Working parents, activities and homework

[Anonymous]

So we both work, and most days don’t pick up from SACC until 5 pm. 3-4 nights we have activities (music lessons, sports, scouts), which tend to be around 6pm

We scarf down dinner 5-6, activity, and then home for homework and bed !

But we find 7-8pm not really enough time for 4th grade home, even 2nd grader has 40 min of assigned homework.

Ideally we would pick up kids earlier like many classmates, who are home by 4 and already have dinner prepped by SAHM while they were in school.

Not an option for us, so how do working parents get hw done and still do basic activities (I mean none of these are travel or competition level music).

We tried to encourage homework in SACC but there is so much chaos there after school, doesn’t really get settled in til 430 pm and then we pickup and drive home 30 minutes later.

[Anonymous]

Can they do homework in the morning?

Four nights of activities is a lot, too.

[Anonymous]

Can you afford an afternoon sitter who will pick up the kids, do snack and homework, perhaps cook dinner?

My friends paid for a college student to do this for their daughter.

[Anonymous]

How much damn homework?

My 4th grade son is in the GT program and can get his done in 15 minutes.

It’s usually a math sheet and reading comprehension or writing.

He sometimes chooses to do it in the morning.

[Anonymous]

No second grader should be doing 40 minutes of homework.

If they really like their activities, they have to do HW at SACC. If they don’t like their activities, drop them.

You cook in batches on the weekend, so weekday dinners are reheating and salads.

Your kids do not go to bed at 8pm.

This is how it works.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can they do homework in the morning?

Four nights of activities is a lot, too.

Part of it is multiple kids and different activities per kid (age gap)

Generally just 3, but we only have 4 nights to do homework so Fri activity is free anyways.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No second grader should be doing 40 minutes of homework.

If they really like their activities, they have to do HW at SACC. If they don’t like their activities, drop them.

You cook in batches on the weekend, so weekday dinners are reheating and salads.

Your kids do not go to bed at 8pm.

This is how it works.

20 minutes reading, 20 minutes math and writing

They are happy to do it in SACC, but between Snack and mandatory outside time, they lose almost half an hour before they can settle down to work, then we arrive and whisk them home — too many transitions.

[Anonymous]

yea... i don't know how two working parents with multiple kids in multiple activities do it. I'm dreading going back to woh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How much damn homework?

My 4th grade son is in the GT program and can get his done in 15 minutes.

It’s usually a math sheet and reading comprehension or writing.

He sometimes chooses to do it in the morning.

Omg, our 4th grade Gt has elaborate projects, fairly involved project lite weekly homework

It’s cool seeing how much they accomplish on their own, but deadlines can mean late late nights bc of the fragmented weeknight times.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No second grader should be doing 40 minutes of homework.

If they really like their activities, they have to do HW at SACC. If they don’t like their activities, drop them.

You cook in batches on the weekend, so weekday dinners are reheating and salads.

Your kids do not go to bed at 8pm.

This is how it works.

20 minutes reading, 20 minutes math and writing

They are happy to do it in SACC, but between Snack and mandatory outside time, they lose almost half an hour before they can settle down to work, then we arrive and whisk them home — too many transitions.

We do reading at bedtime. Just push the bedtime a bit early. Kids settle in bed and read.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Can you afford an afternoon sitter who will pick up the kids, do snack and homework, perhaps cook dinner?

My friends paid for a college student to do this for their daughter.

We probably need this. How do you find them? Sitter city?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Can you afford an afternoon sitter who will pick up the kids, do snack and homework, perhaps cook dinner?

My friends paid for a college student to do this for their daughter.

This is how you do ieverything. Much less hectic for the kids and you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No second grader should be doing 40 minutes of homework.

If they really like their activities, they have to do HW at SACC. If they don’t like their activities, drop them.

You cook in batches on the weekend, so weekday dinners are reheating and salads.

Your kids do not go to bed at 8pm.

This is how it works.

20 minutes reading, 20 minutes math and writing

They are happy to do it in SACC, but between Snack and mandatory outside time, they lose almost half an hour before they can settle down to work, then we arrive and whisk them home — too many transitions.

We do reading at bedtime. Just push the bedtime a bit early. Kids settle in bed and read.

We have a reluctant reader, needs to be at desk with light to focus. Loves being read to at bedtime.

[Anonymous]

Sometimes it just isn't enough time and you have to give something up. Either you shift schedules so that one of you goes to work super-early and comes home earlier, or your kids drop their activities/limit them to weekends.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Can you afford an afternoon sitter who will pick up the kids, do snack and homework, perhaps cook dinner?

My friends paid for a college student to do this for their daughter.

We probably need this. How do you find them? Sitter city?

I'm not quite sure, what I know is that the first two didn't work out, because one wasn't reliable, and the other quit. The third one is working out quite nicely. This is over a two year period. When they were in between sitters, they sent their daughter back to the school after care program (which she didn't like, too noisy and draining).
Best of luck!