How to Create an After School Schedule at Home

What to do after your child ends the school day? Here are some ideas on creating a good after school schedule at home for your kids.

After School Schedule at HomeI don’t know about you, but the time before and after school pick up couldn’t look more different.

One minute, you’re alone with peace and quiet, and the next, you’re emptying lunch bags and checking school folders. Earlier in the day, you went from having a good amount of time for yourself, to suddenly dealing with dinner, signing school papers, and driving to after-school activities.

That’s why, no matter how frazzled those hours can be, creating an after school daily routine can help ground your child in something reliable and predictable.

Creating an after school schedule at home

In fact, imagine the hours after your child has left his class as a chance to establish an after school schedule at home. Having consistent family routines can help your day run smoothly and reduce common power struggles.

You can choose to go by the clock for certain parts of the day, like having a snack promptly after coming home. Or you can go with the flow, following one activity with the same one, regardless of time.

So, take a look at some ideas you can include in your weekdays, perfect for your after-school schedule:

1. Snack time

For many kids, an after school snack is a welcome recharge. Lunch time had been hours ago, making them ravenous at dismissal. Other times, they don’t even finish what they ate and are hungry for a refill.

Now is the time to replenish both their physical and mental energy with a snack break between school pick up and starting homework. Trying to do too much without a break feels exhausting, and a healthy snack provides your child with calories to refuel and the time to relax.

In my home, snack time is usually around 3pm, with enough hours left before dinner. Here are a few of our favorites:

  • Yogurt: My kids think yogurt is like ice cream—score!
  • Pretzels: Pretzels are easy enough to pour out of the bag and into their bowls.
  • Easy fruits: I’m not about to slice open a papaya and dice them into pieces. But other fruits are easy enough for after school snack ideas like bananas, blueberries, and easy-peel oranges.
  • Celery and peanut butter: Incorporate vegetables as after school snack ideas by spreading peanut butter on celery. I like to spread the whole celery stick, then slice them into bite-size pieces.

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2. Homework

Homework might look different for each child, depending on what their teacher requests. Some might not have homework at all, and any work is simply the ones they couldn’t finish in class. Some teachers assign homework for the week to turn in on Fridays, while others assign them every day or every other day.

No matter the schedule, doing homework after snack can be a smart choice. Your child can get his work done before his energy runs low and procrastination takes over. The consistency of doing homework after snack can also become automatic, so much so that he doesn’t need a reminder to get started.

And encourage him to return his homework immediately into his backpack. This helps develop the habit and makes him less likely to forget to bring it to school the next day.

Even if he doesn’t have homework yet (for instance, if he’s in preschool or kindergarten), you can still set side time for activities that reinforce what he’s learning. That way, down the line, he can associate this as “homework time” and part of your daily after school routine.

3. Downtime

Finishing up schoolwork is a fantastic transition into downtime and playing. Your child needs to decompress after the school day.

It’s not easy to remain focused and be on her best behavior all day. Free play is also vital—not only does it allow her to unwind and release energy, it’s also the best way for her to learn.

In fact, even if my kids had time to play in school, I still made sure to include play time after school. Until now, the bulk of our afternoons are fairly unstructured, and they get to tinker and play however they want. They’ll romp around in the backyard, read a book, or play with their little figurines and toys.

The most important thing is that they get to decide how to spend their free time.

4. Dinner time

One of the perks of working from home and having minimal extracurricular activities is that we get to eat as a family together nearly every night. Dinner time at our house often starts at 5pm, giving us plenty of time to play before bedtime.

Sharing a meal together is a fantastic evening routine to connect with your kids. It can likely be a favorite time of the day for the family, what with everyone reconvening after a long day of being apart. It’s also an important opportunity to gauge how they’re doing in school and ask open-ended questions.

Then, follow it up with simple chores. They can clear and wipe the table, sweep the floor from crumbs, and tidy up the living room. These little contributions can nurture responsibility and accountability.

5. Bedtime

I’m a fan of a consistent bedtime routine, from the rituals we do leading up to sleep, to the time we start all these activities. A reliable schedule gives your child not only the rest she needs, but the reassuring predictability she can count on.

For many kids, bedtime starts with brushing their teeth and taking a bath or shower. You can then move on to reading books. And finally, it’s lights out for my twins at 8pm, with our eldest staying up a little later until 8:30pm.

Conclusion

So far, school has gone more or less back to “normal.” And if there’s one thing that helps regardless of what happens, it’s having an after school schedule at home your child can count on.

Start your routine with snack time to recharge her energy. Follow that with homework, or finishing up and turning in assignments for the day. Give her plenty of downtime to decide how to play, and gather together for a family dinner each night. And finally, cap the day with a consistent bedtime routine.

With a daily schedule in place, these after school hours can be smooth for even the most frazzled mom. Even if the chaos of emptying lunch bags and checking homework folders isn’t exactly peace and quiet.

Daily Schedule for 5 Year Old

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2 Comments

  1. I’m glad I stumbled on your post on Pinterest. I am a school teacher. However, my true challenge is when I am coming home from work to 3 children (age 8, 5 and 5) and trying to show them the same level of patience and understanding that I show my students at school. Getting them out of the school and home without fighting or struggling to get them in the car is the first hurdle, then having to deal with getting them to unpack their bags and take responsibility for their things when we get home is another challenge. They are usually tired from the day, and I fully understand that. We have a trampoline outside so sometimes they go for a jump or just play outside for a bit. When I ask them to do anything, any small task after school it is like I have asked them to do the most difficult task in the world. They fight me all the time and I feel as though they do not respect me. When I ask them to do something in a calm voice (I will repeat calmly for about 10-20 minutes), they still only respond if I get cross. I am truly trying the calm, reasoning approach but it doesn’t seem to work with my kids. I am looking forward to trying some of your after school strategies to see if these help.

    1. Nina Garcia says:

      Sooo many teachers tell me the same thing—that they can handle a classroom of kids, but when it comes to their own, it’s really challenging to maintain the same level of patience. It really is different when you’re dealing with other people’s children and your own, so you shouldn’t feel guilty for reacting like a parent (instead of a teacher) at home—because you *are* the parent there 🙂

      If speaking to them calmly doesn’t work, it might be that they don’t experience any type of consequence regarding what you’re asking them to do. Let’s say you asked them to empty their lunch bags after school, but they completely ignore you. One thing you might do is to withhold afternoon snacks until their lunch bags are emptied. You won’t say it in a bossy or mean way—instead, it’s simply the way it is. That way, their own choice not to empty the lunch bag led to their snacks not being available. The more consistently you follow through with the consequences this way, the more they’ll realize that they won’t be able to get the snack until they empty the lunch bag.

      Another thing that has also really helped me with after school responsibilities is to make it super routine. At first, you’ll guide them through it and tell them what to do, but after a while, you won’t have to because it’ll feel so automatic to them. You’ll want to do the same things in the same order every single day. So maybe that’s hang the backpack, take off their shoes, wash their hands, empty the lunch bags, bring school materials out of the bag, come to the table to snack, bring their dishes to the sink, etc. But it’s in this same order every day, so that eventually it’ll be so automatic you don’t even have to tell them to do these things.

      I hope that helps Bronwen! And rest assured that you’re not the only teacher who has struggled with this exact dilemma! 🙂