What do you do with the leftover time after you've finished with school for the day?

[Immi]

So, let's say your homeschool activites/lessons only take two hours or so.  What do you do the rest of the day with your child? 

[Dramorellis]

Whatever they want within reason? They are released to go play, go outside, play Lego, go to the play room etc. My Kindergartner's lessons only take about 1.5 hours. She is free to listen and participate with the 8 year old or do something else as long as it's not disruptive. She often will stay at the table and do her sticker books, paint or draw. The rest of the time she runs off to play in her room or with her little brother. I'm not a cruise director though. I will facilitate but I'm not organizing activities for them. I have house, mom, work stuff to do. The two year old just trails me around the house or plays with his brother and sister. I'm available and making sure no one climbs on the roof or harms themselves(or siblings) but not directing. For example they wanted to do science experiments today after school. I monitored it but said the only stipulations were that it had to be one we had all the supplies for and that I would not be doing any of it.

[Lucy the Valiant]

What is this "leftover time" you speak of? :lol:

 

 

Editing: Okay, editing because it is late, and I think I am funny, but I realize that is not a helpful answer to someone truly asking.

 

When "lessons" are done - for a kiddo:

 

free play (seriously, LOTS of this, in every different setting - the beach, the backyard, at a friend's house, with Legos, without Legos, all of it)

 

library / errands trips

 

easy / gentle chore lessons (many young kids LOVE to help do chores! fold laundry, stack dishes, stir water, wash windows, run a little hand-vac)

 

visiting people (especially older people, or lonely people - this is something I wish we could do more of, but we cannot at this stage of our lives, but we will again; visiting people teaches kids LOTS of really important things like kindness, patience, that other people can truly be fascinating, that other people can also sometimes be dreadfully boring but not everything in life is About Me Myself, different ways of seeing / thinking / doing / believing / knowing - the list goes on)

 

explore - locally, and then expand outwards in an ever-widening circle

 

making things - make lots of things! let kids make things! make them crooked and funny and upside-down - make story characters out of paper bags, make messes, make food, make gifts for others, make garden ornaments

 

music - dance, sing, listen

 

 

 

Oh, man, this list made me remember all the Truly Wonderful things that we spent so much time on when our kiddos were younger. It's a balance when they are older and want to do extracurriculars, but there is something truly magical about that "Leftover Time" right now. Enjoy. <3

[Arcadia]

Play :)

 

If the weather is good, we walk to the park and relax there.

If the weather is bad, we play legos and read books

Sometimes my kids want to doodle or make stuff or try some programming on Khan academy. Sometimes we watch NOVA together.

 

If the weather is hot, hot, hot, my kids will be experimenting with the blender and coming up with interesting concoctions of smoothies.

[Ellie]

So, let's say your homeschool activites/lessons only take two hours or so.  What do you do the rest of the day with your child? 

 

If we finish by lunch, I read aloud one chapter from our current book. Wait...i do that anyhow. :D   So if we have finished with our Official School Stuff, dc get to play, and so do I. I don't entertain children. :-)

[KrissiK]

Leftover time? There's leftover time? Well, on those rare occasions when I may have some leftover time, I shoo them out the door and then I clean bathrooms, fold laundry, bake bread, tidy up the house, pick a bouquet, ... The usual stuff.

[happypamama]

The kids -- usually run off to play their guitars. Or they play on their electronic devices for a short period of time. Or they go outside, read, draw, play games, practice martial arts, create things, etc. Whatever they want until cleanup and chore time.

 

I -- chase the toddler, correct work, lay out the next day's stuff, chase the toddler, fold laundry, chase the toddler, refold the laundry that the toddler unfolded, do dishes, chase the toddler, take a nap with the toddler, play with or read to the little boys, work on stuff for our support group, waste time online, work on planning for next year, take photos of the kids outside, put laundry and dishes away, help 3yo with LEGO projects, mop the floor, vacuum, make dinner, call my mom, answer emails, make doctor appointments, read a book, knit, get toddler up from nap, chase toddler, etc. I am not at all bored.

