What does your typical day look like?

[Handsomesmomma]

How structured are your days?
I have been questioning if I should structure my afternoons more with my boys. I usually leave it pretty free and like to encourage free time for play for a good chunk of the afternoon, but, I think they may need more structure now that they are getting a little older (8, 6 and 3). I would love to hear what you all are doing.


Ann-Marie

[EmmalinesMom]

My girls are 9 and 5 and we do most of our structured-time in the morning. I really like having their afternoon time more flexible. They can play with other kids in the neighborhood (who get home about 3pm from school), play with each other, bake something, read, play games, invent things, whatever - just no TV till about 5 when I start making dinner. I think having a block of unstructured time helps them develop their creative thinking, and it gives them time to explore things of interest. We'll sometimes hit the library or park, too, but in general they enjoy the free time.

[blsilva]

My boys are 8 and 6. We have about 4 hours of structured time on schooldays. A block for Language arts, another for math, and one for a special activity: science, social studies, etc. The rest of the day is open for play, reading, errands, trips to the park/library, etc.

[cappuccinosmom]

Our structure is mostly in the morning. Ds1 (7) starts online classes at 9. He has two breaks, which is free play and lunch. By 2 pm, he's done with classes, and usually finishes homework by 3. So by that time, we're about ready to take a break from each other. In good weather I'd just toss them outside for a couple of hours, but now that rainy and cold weather is here, I have to think of more activities to keep them occupied.

[Mamatohaleybug]

I'm homeschooling one 8 year old second grader. We use a method similar to the workbox idea. She has 12 assignments/tasks each day that we do when we do our "formal" school (usually 4 days a week). The only structure is that she must do the things in the boxes before she plays or does other things. She chooses the order and she chooses how long they take (LOL). I make sure that we do reading (her reading aloud, me reading to her, reading together, phonics workbooks, etc), math, writing and spelling every day. The other 8 assignments vary. As soon as she is done, she is free to spend the day playing, watching educational shows, doing art projects, etc.

This is working really well for us. It took a few months to find something that felt right and worked well. This allows her to be self-motivated and feel like she has some control.

I just think it's SO individual.

[Lisa1970]

I never sructured my older children's afternoons. They have done great in the long run. I had structured plans, but once they were done, they were done. School work maybe lasted 2 hrs so it was generally done in the mornings. If that got pushed to the evenings, fine.

These days, I am thinking I just need to structure everything as my younger children are so different. If you see a need for structure, go for it. But don't feel obligated just because they are a certain age.

I will say one thing, I have never ever allowed non educational TV or computer games before 6pm. So without me having a schedule, they are not allowed to do whatever. They can be creative, have fun, clean the toilets, they just cannot melt away in front of a video games.