The school bus rounds the corner. Your car inches forward in the pick-up line. The clock ticks toward the time of day when parents become brave soldiers, steeling themselves for war. Teachers return our children to us, and we find ourselves entrenched in the dreaded after school.
After school is a tricky time of day.
Our kids are exhausted. We are exhausted! They’re hungry, there’s homework, and, most likely, a calendar’s worth of extracurricular activities to keep us playing taxi driver.
Instead of merely surviving, allow me to offer a battle plan to guide you through those treacherous after-school hours.
Snacks! Stat!
You’re not new here. We all know the most immediate need, post-school, is food. Whether you’ve got a kindergartener or a high schooler, kids come home with scary appetites.
I realize you’ve already got the three regular meals of the day to think about. But trust me, the mighty snack plate might just save your sanity.
It’s simple. Throw together various things from the fridge and pantry you need to use up anyway.
Put it together at breakfast, shove it in the fridge, and afternoon-you will be ever-so grateful!
Assorted cheeses, lunch meat, and crackers make a great starting point for a snack plate. Add fruits, veggies, dips, and nut butter to keep them full until dinner. If you’re on the go, turn the plate into a bento box and have it on hand in the car. Immediate access to food is crucial.
(A bonus of snack prep is having space to actually sit with your kid and hear about their day. Kids may not verbalize it, but they appreciate our undivided attention.)
And don’t forget the water! With long days, kids don’t do a great job of staying hydrated. Channel your inner water boy and have those water bottles ready to toss to your little champions. You’d be amazed how some healthful snacks and hydration changes the course of your afternoon.
The Backpack Pat-Down
In the after-school chaos, it’s easy to overlook the backpack. Instead of letting your kid toss it in a corner as an afterthought, institute a routine. Once the snacks have been inhaled and your scholar is returning to normal brain function, have a designated spot for unloading backpacks.
This area should be used to weed out important papers, homework, and anything left over from the day. (You want to grab that uneaten banana sooner than later!)
Whether you have a Pinterest-worthy mudroom or some baskets from the Dollar Tree, the idea is a command center for organization. You stay in the loop and your child learns to take ownership of their school goings-on.
Additionally, practicing daily backpack organization will translate into less frantic mornings. You’re welcome.
All the Activities
Kids today have all manner of activities after school. Piano lessons, baseball games, band practice and art classes blanket the calendar. The week fills up pretty darn fast with places to be after school.
Check your lineup of extracurriculars the night before, at the very latest. Work with your child to prepare as much as possible. Lay out the uniform, pack the bag, and gather the supplies. Eliminate the after-school scramble, which inevitably ends in shouting or tears or both. Less stress for all!
Back to food. As much as dinner around the table is a wonderful thought, it’s not always reality during certain seasons of busyness.
Meal-plan some easy recipes to make in advance for days with after-school activities. Bring your dinner to eat together at the park before the game or in the car between lessons.
Eating dinner in creative ways is about being together.
One member of the family may be wearing a tutu, while another has just come off the soccer field, but the goal is to be intentional with those few precious hours you’ve got at the end of the day.
Have you found the underlying theme in this after-school battle plan? Preparation, my friend, is key.
Having a little forethought will give you a huge advantage at a time of day that has bested the most formidable parents.
Organize yourself at the beginning of the week in a way that works for you. Checklists, phone reminders, and apps are all easy tools to help structure three challenging areas of after-school hours.
Make a plan for snacks, backpack checks, and organizing extracurricular needs. Even if planning ahead isn’t your usual method of operation, give it a try. Tell me it doesn’t help win some of the battles of the after-school blues.
You’ve got this, soldier.