[Guest]

I usually let my kids pick a fun activity on the off chance we get done early, like play doh or painting. I will read another chapter of their read aloud, start some additional chores, get dinner on early, etc. It is truly rare that I get done early, though, since we like to have a later morning schedule than many.

[FO4UR]

I don't have much free time.

 

My kids have hobbies.  Lego, sewing, drawing, painting, woodworking, games... They play with neighborhood kids from about 3-5 when weather permits.

[Desert Strawberry]

I'm guessing you have one young child and are struggling to entertain him/her for the endless hours of the day.

When I had one, we got out of the house every day. To the park, for a walk, to run errands, for a play date. Anything. Just to get out.

When he was old enough, I signed him up for classes. Dance class, art class, story times, bowling league. 

Later, we joined a field trip based homeschool group. We had weekly outings. Roller skating, Jump Zone, ice skating.

At home, they play. Outside, in the play room, crafts at the table. Puzzles, board games.

I read them stories. We take a nap sometimes. We watch a movie.

There really is no "left over" time. That extra, free, unscheduled time is part of the appeal of homeschooling. Make sure your child has an enriched environment, and let them go. That's a critical part of their education.

[ByGrace3]

Leftover time??? What is this word of which you speak??? I have competitive gymnasts we don't have free time...

 

:lol:

 

Ok, I'm just jealous. We don't get much of that...I am schooling three so *I* school someone from 9-3 and then most days we leave for afternoon sports at that time. If for the rare chance we have 30 minutes or an hour they play. The girls will play American Girl or Legos. Ds plays Legos or wii. During the school day younger dd has lots of play time. I have bins of activities set up for her, she paints, colors, puzzles, educational activities, plays Legos, dolls....older dd on the very rare chance she has free time will sew or craft if not playing with her siblings...ds gets some time during the day-- he will usually play Legos every chance he gets if Wii is not an option (which it isn't until school is completely finished).

[SparklyUnicorn]

Do whatever we want.

 

 

[wendyroo]

My oldest is only 6, so all the kids have a ton of free time.  Morning lessons take about an hour and they spend the rest of the time playing inside and out - legos, play doh, sand box, crafts, running around like hooligans, etc.  After lunch everyone rests in their rooms for 2 hours.  The youngest naps and I pop in to the big boys' rooms to spend 20ish minutes 1-on-1 with each of them doing math and reading aloud.  The oldest is them expected to spend 10ish more minutes finishing his independent math work.  Around 3 or 3:30 snack is served and then they play (including some screen time) until dinner.  Next year I'm planning an additional 15 minutes of morning lessons for just my first grader, but other than that the schedule will stay the same...probably remaining largely the same for several more years.

 

It is a good life.

 

Wendy

[Heathermomster]

DD and I have started sitting down together and sketching while listening to audio books.  DS is typically still working at his desk.  When completed, the kids do whatever they want.  DD enjoys playing outside or in her room or watching PBS. 

[eternallytired]

My kids usually all want to play computer/tablet games right after we finish work; lunch gives us a convenient end-time for that.  After that they build forts, create libraries and restaurants, paint, build things from one of our multitude of building toys, play hide-and-seek--sometimes from imaginary seekers, draw with sidewalk chalk, ride bikes or scooters or plasma cars, play on the swingset or in the fort outside...  DS still ends every day saying, "But Mom, I'm not finished PLAYING yet!"

 

On Fridays, everyone pitches in for an hour or two after lunch to do our weekly cleaning blitz, earning a fun snack as a reward.  That helps to consolidate most of the cleaning so it doesn't turn into drudgery on a daily basis, frees me to interact more with them most days, teaches them useful skills, and helps pull our house back from the brink of pig-sty-ness before DH has to wallow in it all weekend.

[lllll]

..

[SilverMoon]

I open the door to the backyard and step out of their way. Have fun! Don't catch another scorpion, please.

