Learn how to create a simple and effective afterschool routine that includes snacks, homework stations, and meaningful conversations with your kids. Say goodbye to chaos and hello to a more peaceful evening with your family.
SHOW NOTES FOR THIS EPISODE: https://www.realhappymom.com/238
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Learn how to create a simple and effective afterschool routine that includes snacks, homework stations, and meaningful conversations with your kids. Say goodbye to chaos and hello to a more peaceful evening with your family.
SHOW NOTES FOR THIS EPISODE: https://www.realhappymom.com/238
PURPOSE DRIVE MOM SUMMIT: https://www.realhappymom.com/apdm2024-p
NEXT STEPS
Grab Your Freebies: https://www.realhappymom.com
Check Out the Course: https://courses.realhappymom.com
Do you ever feel like you want to pull your hair out when you get the kids home from school after a long day? Now I know the feeling the kids are just filled with lots of emotions and energy and they are all over the place You have all these things that you need to get done before it is time to put the kids to bed And you just want a little bit of peace and quiet Well, I've got you in this episode with a quick routine that is going to make your life a little bit easier. Hey there. My name is Toni Anne. I am the podcast host of the Real Happy Mom podcast, the podcast for busy working moms who need help with getting more time and achieving their big goals without pulling their hair out. And in this episode, in episode 238, we are going to be talking about how we can have a better afterschool routine. Now, I. We'll be honest with you. My husband is amazing and he helps out a ton with the after school routine here in this home. But there are some times when mommy is off and mommy has to do things all by herself. So I get it if you are picking up the kids and you have to get things done before I do. It is time to go to bed. So I want to share with you a routine that I think has been helpful for me and my family so that we can all be nice and happy. And it won't be so many, big emotions and, arguments throughout the evening. First I will say for me, when I am And I have to pick up the kids from school. I will want to try to get as many things as I can done. And what usually happens is I'll end up, you know, barely getting out of the house in time to be in line to pick up the kids. But I haven't really eaten. I didn't take a potty break and I'm Feeling a little overwhelmed because I had all these things that I was in the middle of doing and I didn't get it done So first things first i've learned don't try to hurry to get last minute tasks done because You can't get everything done all at one time. Anyways, so try to reserve just a little bit of time Right before it's time to pick up the kids to one, take a potty break because you need to go potty and to prep some snacks for the kids. Because I will tell you, these kids come home and they are just hungry little people. I, they just want to eat up everything. So you already know they're going to be hungry. So have some snacks ready. It could be something. As simple as some cheese and crackers, some grapes, whatever it is that you have, um, have that ready to go so they can go ahead and, um, dive into those snacks and then just take a deep breath before the kids arrive. So there are a couple of key parts that I feel like, allow us to have a pretty good afterschool routine so there's not so much chaos. And one, it's the routine, snacks, like I already mentioned, because kids are hungry and you know what happens when kids are hungry. Next is a homework station and then having some organization. So first I want to talk about routines. This is something that I absolutely love to talk about here on the podcast and I think routines are so important and so critical for us as busy moms because we have a lot that is going on and one way to keep it so that one, we don't have to remember so many things to get done and two, so that there is that predictability and um, things can just like naturally just flow throughout the day. I feel like routines are key for that. so just basically doing the same thing the same way every day helps create that sense of predictability and security, not only for yourself, but for your kids too, as well. So a simple routine that I think is really easy that everyone can get on board with is first coming in. Putting their backpacks their shoes and their jackets away and making sure that the kids understand exactly where to put things because I Know my kids they like to come in and just throw things down and I have to remind them. No, no No, that goes there and this goes here. So just remind them. Okay, we're gonna put our things away Then from there, um, making sure if they do take a lunch to take their lunch boxes out, clean things out. Um, I, my kids typically have an ice pack in there so they know to put the ice pack inside of the freezer so that it can be ready the next time we're ready to use them and then storing the lunch boxes away. After that, they can go and get a snack. If you are being proactive, you will have the snacks sitting right there waiting for them. Um, if not the kids, my kids will go into the pantry and they will pick something out themselves. Next, I would say having them have some quiet time to unwind. You can use this time to prep for dinner, but After school, the kids have a lot of energy, emotions, and things, and they need some time to unwind, just like you need time to unwind after you've come home from a long day at work. So having some activities for them to have some quiet time, like having coloring pages, maybe some Play Doh, if you got little ones, Legos are a fan favorite here, or just getting outside and playing around. Whatever it is that they like to do to keep them quiet just for a bit, or Mildly quiet, I should say. Giving them some time to unwind