any parents on here that get home from work late (7pm or so)? what do you do about homework/studying?

my dd is in kindergarten. right now, I am not too concerned but in a sense I am very concerned.

I get home by 7:15 on average and I hit the ground running. Either dh will cook or I will. we usually eat by 8/8:15pm, brush teeth, shower if it is shower night and off to bed by 8:30. I always read a book at night but I feel like I am not doing much to reinforce her learning.

she does her homework at aftercare.my husband picks her up at 6 as well as my son who is in a nearby preschool.
Let's say they are home by 6:30pm.

I just don't know what to do and I feel like I am not rolling up my sleeves and doing my part. she seems to be on autopilot, pointing to sight words etc. but I have not done anything to foster the learning.

It is crucial these kids are in bed by 8:30 to get adequate sleep.

just venting and looking for support I guess. anyone go through this?

Re: any parents on here that get home from work late (7pm or so)? what do you do about homework/studying?

We generally don't pick up the kids until almost 6:30 and DS usually has sports or activities 1-2 nights per week. Both of my kids stay up pretty late and don't seem to need much sleep. DS1 is in 1st grade. He does his homework at daycare. I check it over when I get home in between feeding them. I also try to have him read more at home. He's a great reader, but I want to feel involved in his homework. I don't seem to have time to practice his spelling words and math flashcards as much as we're supposed to, but those things have all come easy to him so far. It's definitely a struggle to balance everything, but I try to make sure that homework comes first.

Re: any parents on here that get home from work late (7pm or so)? what do you do about homework/studying?

maybe do some sight word cards or flash cards while your sitting down to dinner.

any parents on here that get home from work late (7pm or so)? what do you do about homework/studying?

dinner is tough. it's literally like "shovel shovel shovel" we eat around 8pm. after that, we brush teeth, do bath if bath night, and then book before bed. so, dinner time is all about eating and eating fast.

Re: any parents on here that get home from work late (7pm or so)? what do you do about homework/studying?

I dont know if after K i ever did any teaching at home other than reinforcing what was HW and of course reading. So dont beat yourself up that you're not doing enough.

I do believe that sleep is extremely important and young kids are burnt out after 7 pm and should not be doing school work. Thats family and play time. My focus would be on gettinf the right childcare so hw is done before they are home.

My 6th graders challenge is that the afterschool had no computers and a lot of her work required that.

Re: any parents on here that get home from work late (7pm or so)? what do you do about homework/studying?

Last year I would go over the girls sight words when they were in the bath. They actually loved it and they would use the bubbles to try to write the words.

Re: any parents on here that get home from work late (7pm or so)? what do you do about homework/studying?

if your husband is home by 6:30, i would suggest he make dinner right away so you can eat earlier, leaving you time for more homework before bath.

OR you can cook meals on weekend, and just have DH unfreeze them/warm them up when he gets home. While they are in the oven, he can do homework with the kids. if you end up getting dinner started earlier, you can take your time eating and can practice sight words at the table, or come up with some fun "games" to play to review homework.

good luck!

Re: any parents on here that get home from work late (7pm or so)? what do you do about homework/studying?

any parents on here that get home from work late (7pm or so)? what do you do about homework/studying?

I don't get home quite as late, but my kids are older and its even harder now. My son is in middle school and has ADHD and requires help with his homework every night. So I am getting in at 6 or just after, we eat mostly by 7-7:30 and then we are just starting homework. And his homework is HARD, and sometimes takes 2 hours or more. He's in bed by 9:30. Luckily, we've started a morning shower routine so that helps.

But literally, its a mad rush from the moment I walk in the door until about 10:30, when I literally drop into bed. I joke around when I leave work that I'm leaving to go start my second job!

any parents on here that get home from work late (7pm or so)? what do you do about homework/studying?

If your child is doing homework at aftercare, I really wouldn't worry about doing more "learning" at home. Read a bed time story, and call it a night!! Learning all day, then being in aftercare, then coming home and doing more learning is going to make for an unhappy, burnt out kid. Been there done that when my son was younger!

Re: any parents on here that get home from work late (7pm or so)? what do you do about homework/studying?

Re: any parents on here that get home from work late (7pm or so)? what do you do about homework/studying?

Message edited 11/30/2015 9:45:43 AM.

Re: any parents on here that get home from work late (7pm or so)? what do you do about homework/studying?

Message edited 1/28/2015 9:12:33 PM.

Re: any parents on here that get home from work late (7pm or so)? what do you do about homework/studying?

any parents on here that get home from work late (7pm or so)? what do you do about homework/studying?

thanks ladies!!!

Re: any parents on here that get home from work late (7pm or so)? what do you do about homework/studying?

Hrm

AJ goes to bed around 8:30-9:00 I don't feel its crucial to enforce it as much as she just wants to.

When I walk in the door its immediately "Spell........?".. whatever the 5 words are that week. She is expected to have her homework done during aftercare. I have found her slacking off and so the price is paid when I get home. No TV, no fun, no bubbles in the bath. You are expected to have your sentences and coloring done by the time I walk in the door. I review her homework which generally involves me telling her she KNOWS how to spell whatever words. I made her update, redo or once I actually threw away her homework because I disapproved of the subject matter. I review her book, sign off on paperwork, listen to her read me a book while I eat or after I eat. I read her a book before she sleeps or while she's brushing her teeth or in her bath. She spends 15-20mins on reading homework done on the ipad or math workbook we have in the house.

I break things into 15mins increments. I am literally calling out words while taking off my bra and getting into jammies, reading homework for errors while taking a tinkle and correcting her when I eat. I try never to go over 15mins on any one things. So its constantly moving. That said, I'm high fives and tickles when things are done right and on my belly on the floor helping her understand math if she's stuck.

I like to sprinkle in fun with work.

any parents on here that get home from work late (7pm or so)? what do you do about homework/studying?

ooh I like that! it has tiger mom written all over it!
i'd like to be a tiger mom but I don't have it in me. what you do is something that I think is achievable. doing work in 15 increments..
thanks!

Re: any parents on here that get home from work late (7pm or so)? what do you do about homework/studying?

What time does DC get up in the morning? Mine didn't get up til 8, so I didn't enforce the 8:30 bedtime that strictly. I was happy if we were in bed reading around 8:30, and going to sleep around 9. As long as the HW is being done at aftercare, I wouldn't get too crazy about it. As others said, you can go over it quickly while you or DH cooks, and then just discuss it, or what she's currently learning about in school over dinner. It will make for a more relaxed dinnertime, and she won't really realize that you are reinforcing her schoolwork.