[LucyStoner]

If we finish by lunch, I read aloud one chapter from our current book. Wait...i do that anyhow. :D So if we have finished with our Official School Stuff, dc get to play, and so do I. I don't entertain children. :-)

What's up with the present tense in your recent posts? Do you have new kids at home or are you working as a homeschool tutor? :) Inquiring minds want to know Ms. Ellie!

 

IIRC your daughters are slightly older than me? I turn 35 this year.

[LucyStoner]

My kids read, work on their own projects, have their instruments to practice, go outside and ride scooters, play Zelda or D&D, color, play with toys or programming stuff. We also head to the park or library a lot. I read aloud to little guy or older brother reads to him. They also do yoga together most days.

[rocassie]

Generally we are done by lunch.   I'm only schooling two - K and 2nd- right now.  This is what I do with my time:

 

Make lunch

Workout

Chores (the kids have specific chores too that they do at this time, mine just take much longer)

 

 

Then I will play a game, read books, or get some fun activity out.  Now that is nicer outside, all the kids will spend a great deal of time out there.  Generally once a week we will go to the library or on another outing like the zoo, nature center, hiking trails, park, etc.

 

I actually don't spend a lot of my time post schooling doing things with the kids now that they are a little older.  They play together a lot.  I would do read alouds more, but my youngest is 3 and he doesn't have the patience or desire to listen to chapter books and he is good after one or two picture books.  If the older two are listening, then he gets into a lot of mischief which requires me to stop reading and deal with him.

[Rachel]

Rest and nap time. Clean, play (Legos, dolls, cars, etc), art projects, play dough. We do read alouds and my older two read and look at books. They also play outside.

 

We don't go somewhere every day but we do frequently visit the library, go to bible study, go to the park, go hiking. In the summer we go swimming.

 

I think with younger kids who no longer nap it can be hard to fill the time, but with older children there never seem to be enough hours in the day.

[Reefgazer]

What do we do after work work is done? Whatever we want to, of course!

[Farrar]

I'm also laughing at the idea of leftover time. Even when my boys were younger, we had a lot of places to be and friends to see. It was a lot more relaxed than now - we would often meet with our tiny co-op and it would go a couple of hours... and then the kids would play, the adults would chat and eat all the fancy cheese in the house, and suddenly we'd look at the clocks and be like, oh, no, we all need to go home and make dinners!

 

Now, we really have very little extra time and what we have is the kids' to play and work on whatever it is they work on. They often leave if it's a nice day and go goodness knows where in the neighborhood.

[ajfries]

Let's see....I put off doing housework by visiting the hive. And reading blogs. And planning our homeschool future to the minutest detail, all the while knowing that nothing ever goes according to plan. When I finally stop procrastinating I listen to podcasts and do the housework. I referee the children, make the food, coax the kids into eating (or not).....

 

The kids have 1 hour of screen time (unless I need extra screen time...then they might get more), they play outside, build cardboard annoyances, tell me they're hungry (but NOT for THAT!), call out the time at random moments just because they can, argue, whine, squeal...I don't know. Stuff. We do a lot of reading aloud lately, and have been playing board games daily (Qwirkle is the current favorite) but for the most part, like Ellie said, I don't entertain them.

[Peaceful Isle]

This is my typical, normal day. lol 

 

 

In the morning, we start off with personal devos, breakfast, and then school time. During school, there are breaks and lunch.

After we finish with school, my kids do their music lessons, clean their rooms, and do their chores (sometimes they are done at break times as well).

 

When they are finished with that, I allow them to read, play their tablets, play outside, etc.. till dinner. My son has baseball practice 2x a week before dinner. After dinner is free time , shower/brush teeth time, family devos time, and then to bed. The olders stay up to read more, the youngers go to bed.

We do have activities a few times a week that derail this schedule, such as church, teen activities, our once a month homeschool group activity, piano lessons, and band. On calm days, this is what it looks like. Hope this helped.