is really, really helpful. Next would be to do some homework, or if they don't have homework, some reading time because reading is a really fundamental thing that we need to practice. And then lastly, dinner and then getting into the bedtime routine. So, that, like I said, is a simple routine that the kids can get on board with. That will help with a lot of the chaos and help you so that you're having some time to just relax and not feel like you have to like constantly be on for the kids while, when they get home from school. So next thing is a homework station. I know for, for my kids, we have desks for them, but having a specific place for they know, okay, this is where we're going to do homework. Is really helpful so that as soon as they sit down, they already know what time it is. Like they know it's time to get to work and make some magic happen when it comes to getting the homework done. Um, I think having that familiarity, as well as, like I said, with the routines, having that predictability, they already know, and their minds are already ready to go. If there is a certain place where they go to do their homework, whether it's at their desk, in their room, at the dinner table, if you have a special spot for them. Whatever the case is, just make sure that there is a place where they know to go to for their homework and having that station organized. So I know from my little one, he does homework at the dinner table. Now, he has certain little boxes that have all of the pencils and markers and crayons and things in there. If whatever homework requires those things, everything is already there and it's already organized. I would definitely say having something similar. If you have bigger kids, having sticky notes, extra paper, whatever it is that they need in order to get things done for their homework. And if you do have kids that are doing things virtually, cause I know my kids, they will do Panda and Alexia and all those fun things online, making sure that the computer or laptop, wherever the kids are working, is in a place where they can be supervised because this is something that I learned. They like to play tricks and they will, you know, Know how to get on Google and start Googling things or get on YouTube, whatever the case is. Um, if you are really tech savvy, you can have all those things blocked, but best thing is just to have them in a place where you can actually keep your eye on them to make sure they're staying on task. Then last thing I would say is having some check in time to have some meaningful conversations. This is something that has been really important to me because I really want to you. Be able to connect with my kids and be able to have conversations and, and see what it is that they're thinking, like, see what it is that's bothering them. What are the things that were fun for them? And, um, if there is anything that I may need to intervene on, like, what is it that's going on before I find out and it's too late. So I have two resources if you go to the show notes if you go to realhappymom. com slash 238. There's gonna be some links there. Um, one to, um, a link that has 35 questions to ask instead of how was your day at school, which I absolutely love. These questions are really great to get the conversations going and to really just like hear, like, What is on these little guys and girls hearts? Um, I love these, um, questions and I will find a bunch of different questions randomly. We like to do it during dinner time. That's when we like to ask these questions. Um, cause we always come together at the dinner table and sit together and have at least that time. This is a family art together and these questions are really helpful to have conversations that don't revolve around Goofy stuff because my kids are into saying silly things like poop all day. So We will go through these questions. And then we also purchased this box It's called table topics and it's the family edition. And again, I'll have that link in the show notes just head over there and you'll see it. Um, this box has, um, about a hundred questions in there. It's really, really cute to hear like some of the answers that the kids have. And again, we have really great conversations versus talking about. Um, sorry if you got little kids and you hear me saying that, but that's what they're into these days. So those are the things that I wanted to share with you on how you can have a better afterschool routine. So you are not feeling like you are pulling your hair out at the end of the day. I want you to be able to enjoy things and also enjoy being a mom with The little guys and gals and have some fun with them too. So hopefully you found this podcast episode helpful. I'll be back again next week for another full episode, but make sure you head over to realhappymom. com slash 238 to get all of the links and the show notes that was mentioned in this episode. And if you haven't already, please make sure that you join me inside the Purpose Driven Moms Summit. It has already started, but it is not too late to join me. You'll find that link in the show notes as well. Purpose Driven Moms Summit is going on from April 15th through the 19th, and this is one of my absolute favorite summits of all time. of all time. This is the seventh annual Purpose Driven Mom Summit, and there are 20 awesome speakers that are going to help you with getting organized, getting your systems and routines in place, and just making it so that you have the freedom to do the things that you want to do without getting burnt out and stressed out. So join me at the Purpose Driven Mom Summit that is going on right, right now. Now that's it for this episode. I'll be back again next week for another full episode where I am going to be talking about how we can better balance working home and still make time for our own interest. That's it for this one. Take care. And with lots of love.