What to do after school is done for the day?

[FLDebbie]

My husband and I both work (me part time) from homes and split the teaching time with our 3rd grade son. We're finding that our son is getting done with his school work shortly after lunch time each day. We are covering more than he was getting in PS, so I'm not concerned about us not doing enough school work.

 

We are at a loss as to what to have him do after that. Here are some of the thoughts going through my head:

• When he's with me, he can play outside or with his toys, but he gets bored playing alone. With my husband, the house where he works has a horrible yard that I wouldn't want him to play in.
  
• The park is filled with much younger kids, the other kids his age are in school, so that's out. We can't really go places since my husband and I still have to get work done.
  
• We don't want to give him more school work. He's done what he's supposed to do for the day and I don't want to "reward" him with more work.
  
• I'm not opposed to having him do something educational, but I want it to be fun. His reading is much improved from last year, it's about a 2nd grade level now, so he can do some reading, but it's hard for him (he has dyslexia) so I don't want to push reading too much.
  
• He does like lapbooks or other project-based activities. I don't have much budget (really I have no budget) left for school materials, but I will spend some money on something that will be great or interesting to him.
  
• Neither my husband nor I are fans of letting him play on the computer or watch TV every day for any period of time.
  

Does anyone have any ideas of what we can do for him? I'm at a loss.

[paceofnature]

Although we have a large family and the kids have the option of playing together, my 8yo enjoys playing by himself after we are done for the day. Some things that he enjoys are: legos, making stop animation with legos and a cheap digital camera, we always have tons of craft supplies & recycling on hand for spontaneous crafting, we load up on books from the library each week (he doesn't read well yet, but enjoys looking through non fiction books like DK Eyewitness, National Geographic, etc.), lots of imagination sets (Playmobile, dinosaurs), set of screwdrivers and broken items (VCR, clock, etc), dry erase board and set of colored markers (this is always a popular activity ~ he drew a solar system based on pics seen in one of our science encyclopedias).... I really like open ended toys and just seeing where their imagination takes them.

[deerforest]

We both work full time too and juggle homeschooling an only child. I work from home, but her activities are such that this coming fall she will be with DH at his office one afternoon for 3 hours.

 

We do schoolwork together in the morning, and then she has independent work to do. She is very artsy/crafty so most of her free time is spent doing:

- drawing

- sewing

- random crafting (wool felting, paper mache, puppet making, etc..)

- reading

- gymnastics, bike riding, scootering, exploring, skating, other random outdoor activity that doesn't bore her to death to do on her own

- independent games (solitaire games, tangrams, rush hour, playing with math manipulatives, making up games)

- playing with cats

- mazes

- some iPad stuff

- listening to music, making up dance moves

 

What does he like to do in his free time? Does he get a chance to see friends/other kids? DD is in activities with other kids nearly every day so she usually just has a few hours to entertain herself.

[dbmamaz]

are you sure there arent any homeschool friends who would enjoy an occasional (weekly!) playdate in the afternoon? I always hate asking, but there are a few kids who like my son so much that their mothers saying having my son over is easier than not having him over . .. so sometimes i get brave and ask ..

[Yalnifm]

My children and I have come up with something we call Personal Pursuits for them to spend their time on after the official school and chore lists are checked off for the day. I sit down with each child at the beginning of the month and come up with a list of 3-4 interests they have that they will work on that month. These interests really vary based on age, gender, and just plain old changing interests. I try to help the child think of things that they are interested in learning, developing a talent, or just trying something new. I also try to limit the cost and level of my involvement required.

 

My younger children have enjoyed drawing books and videos (janbrett.com has some great drawing videos). All of the children have been interested in basic stitching projects from time to time. This activity does require a lesson or two from me, but after that I supply some fabric or plastic mesh and thread and let them practice. Other pursuits have been origami, bird watching, various cub scout activities, finger knitting, chess, computer programming, gardening, paper crafting, paper airplanes, various collections, cooking, baking (both of these require my help and supervision for the actual activity, but the cookbook browsing and ingredient shopping lists can be done alone), etc. Topics they have wanted to learn on their own have been The White House, army uniforms through the ages, outer space, bugs, reptiles, guinea pigs, etc.

 

 

I really do expect them to spend time on these personal pursuits each day, but am unconcerned with how "productive" the end result is. In other words, if they choose gardening and really do spend some time everyday puttering in the soil with some seeds and a trowel and hose, but only 1 seed ever sprouts, and nothing ever flowers or fruits, oh well. They still gained valuable experience from that exercise. I also allow frequent changes (every few weeks, not daily or weekly) as new pursuits spark their interest and old ones fade away.

 

Hope this helps.

[FLDebbie]

Thanks for the great ideas. I think I'll try out a few over the next couple of weeks and see how it goes.

[fraidycat]

Oh, I like the Personal Pursuits idea. I will have to ponder on that a little bit more and have the kids think of a few ideas to pursue on their own.

 

They do have each other, and the neighbour (homeschooled) kids to play with, but they do get to spending too much time together, then the arguments start.

[Erica in OR]

Maybe find something that he could do for physical activity indoors? We have a Wii Fit and the kids like to use it for exercise during the winter months.

 

He might be interested in taking a look at "sport stacking" with cups. We found a couple sets of the cups at a yard sale and the kids learned to do the patterns and try to beat their personal best times.

 

Erica in OR

[moonlight]

What about listening to books on cd from the library?

[Down_the_Rabbit_Hole]

Maybe I am old school or just mean, but when the kids are finished school they are to entertain themselves. I am now needed to cook and do housework. I do provide toys and games, puzzles, legos, yard toys, books, arts and crafts...things to entertain a child. I swap out things during my monthly "Big" clean of the rooms. I think it is important for a child to learn to entertain them self, especially if they are at an age they do not need to be supervised while inside. If one comes to me with whines of bordom then I give then a choice of a chore, the next days school work, or to come up with their own thing. 3rd grade is a great age to introduce a hobby...introduce him to something every few weeks and let him work on it during that time to see if he likes it (painting/drawing, soap sculpting, wood burning, model building, knot tying, knitting loom, magic tricks,.....) Get the Daring Book for Boys or something similar and try some things in it.

[3peasinapod]

I work from home, and I have an arsenal of things for my children to do while I work. First of all, they have a quiet time of 1 hour. This is when they read to themselves for at least 20 minutes and play by themselves just to unwind from the day.

 

Then I have a bunch of independent activities including (but can't remember all of them now) drawing, Flashmaster fact practice, coloring books, craft box with a small book to choose crafts from, half an hour of TV (which they don't usually choose). My newest thought was to compile a "safe" list of websites (educational) that they can visit without direct supervision. I haven't compiled a list yet, but it's on my to do list.

[FLDebbie]

If one comes to me with whines of bordom then I give then a choice of a chore, the next days school work, or to come up with their own thing.

 

I do the same thing and my kids know better than to whine of boredom. He's adjusting to being the only kid around (the other is in PS), which really changes his playing patterns.