Hey y’all! To help get your year off right, I’ll be sharing some tips for a great start with Team Kellogg’s! The brand is regular in our home and I’m proud to be part of their family!
Having three boys can be chaotic at times and routines are essential in our home. Some families can “fly by the seat of their pants”, but we are not one of them. Like many, we’ve always established bed & bath routines but another one I find important, is afterschool routines. In my opinion, there is no one size fits all routine, so I’m gonna share some tips for you to create the best afterschool routine for your child’s personality.
Okay y’all, first, it’s very important to understand your kiddo; know their personality, recognize their work patterns, and learn their rhythms.
– When Tyler was little, he wasn’t the biggest fan of school and so the last thing he wanted to do, was homework. Toby on the other hand, LOVED school and always wanted to make sure his work was done as soon as he got home. Truett is a combination of both. If Truett knows he has church or there’s a basketball game to go to, he will do his homework right away because he knows he will go straight to bed once we get home, but he works better after he’s had some time to decompress from his long day at school. This is a great example of recognizing their work patterns.
– Truett loves attention, just like his oldest brother, while our middle son avoids being the center of attention at all costs. When Truett gets home, he loves to share his work, what he’s drawn, announcements, and tell me stories about his day. He also likes to do it quickly! This tells me something about his personality.
– My little guy is 7, and full of energy. He’s always moving around and even tries to multitask at times. One of the first things he does when he comes home, is grab a snack and then takes off outside or his room to grab some cars to play with. He does this every.single.day and it says a lot about his rhythm.
Based on what I know and understand about my son, I created our perfect afterschool routine, and it goes like this; Snack & small talk, playtime, homework.
- When Truett walks through the door, he smiles so big and almost always says, “my day was GREAT!”. We gather at the table, with his backpack and snack. One day it could be half a sandwich, another it could be some fruit, but one of our family’s favorites, is Nutri-Grain Fruit Crunch Granola Bars. They’re a tasty snack that holds us over until dinner, and goes great with a glass of milk. As we sit at the table, eating our snack, we sort through his school papers as he tells me about each one of them. We set his homework and reading books aside and finish our snack, while laughing at the newest ‘knock knock’ joke he learned.
- Truett has had enough small talk by this point and has long finished his snack. It’s time for him to release all that energy that’s been bottled up inside all day. He loves to ride his bike, play with the animals, practice his golf swing, jump on the trampoline, and help dad with chores. Because Truett gets home around 4, I usually let him play a good hour before we move on to the next step in our afterschool routine.
- Homework – In the beginning, because I knew Truett could do it easily, I had him sit down to do his homework on his own. I could still do this but because he loves attention, he’s often distracted with showing me this or that, finding some way for me to see what he’s doing or hear what he’s saying. I decided that it’s better for me for me to just sit down with him while he does his work. He’ll read the directions to me and tell me how he’s supposed to do it or let me pick a color for him to write each spelling word. It makes homework time run smoother and it’s just an added bonus of bonding time with my little guy.
These, very simple, three steps make our days a breeze. One of the biggest things you can do as a parent, is join in with them during your afterschool routine. Sit down and eat a snack with them. Go outside and jump on the trampoline, play with the calves, or even help with chores – WITH your kiddo. Engagement is important and makes them feel important. So now it’s your turn! Tell me what your afterschool routine is and what tips you have to make it run smooth, or what your kiddo’s favorite afterschool activity is.
Want the printable above to help make your afterschool routine? Click here to download!
Kellogg’s® believes that From Great Starts Come Great Things®. So we’re helping Moms start every day with a tip from the top athletes of Team Kellogg’sâ„¢ and Team USA dietitians. The thirty days leading up to the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games will each feature fun pieces of advice to help families fuel just like the athletes of Team Kellogg’s. To see all 30 tips, visit Kelloggs.com/GreatStartsTips.
Compensation was provided by Kellogg’s via Glam Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Kellogg’s.
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