After school routine?

[Mary8417]

I have a 5 year old ds in reception and 7 year old dd in year 2. They don't go to any after school clubs or classes yet. I was wondering what your day is like when the kids are home from school? What do you do until bedtime? Do you have a set routine?

I really struggle with consistency and feel like a failure most of the time when it comes to my kids 😣

I have DD aged 6 in year 2.

We get in around 3.30. She has about half an hour of telly with a snack and then plays while I cook dinner. We eat early - about 5ish. After dinner she can play again for a bit and then does a few maths questions and reads a book. We go up to bed at 7. Some nights has a bath but not every night. Then has two books read by us, sometimes a video (she and her dad have a few YouTube channels they watch together) and a chat and then lights out.

I take the view that she's busy all day in school. I like to let her chose what she wants to play with and have a good amount of time to play imaginatively at home.

Walk home via the park. Once a fortnight or if really tipping down, go to the local soft play in the leisure centre (a couple of quod each). Home for a snack and tv time/toys out.

Dinner at 5, into a bath after, then quiet play, books etc til 7.

My reception aged son couldn't cope with much after school and definitely not extra curriculars.
When we get in from school, he has a snack, a play time of about 30 mins while I usually finish up some last bits of work, head out to collect youngest from nursery, home for tea, stories, bath and bed for 6.30ish, sometimes earlier.

You're not a failure.

What do you want to do after school?

Tbh with mine, we get back, they have a snack and then can watch TV, play, do homework, chill out until tea time.

One day a week they have swimming lessons after school.

I'm right there with this post aswell I often find myself setting up a little movie night before they even get home from school lately, it's not that I'm even in a bad routine I just have no idea what routine to make. The one thing I am in strict routine with and always have been kids bathed supper and bed by 9pm so I can have one hour to myself before I go to bed aswell, my mum says that's a bit late for my kids to be going to sleep but I've always found that time frame working for them as their early risers they wake about 6am every day even weekends, I'm so open to suggestions on this post aswell as the girl who's posted it there's only so much TV and games you can play between 3pm and 9pm feels like lockdown again between those times lol. Xx

Thank you everyone for your comments! It really helps to see what other people do. What makes me feel like a failure is mainly the amount of tv they watch and the fact that I can't really be bothered to play with them! Or take them out after school... They want to play chase, hide and seek and running around... I suffer from chronic backache and am a bit overweight which doesn't help! I find myself getting exhausted very quickly which is why I usually make excuses when they ask to play games that require moving 😅

I feel like the day just goes by and we end up doing nothing really! They fight and play on and off and fight again and watch tv, eat and fight, watch tv...😅

Around 8pm we start bedtime and by 9-9.30 they're asleep. The only thing we do consistently (most night) is me reading to them in bed and both kids doing some reading too. I feel like i should have a timetable with different activities we should be doing together and not wasting time 😢