted and trying to do so much to bring some semblance of order to our house and yard. He feels like the kids should be doing a lot more to help me out. (I think he might have a point here.) Sounds exactly like my DH. I'm :bigear: to see what others say. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joyofsixreboot Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 My kids probably have way too much free time. Up at 7, breakfast, tv, dressed and chores so school can start about 8. Break from about 9:30-almost 10. Break at 11: for an hour and a half. Work until 2. Kids clean the house after that (it takes all 4 of us maybe 1/2 hour). They are free then though they do have activities they do for fun~sports, Boys&Girls club, church stuff, scouts. I consider that free time though because it's their choice. Now me, I'd like some free time. I do laundry and hang it during school. I cook dinner after the cleaning. I do read boards and clean up lunch stuff during the lunch break. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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