[3 ladybugs]

My children stay up till 10 pm every night so my children nap in the afternoon. People are normally shocked by my 6 year old doing this but he really needs it. They stay up because daddy doesn't get home till 7 so by the time we eat, I like them to have some time with daddy before bed.

 

Play is big for my children. However we also do other things depending on what is happening. Doctor, dentist, library, grocery shopping, shopping for things other then groceries, play dates, walks, park, play outside, and such also take time.

[Tawlas]

Yup, lots of them playing and me cleaning/organizing/planning etc.

 

We have "times" in our house. Outside time, snack/read aloud time, quiet time, clean up time, screen time, supper time, bath time and bed time. That's our afternoons most of the week!

[Mommy_of_4]

They play.

[deerforest]

When we finish school, I work an 8-10 hour day while DD does her own thing, plays or goes to activities.

[blackjackoaktree]

They usually want to jump on their screen time unless we are going somewhere. I can't let them out to play without me because we live on a dangerous corner with no fence, so I have to have things available for them or take them somewhere.

[Arcadia]

What's up with the present tense in your recent posts? Do you have new kids at home or are you working as a homeschool tutor? :) Inquiring minds want to know Ms. Ellie!

I am guessing her adorable grandson :)

[EmseB]

I set the kids free...and tell them to entertain themselves.

[Critterfixer]

They play. I get my housekeeping chores done for the day. Then we walk dogs, eat some supper and sometimes we have a nice study session before bed or we read or write.

[pehp]

My children are 7 and 4, so ages make a difference.  My 4 year old is far easier than 2 year old would be, in terms of keeping herself occupied with something that is not crazy. 

We are done by lunchtime.  If my son hasn't practiced piano yet, he does that.  The rest of the afternoon they are free to play, read, create stuff, bird-watch or bug-catch. They have access to any crafty things they need or want. They basically keep themselves occupied--I expect them to dream up interesting things to do and I will facilitate those things if needed but I am not a camp activities counselor, coming up with projects and so on for them. I am too busy for that!!!  I typically stop and read to them at some point.   

 

Afternoon is my time to do any dinner prep I need, household chores, sewing, laundering, gardening, and so on.  If the weather is nice we sometimes take a walk.  If I feel tired, we do quiet time (they look at books, I look at a book and drink decaf tea or coffee, then I doze for 10 minutes or so). 

 

Sometimes we sit on the porch together and chat.  Sometimes we have a water-balloon fight.  Sometime we go get smoothies.  Sometimes we dream up a little party.  Sometimes they argue. Whatever!!  We just do life together. I love this. 

 

 

[73349]

• Errands (including library visits),

going to a park if it's nice out,

playing in the yard,

an activity group most Tuesdays,

field trips (lots to do in our area),

90 minutes of quiet time every day (DS can play with toys or read, but stays in his room),

housework (he has his own feather duster),

gardening,

once in a while a playdate.

[pitterpatter]

I used to set aside a certain amount of time for school each day. When we had light days, DD would work on fun hands-on enrichment activities that reinforced LA skills, etc. (think "centers" in public school) or holiday activities to fill the "leftover" time. Then DD joined Girl Scouts, so we worked on badges at home during the "leftover" time. Not long after that, I wised up. Now, I sigh a big sigh and mentally jump up and down when we finish early.

 

We do still work on Girl Scout badges during the summer or some weekends when DH works Saturday morning or even some slow afternoons, but I no longer try to fill time during school.

 

However, if you find you have a lot of leftover time, perhaps you should add another subject? DD enjoys logic and it's pretty quick and fun. Maybe some low key art? You could make up some packets ahead of time that you could grab. A lap book? History Pockets? Bug collection? Anything you would like to add to your lineup but could be worked on over a long span of time.

[AmandaVT]

Lots of playing - when the weather is good (any season, just not horribly cold or rainy) DS spends a lot of time outside playing. We belong to a gym and do swim 3-4 days a week and tennis 2-3 days a week. He likes to play his keyboard too, so he'll do that/listen to music. Legos, blocks, snap circuits, board games on rainy days. And we usually have some errands to run.