Coming home from school

amother

Cerise

Mon, Sep 12 2016, 2:10 pm

I am a WAHM and keep my infant with me. My preschoolers and one grdeschoolers come home at staggered times from 2:30-4:30pm. I work until around 4, and then complete my hours in the evening.

These afternoon/early evening hours aren't going so smoothly and I am trying to figure out a manageable way to improve that. I see that it is hard on my kids that I am otherwise occupied when they come home. Also, they seem hungry. I serve dinner at 5pm, so I don't want to fill them up too close to that time, and I don't have more than a few seconds to come up with a snack to have out for them. It would also be hard to oversee that the younger kids don't devour the older siblings' portions, as they get home first.

Suggestions and recommendations?

Chayalle

Mon, Sep 12 2016, 2:23 pm

I also WAHM till about 4pm. Well, this is the first year DD is coming home later than that. But until now, I had a selection of snacks she could choose from, and quite honestly, I did not find that it affected her dinner appetite. She could have a fruit, a pretzels or cookie snack, veggies like baby carrots that are prepared, etc....Kids that age have quick metabolisms so if they come home, say, at around 3 pm. it's a long time to dinner.

Keeping them busy is a different story. My oldest and middle were the type of kid that was happy to read, play with toys, etc...but with my youngest it did not work out at all. When she was in a playgroup that ended at 2pm, I enrolled her in an after-playgroup program that went to closer to 4, as I could not do more than one job at once (work vs. being a Mommy.)

amother

Scarlet

Mon, Sep 12 2016, 2:29 pm

My kids would come home at 4:30 starving.
Also, I wanted DH to eat dinner with them.
For this to happen we needed to eat no later than 5pm, but the kids were really hungry when they came home from school.
So we ate as soon as they came home at 4:30.
Then if they were hungry at around 7:30-8, they could either warm up a plate of leftovers, or have a snack at that time.

So our schedules went as follows
Dinner right away, like put down your bag and sit at the table
HW
Showers
Relax time, snack if they want
Brush teeth
Bed

When my girls entered high school it was still dinner at 4:30, and then they would do hw and study way into the night.

All housework was done before they came home at 4:30, truth be told I had a maid come 2x a week.
The only thing left for me to do after dinner was clean up the kitchen, put away the food and wash the plates.
If anyone needed help with HW they would either sit at the kitchen table and I would help them while I cleaned up, or they would have to wait.

Bedtime was 8:30 for the little ones, until you reached 6th grade, 6-8 9:30, unless there was a project, test or event, 9th grade and up whenever you finished studying.

This schedule worked for us but we were a small family of 4 kids.

I worked till 4 outside the house and ran to pick them up from school.
Lots of frozen crockpot dinners that were ready as soon as we walked in the door.
DH would get home a few minutes before me set out the plates and get everything ready to eat.

chatz

Mon, Sep 12 2016, 2:39 pm

I can't work when the little kids are home. It just doesn't work and it's easier to accept and work around that than fight it. Is there any after care options available? Or maybe you can hire someone to be with them at home for that hour?

Kids always come home starving. Easy snacks: whole wheat crackers, nuts/raisins, applesauce, fruit and vegetables (baby carrots don't require cutting. Other vegetables can be cut up the night before and stored in a container or bag, like cucumbers, peppers, and celery). I usually leave the snack options out on the table and whoever wants can just take.

ra_mom

Mon, Sep 12 2016, 4:53 pm

I find it's important to have food already plated on the table when the come home in order for things to run smoothly. In all honesty they come home starving. One of my dd's likes go eat dinner right away (I often serve fresh from the crockpot that was cooking all day) and the other likes to eat a snack first (cut apples or the like). (Truth be told the one who likes the early dinner enjoys a snack later in the evening).

About working with the kids home, that's very hard especially at that time of day because they need attention right when they get home after their long day away from you. You might need to hire someone for that hour and a half to help at home with the kids or else institute a DVD session treat when they come home (not good for every day though I did it when I was working from home for a couple of days this season and they got home right in the heat of things. I sat them right down to dinner and a movie at the table those few days.) Maybe there can be a special after school game only for when Mommy is working like an educational ABC game, aleph bais game, numbers game...

Another mom

Tue, Sep 13 2016, 3:04 pm

supper at 4:30? Never!
We'd starve by 8 PM! In America my family ate at around 7. (as a kid). In Israel Gan is until 2 so lunch is 2:15 or so. I can't imagine cooking so early. we like to enjoy the park (unless it's winter till about 6. Well, to each his own!!!
PS -many Israeli families have a light supper (healthier) and a meat-fish meal for lunch. But still, not before 6, 6:30

mha3484

Tue, Sep 13 2016, 3:16 pm

DS comes home by 4. He takes a snack or DH helps him and he plays until I come home an hour later. Sometimes they do an errand or on Fridays is OT. The earliest he ever came home was 1 and then he would, play, read eat a snack. Sometimes errands or the park. We eat dinner between 6 and 7. Every other night is a bath while dinner is cooking. I cant imagine eating dinner at 4:30 but you have to do what works for you.

Teomima

Tue, Sep 13 2016, 3:24 pm

My kids have free access to a snack shelf with nuts, seeds, whole grain crackers, cornflakes, and in the fridge there's fruit and yogurt. Usually when they come home from school they'll take what they like. They have dinner at around 5:30 but it's light (we live in Israel and, like Another Mom said, dinner here is usually a light, dairy meal). I've never been concerned about them not being hungry enough and even if they did fill themselves on snacks, they're all healthy enough so I have no problem with it.

As for occupying them, maybe each day set out a different activity for them, something they can do on their own. One day it could be puzzles, another day an art project, another day play doh, or coloring books, or "special Legos", or fuse beads, or board games, etc etc. This way they could get excited to find out what you've set up, and have something to be proud of and show you when you're done working.