Need ideas for non-school time

[redquilthorse]

What do your kids do during free time after they are done with their schoolwork? My kids are 9, 7, 5, 3 and 1. I need fresh ideas for things to encourage them to do that don't necessarily involve me. :001_smile: We have lots of down time because they are young.

[2squared]

Mine go outside. They spend hours outside, and I LOVE it. They also play. I find that if they are listening to good books, their pretend play is often inspired by the books. My kids love to play, and when school is over, they scatter.

[Chava_Raizel]

Board games! My kids can play for hours, things like Candyland, Guess Who?, memory type games, checkers, etc.

 

You could set up a dress-up trunk, an art station with things they can manage on their own, you could give them materials they can use to make a fort.

 

If you have a fenced in yard you can set up a fun play area outdoors for them to play.

[anneofalamo]

My kids so don't want mom to come up with something to keep them occupied. I have a whole list of chores...:tongue_smilie:

so outside is number one choice, then reading, or the one hour play time on puter

[Targhee]

Board games often require my refereeing still, so they aren't exactly mom-free. I hope this year they will be more independent with board games. Outside play is great when weather is good. I wish we had neighborhood kids!! What about play dough and sidewalk chalk? My kids like fort making in the yard. They also ride bikes and what not in the driveway. All that open-ended play is very good for their development, and a nice change from the structure of school. After 4:00 and if their chores and instrument practicing is done I let my kids have seen time. Then it's off for the night at dinner time. It is actually a nice break for us all to have the screen time. Depending on the time of year there are also activities at church and sports practice 1-3 nights a week, but with all the driving I don't think it's terribly independent.

[KristenR]

My kids have been using fighting and driving me crazy as their main extracurricular activity. :glare:

 

It's amazing to me what a stark difference having things to do make on my young girls. During the school day and with our activities they work together and get along.

 

I'll be listening in to this thread to try and find some fun suggestions.

[ALB]

My kids have been using fighting and driving me crazy as their main extracurricular activity. :glare:

 

 

Ha! I've felt like this some days recently, too. Normally they have tons of fun together, but some weeks are just bickering nonstop.

[PeacefulChaos]

What do your kids do during free time after they are done with their schoolwork? My kids are 9, 7, 5, 3 and 1. I need fresh ideas for things to encourage them to do that don't necessarily involve me. :001_smile: We have lots of down time because they are young.

 

It depends on the day. And the kid. :)

Pink is little so she takes a nap after lunch - she usually is laying down before we're done with school. So that takes care of that :tongue_smilie: ... by the time she gets back up, DH is home from work (he gets off at 4 and walks home) so then she just runs around and plays and stuff.

The boys usually finish school around 1:30-2:00. Most days Astro has some free time either before or after lunch (depending on what time we got started that day, Link may do his work that needs my supervision either of those times), during which he goes and plays in his room. They don't have TV or anything like that in their room, so he is usually just in there playing with toys or legos or goofing off. :D If it's before lunch, Pink is in there with him, otherwise he's by himself. Then he comes back out and we do our last bit of the day of school, which is the stuff that they do together.

After they are done, they usually go outside. If they really don't feel like going outside, I don't have a problem with them taking a movie into my room and watching it - the rule is that they just have to be out of the living room area (which is where I am) :D . They don't usually go for that option, so I don't have a problem with it being a possibility at this time - if it got to be something they did all the time, I may change things up a bit. They sometimes just stay inside and play in their room, but they tend to get a little noisy which doesn't bode well for Pink's nap. ;)

On days that it rains - and ONLY on days that it rains - they can go in my room and play a game on the PS2 or Nintendo. (Usually Lego Star Wars or Lego Batman, though Link has started trying his hand occasionally at Zelda or Kingdom Hearts) On a regular basis, however, video games are only allowed after dinner. I'd say they play maybe 2 nights a week between 7 and 9, which I consider acceptable.

Anyway, that's what we do. They have played board games and stuff, too, but with just 2 of them - and with Astro at the age he is (there aren't a lot of very fun games for age 6, especially since Link loves games that are at or above his technical age) - they end up getting bored pretty fast.

I'm happy with what we have worked out. :)

[woolybear]

Mine go through stages with this. Sometimes they can figure out plenty to do and other times they just sit there waiting for something fun to fall out of the sky. Either way, bickering is definitely high on the list.:glare: They do play together nicely sometimes.

 

At any rate, they listen to a lot of audio books, do legos, craft, ride bikes, play catch, have snacks, bake, build forts, play outside....

[JoyceTWTM]

QUOTE]

 

Origami might be fun

[redquilthorse]

THanks for the suggestions. I think I will suggest some of those to my kids. I also think I need to be more assertive about them finding something to occupy themselves. :tongue_smilie: I have given chores to kids who complain they are bored. That has cut down on the "I'm bored" comments. But during naptime, they get rowdy, or they want me to play with them, or they complain about not wanting to play in the backyard. I think I probably need to be more clear about my expectations and give it time. We went through a LONG period of time when too much screen time was allowed for various reasons. So they bore more easily than they probably should.

[Zebra]

I have an art cabinet full of art supplies, and an art table in the basement. DD is allowed to go down there and do art projects whenever she is bored :D. It may not work for younger kids. But as long as you don't have any paint they might be fine. I also stock up on audio dramas and books on tape. And, I have come up with a list of chores I never get to, like dusting, that don't need any supervision.

 

A box of educational things that you bring out for certain times is good too. Like the "stations" they have in school. Cuisenaire rods, pattern blocks, fun little games, special colored pencils, etc. If you bring the box out only sometimes it will seem really special.