What does your 8 year old do while your wfh? Running out of ideas

[Littlemiss74]

My DD is 8 and has been getting more & more upset lately. She’s desperate to go to school, she misses her teachers and the routine and being with other children her age. She’s done so well with the school work but is normally finished by 11.00am.

I’m wfh part time but more flexibly to try and keep an eye on things at home too although DH is doing alot of the school work with DD & DS.

Come the mid afternoon DD is bored and fed up and I finish work thinking I need to do stuff with her but also get some stuff done around the house (which seems to be a permanent tip!).
I’m just running out of ideas of what to do with her. It’s been such a long time now, I feel like the novelty of trying to find ‘fun’ things to do every day has well and truly worn off for everyone.

Please can you tell me what your 8 year old does and how do you get some kind of routine that keeps everyone happy if your trying to wfh?

She is getting cross alot more too and I just feel like I’m failing at all of this.

My nine year old today, with me not working has:
Done school work
Made millionaires shortbread
Hoovered the house
Made a paper model airplane
Read half a book
Played on his tablet
Played with the cats
Fought with his brother when I got him back from school
Been for a walk with me
Watched TV
Played with Lego

Anything there you've not already done?

As per post above, plus those bead things - Hama beads? Made a Father's Day card. Sometimes he FaceTimes Granny and she reads him a story.

Watch documentaries (he loves history and is getting into science/space)
Phones his friend
Builds a den with his sister
I set him a task to build something on minecraft
TT Rockstars
Coding on scratch- he loves this
Reading
Painting
Made biscuits (ready made dough)
Chores (tidying, hoovering). I pay money for these (10p-£1 depending on how big the jobs are)
If he can possibly get away with it he'll spend as much time as possible on YouTube....

Maths Factor, reading, Netflix and creating dance routines.

She's an only child and I'm a single parent working from home full time.

It's shit but we'll all muddle through it. All we can do is our best. It's bloody hard work being a fantastic parent and a fantastic employee, something has got to give. At present, I'm an ok mum and an ok employee. My child is still alive, we're healthy and I haven't been sacked - standards are pretty low right now.

It sounds like you're doing a great job by the way so please don't be too hard on yourself.

Oh yes, also a coding app - Codeable? BBC Bitesized, watches Wild and Weird wildlife programme with his little brother.

Draw pictures
Make little books
Play with Lego
I got her speakers and an old phone with new audio books and music
Skateboard
Jigsaw puzzles (1000 pieces 😈)
Nintendo switch (fitness game, Mario Odyssey and Kart)
Painting, new box of paints and I got her a paint by numbers which she loved making
Sequin Art
Sewing kit (wasn't impressed!)
Reading
Music practice
Skipping rope
iPad
Netflix

Whilst a couple of years older (10) dd1 has taken to watching Hart to Hart.

Thank you all for the lovely ideas. Some we have done, others we can try. But I think on the whole she is missing interaction with other children and doesn’t like being left to her own devices for so long each day. I know it’s the same for so many of us, it’s hard. I am not a natural mum when it comes to thinking of creative fun things to do. I have looked online and got ideas but at the end of the day I think she just wants to be around other people.

My 7 year old does worksheets from twinkle, he is learning a language on duo lingo, he built a bird table with his dad so there is a lot of watching that and looking up birds in the bird book, which prefer what food etc. We’ve done puzzles (he needs some input but I usually ask him to find a particular type of piece then we do some together etc). He does FaceTime a couple of friends. He has school work on the chrome book, watches videos and plays games on bbc bite size, cosmic kids yoga, he particularly likes the Star Wars ones. I’ve had him write quiz questions for the family quiz (these were a bit weird but he spent ages researching them), baking cupcakes and letting him decorate them, he found flowers and leaves around the garden that we then pressed.

If left to his own devices he would play Pokemon against himself or catalog his Pokemon cards till the cows come home.

It is tough OP, my children are really missing interaction too.

My 9 year old:
Watches TV
Does some school work
Reads
Plays with his lego
Plays Minecraft
Plays Roblox
Plays on he Wii
Occasionally plays with his younger brother
Occasionally does some baking or cooking

Hhhm my 8 year old does:

• whines about starting schoolwork
• moans about schoolwork
• does a tiny bit of schoolwork
• fights with his brother
• I then sit next to him
• he picks spellings from my conference call
• does a bit of bbc bite size
• sneaks away
• plays in the Xbox
• watches YouTube
• plays in the Xbox some more

HTH

@Thneedville 😂 he sounds just like my DS12, maybe it’s a boy thing!

