It dawned on me today that as I dragged my kids back from the Carter's house (who so graciously invited us to eat her yummy chicken pot pies) that we were rushing to get home and that perhaps were have been a bit over scheduled. We had just spent the afternoon at a HOT day of first soccer practice. We were rushing to get home so my nephew could spend the night. We were rushing to get home because the boys smelled like hot sweaty puppies who rolled around in the grass. We were rushing home because I was tired. We were rushing home because the hour was close to 7pm.
So at what point does it become over scheduling? A typical day maybe similar to this:
6:40 am- Wake the boy so he can get dressed and make his bed.
7:00 am- Eat breakfast together as a family. It takes about 15 mins and well worth the time.
7:20am- Scripture reading. This is new this year and I'm not sure if I'm seeing the benefits yet. The boys are only lasting about 8 mins for this. At which point teeth and hair are brushed and combed.
7:30 am- Piano practice. He had the choice for morning or night. He chose morning. I'm glad he did.
7:50 am- Carpool. Life saver if you don't have one.
The boy is then in school from 8 until 3:45pm when we get home. He plays with his cousins until about 4pm. These 15 mins are great. He's able to decompress from being cooped up all day. I usually extend play time until 4:30. The poor boy just needs to unwind.
From 4:30-5:00pm it's homework time. It involves at least 2 sheets of handwriting or math or coloring. Then we do sight words and read. Its about 5:15 when its all said and done. By this point, I am so done with homework, he is so done with school and frustration builds. If he missed piano practice he needs to do it after homework.
Dinner is usually eaten between 6:15-6:45pm. Then it's off to baths, cleaning up the playroom, stories, scriptures and teeth brushing. This takes up to 7:25pm. Lights out by 7:30pm
Now on Wednesday we have early release, but we go to the piano teacher's house for a lesson. We're home by 4:45. The homework cycle starts.
On Thursday we have soccer practice from 5-6pm. Which means that dinner will need to be in a crock pot, homework, sight words and reading all need to be done.
I can tell the boy is pooped at the end of the day. By the end of the week, we usually get a break down from him. Tears just keep coming. It breaks my heart.
I tried out chore charts this week, we started off great, but waning due to other activities.
Am I over scheduling my kid? Is this normal? What's your day like?
About Us
- The Malone's
- Arizona
- We started this craziness in 2002. A few years into it, we brought about our first little moneky and two years later, we added our second crazy little monkey. Things around here are definately all over the place, but we wouldn't want it any other way.
5 comments:
I don't know what to tell you, Payton is still just in preschool so we don't have homework or a long school day to deal with yet. Sorry that is no help, but I am impressed that he is doing piano, and soccer, that is great.
Sorry, had a problem when I tried to post before. I think it is normal. It sounds almost exactly like our schedule here, expect we don't have piano lessons yet. Caleb always seems worn out by the end of the day and some days seems really cranky. Whoever said life slowed down when you had a kid in school, was sooooo wrong.
I personally don't think he's over-scheduled, I am beginning to think that this is just the new life that happens when we have a school aged child. We pretty much have the same schedule except we have dance instead of soccer. I also have dinner in the crockpot Wed nights. Our WHOLE saturday is taken up with Nutcracker rehearsals, and Sunday is church and Madeline starts Religious Education classes next week too. I think this "stage of life" is just getting harder and it's new. Hopefully as mother's we will adjust one day?! I am terrified to think how a third kid here in a few weeks will tip the scale. Ahhhh! xoxo
People always tell me it's just going to get worse instead of better as they get older. Already I find myself completely overwhelmed with keeping track of/completing all the paperwork/homework/dinner/cleaning up/bathing/scriptures each day for three kids. (Just part of the reason I will ONLY do gymnastics and NO other activities.) Good luck, you're awesome that you've got such a regular routine already. Us, not so much...
Post a Comment