What are your dc’s doing when not doing school work?

[Littlemiss74]

Understandably my youngest is getting bored now. She’s 8 and has completed her school work usually by herself by 11.00am while I’m working. DH does school stuff with DS12.

The afternoons are becoming tough. At the start it was all fun and a novelty and the great weather helped as we were always out in garden. Now we’re all getting bored and fed up. I can’t keep coming up with amazing exciting things to do in the afternoons at home. DS is more than happy on his phone & electronics but poor DD is getting bored & lonely and I’m running out of ideas. I am also becoming bored and tired!

In a way I like having them at home but then again the thought of 12 more weeks like this is quite depressing.

What do your dc’s do in the afternoons and how much time do you spend with them, keeping them entertained?

It's tough isn't it?

My 9 year old is sometimes diverted by Playmobil or air dry clay modelling.

Currently working her way through the box set of Malcolm in the Middle as she's at a low ebb and I thought something funny might help.

Also I'm trying educational but fun TV such as Ray Mears and David Attenborough.

12 yo Son x box. Tho he has started seeing friends once a eeek.

14 yo dd. U tube TIKtok. Occasionally make up herself. Bit of art.
Starting to hang with friends too.

Plays mine craft really!

We do daily walks and cycles and he plays quite a bit of piano and he does read quite a bit but mainly it’s tech based!

DD6 is happy with Sylvanian Families, LOL dolls etc
DS4 mostly follows me around shouting "Mum, mum, muuuuuuuummmmm"
If I set something up, car mat, jigsaws etc that will keep them both occupied for a short while. At the start of lockdown I was setting up lovely creative activities (Pinterest style) that they played with for around 45 seconds and had taken me 45 minutes to arrange so I stopped that quickly.

Ds is also 8 and flits between jumping on the trampoline, saying I'm bored, watching TV, saying I'm bored, playing Minecraft, saying I'm bored... you get the drift

Has your dd watched Little Lunch on Netflix? Ds LOVES it and watches it over and over again whilst I'm working!

Lego, craft stuff (junk modelling), Minecraft, a Disney film etc if they can’t get in the garden, like today when it’s drizzly ughhhh

DS (10) does his workbooks or Oak Academy until 3pm if he finishes his school work. After 3pk he either plays out on his bike or Minecrafts if the weather is bad.

Dd (14) works 9-4
Dd(9) works til lunch then out for a walk then afternoon is either a tutor session, on the phone to friends, iPad-either games or YouTube
She often plays a game online with her two brothers
Ds (6 and 5) work til lunch out for walk then ipad time either play together online and then do Lego, games, superhero's or whatever....

Sorry dd(15) she's just had a birthday

Rocking in the corner screaming WHY OH WHY DO TEACHERS HATE ME I ONLY WANT AN EDUCATION.

Minecraft, Lego, watches TV, go for a walk, play in the garden.

I’m working so he plays mine craft and watches YouTube videos of older kids playing mine craft 😭

A lot of watching YouTube unfortunately. We try to get out for a walk every day after lunch and play games together but he's definitely having more screen time than pre lockdown.

Ds14 - YouTube, PS4, occasionally drawing, basketball at the park, out with friends now a couple of times a week, baking

Ds10 - Lego, tecdecs (finger skateboards), PS4, skateboarding and scooting, YouTube, cooking. Meeting friends occasionally now.

The screen time has escalated as the weather has got worse - we were outside all the time when it was sunny. Ds10 goes through phases of doing one thing constantly for a week or so then moving on. He is quite self-sufficient but needs reminding to unplug himself otherwise he would literally watch YouTube for 6 hours straight.

They do tend to have school work until about 2pm though.

We go for a long walk after lunch most days. Then ps4 or television for a bit. Then 30minutues of quiet reading or audio book.

Crafts, lego, Gravitrax things like that for a short time. Then it's almost dinner time.

Some days there's a lot of ps4.

Roblox, Minecraft, drawing, Lego, reading, Netflix - 8yo
Lego, various building toys, Netflix, imaginary play with me, boisterous play with DH, being read to, occasionally crafts or baking - 5yo

8yo doesn't require a lot of supervision/entertainment but DH or I are intetacting directly with 5yo most of his waking hours.

Youtube, games, walks with me, winding each other up.

My kids do a pretty good job of entertaining one another. Sometimes that tips in to annoying each other but the balance is firmly in my favour. They watch telly, play computer games, read books, play board games, mess around on the trampoline, throw a ball around, WhatsApp their friends, make animations, bake cakes and eat and eat and eat all day long.