Our Simple After-School Routine at Home
There are plenty of parenting experts with color-coded schedules and elaborate systems for handling pretty much every situation life throws at them when it comes to children. We are not those people.
After a few years of trial and error, we've landed on a simple after-school routine that works for our family. It's nothing special or even complicated, but it keeps everyone fed, organized, and moving in the right direction without turning the afternoon into a battle every day. We’ve found that when our family follows some sort of routine, whether that’s in the morning or the afternoon, we thrive. Everything runs smoother and everyone (and I do mean everyone) is happier.
Okay, so here's what happens when the kids walk through the door:
First: Wash Hands
Before backpacks hit the floor or anyone asks what's for snack, everyone washes their hands. It's a small thing, but after a full day at school, it feels like a reset button before the rest of the afternoon begins. And I might be a slight germaphobe. I blame my mom for that.
Next: Empty Backpacks
Once hands are washed, we empty backpacks and do a quick check for anything important. Homework assignments, folders, permission slips, papers that need to be signed, random artwork we'd hate to discover crumpled at the bottom of a backpack three weeks later. We don't actually make them do the homework yet, we just figure out what's waiting for them later.
This step takes a few minutes and saves us a ton of time later.
Animal Duty
Whoever is on animal duty for the week heads into the laundry rom to feed the animals. We have three dogs and one cat all living under the same roof, and they have to be fed twice a day: once in the morning before school and as soon as the kids get home. This routine helps keep everyone in line and helps keep our animals’ bellies full.
Snack Time
By this point, the kids are starving. Our after-school snack formula is simple: one piece of fruit and one bar of some kind. Apples, bananas, grapes, oranges, whatever kind of fruit we have on hand. That, paired with a granola bar, protein bar, or whatever we have in the pantry should be just enough to hold everyone over until dinner. Oh, and lots and lots of water to fill up their bellies.
Thirty Minutes of Play
This might be the most important part of the entire routine. Before homework starts, our kids get about 30 minutes to play to blow off steam and get all the energy out. Sometimes they're outside. Sometimes they're building something, reading, riding bikes, or playing with toys. After sitting in classrooms all day, they need a little freedom before settling back down to work.
And full transparency: so do we.
Then Homework
After that, it's homework time. And because we've already checked backpacks, handled animal chores, and had a snack, homework tends to go much more smoothly. There are fewer distractions and fewer interruptions. After homework, they’re free to do whatever they want for the rest of the night, but we do have a rule that each kid must read their book for 30 minutes a night. Right now, our middle is reading the second Harry Potter book and our oldest is on one of the Wild Robot books. Why is reading as a child so magical?
And that's it!
Just a handful of small habits that create a predictable rhythm every afternoon. It's simple, but it works for us. And when you've got three kids, a farm full of animals, and everything else life throws your way, "simple" is usually exactly what we're looking for.