Bike and scooter rides, walks. Lots of benefits including (where we live) you are guaranteed to bump into someone.

Following this as I’m starting to work from home next week after being off since March and also have an 8yo.

Some things I’ve thought of so far:

• Aquabeads
• gravitrax
• Lego challenges
• paint by numbers
• drawing challenges. DS often FaceTimes my brother and draws Pokemon with him

This week we’ve made nerf targets out of toilet roll tubes and that’s kept him amused for ages knocking them down with different guns. He’s got 100 paper planes/spaceships books which he likes but does need some help with them. Also assault course in the garden, drawing targets/flames on the fence in chalk and washing it off with water guns, reading to grandparents on FaceTime or playing board games over FaceTime (Yahtzee, beetle drive, trivial pursuit have worked well).

I haven't done a single thing on these lists. I've been working, and can only just find time to have lunch, and go for a walk with Ds1 and Ds2.

Can you organise a FaceTime play date? My 5 year old does this with his best friend. And 7 year old spends hours on FaceTime with Granny, could do similar (or another relative)?

I did try a facetime chat with a few other girls but it was awkward, they didn’t know what to say to each other. I might see i can arrange a little walk with someone. No grandparents available for facetime. There are just so many hours to fill..

My 5yo facetimes my inlaws every day, lucky them

Stagecoach videos, they've got some bitesize ones for free
Long baths with slime, gel, bubbles, bath bombs - we've got a couple of make your own bath bomb kits
A lot of TV, my 7yo is burning through Nerflix series at an impressive speed

The 7yo has group zoom calls with her friends when we get round to organising them, they're awful with them all talking at once but she likes them!

They're not fussed about baking but like decorating, the other day I gave them 6 bowls of different coloured icing and 24 cupcakes and that took them a while to do.

Me and my DP are taking turns working 3 hrs each the other 3 we entertain the kids. 8yr old DS and 3yr old DD. In the morning he gets to watch tv till 10 then 1hr of school work with DP and play with his sister or in his room entertain himself till dinner. Then we swop and I do another hours work with him and take them both for a walk or on a bike ride till tea. After tea he is allowed 2hrs on the PS4 with his headset so he can talk to his freinds from school. Would never have allowed this before lockdown but now it gets him through the day and keeps his interaction with peers. Each day is the same and he likes the routine if we really cant get out due to the rain we will bake or play board games but no other screen time.
Works for us but honestly he would love to go back to school and me back to work.

DD video calls her friends (using my phone, natch) and they play on Roblox/Minecraft while chatting to each other. Not quite as good as a playdate but the best I can do in these circumstances.

DD is 9 and she does skype calls (and now has an old ipad so she can facetime with another little one who didnt have skype) shes on with a small group of friends whilst they play roblox (we know who they all are, she knows that no one else is allowed to call and she can't add anyone herself. They don't tend to use the camera, it's boring and slows down the system - except when doing how cute is my dog comparissons or showing off a dance move or latest craft creation.

There are long pauses between chats whilst they play then bits of chatter. Its really funny to listen too. It is a little odd suddenly hearing three or four other children chatting merrily and the odd parent calling them to tea/ a bike ride/ do some reading etc. They also do typical children things like a bit of one upmanship and playing favourites which socially I guess is quite important. I raise eyebrows and chat afterwards if things have seemed a little unfair/ heated but its quite good for keeping in with children her own age.

We initially got Skype so she can do 30 mins daily guided reading with grandparents. We sent them a duplicate set of books. This is time I can make phone calls, knowing she's kept busy.

It's all v v hard.

I have 3 dc so they often play role play together and create dens, trash their bedrooms, and trash the garden! Both dh and I are wfh nearly ft and it's tough in so many ways.

My 8 Yr old is doing well with her school work but she's not keen on independent studying. She's watched a lot of TV, done some craft and rediscovered some of our old toys.

The thing that's kept us all going is regular walks and time outside.

Next week will be a battle

I will try and get her to do her writing and maths lessons. But her sibling need 1:1 which can't be provided in working hours.

So I will try and get her to do her lessons plus Timetable Rockstars and her spellings.

In reality she will disappear from my sight and start playing games and I will be on a call and not manage to do anything about it.

And her sibling will be on Chromebok all day.

They will get a shock though - come 5pm they will have to do schoolwork. This is the most difficult week for is with DH and my work but schoolwork has to be completed.

Walk is a good idea - we went for a long walk with friends last weekend and the kids loved it. Having a garden play date today, is that an option?