Creating an Afterschool Happy Hour
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On a good day at our house, school wraps up by about 3 o’clock. The house is quiet. The girls are napping (hopefully). The boys are finishing their independent work. We do a quick pick up to signal the end of lessons and the transition to afternoon activities.
One fun thing to make that transition fun — and delicious — is to share an afterschool “happy hour.” You could call it a coffee break, an afterschool snack or tea time.
The important thing is that we take a moment to unwind, share a snack, and reconnect.
We do this at the end of our homeschool day, but I imagine that families who school outside the home would enjoy this just as much. It’s a great chance to catch up, share funny stories, and refuel for afternoon activities.
Take a moment to unwind
I find that school days can be full days. My kids have chores and school lessons to do. I have to hit the ground running just to keep up. While each child may not be busy the entire day, my minutes are filled, transitioning my attention from child to child and tackling home tasks.
Taking a break can be so refreshing — for me and the kids.
Share a snack
On a good day at our house, meals are planned in advance. The kids have had a good breakfast; we eat sack lunches. Dinner is scheduled for about six pm. Lunch seems hours ago, and it’s still too early to eat dinner.
So, it’s nice to have a snack to hold us over.
Some snacks we like:
- Apples and maple cream
- Cheese and crackers
- Graham crackers and applesauce
- Popcorn with butter
- Cake and hot cocoa
- Cookies and milk
Sharing Sara Lee
Recently, our happy hour featured pound cake from Sara Lee. This dessert is a sweet memory from my childhood. My mom often bought one for me and my four siblings.
I love the convenience of having this snack in the freezer. It’s a great last minute treat, especially since it thaws so quickly. I prefer it cold.
Drizzle it with an orange glaze, and it’s even better!
Orange Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon orange zest
1 – 2 Tablespoons orange juiceCombine all ingredients in a small bowl, adding enough juice to create the consistency you desire. Drizzle over slices of pound cake and serve.
Reconnect
Even though I spend all day every day with my kids, there are still times when I feel a disconnect. If I’ve been busy cleaning or we’ve had company, I feel like I’ve been away from them. I miss them when we haven’t had a chance to talk.
Snack time is a good way for us to reconnect.
Looking at good days
The reality is that “good days” are hard to come by. At least in the “everything-is-going-as-I-planned” kind of good day.
The house might be a wreck. Tears might have been shed over math problems or phonics reading. Piles of laundry may be waiting in all corners of the house. FishChick 2 might have gotten into who-knows what.
But, hanging with my kids? Reconnecting after a hard day? Enjoying a little pick-me-up together?
That can make every day a good day.
Its just me and my teenage daughter so we do high/low after work and before I start on dinner — it works for us.
We always talk about the day on the way home from school in the car. Thanks for reminding us to have some fun too!
I homeschool my boys too and I totally understand what you mean about being disconnected even though you’re together all day, every day. At bedtime, our routine is to lay on their bedroom floor and just chat…about our day, about the next day…whatever. Its a nice way to bring our day to an end in a positive way. I do like the idea of “happy hour”. My boys love to snack after they wake up from their afternoon naps, so I just need to make sure I set aside a little time to sit with them!
I love cuddling in my bed with everyone, it’s nice and warm and relaxing!
We like to make popcorn with skittles or M&M’s (Movie Style they call it) and listen to Adventures in Odyssey right before bed. We then talk about what was discussed that day in the show and then teeth-brushing and off to bed. It signals the end of the day and also it great quality family time. 🙂
My son is 4, so he can be hard to connect with sometimes!! Lately, he’s been really into board games, so I will stop whatever I’m doing to play with him. I also love to snuggle in bed (even in the middle of the afternoon) with him, and read to him. I know I don’t have a lot of that left… he will learn to read on his own, etc., so I try to enjoy it! Also, I occasionally make “ants on a log,” which he LOVES. 🙂
My older son loves “family movie night” or “family game night”. There is a 7 year age gap between him and his younger brother… but he always tries to pick a game or movie to share with him! Melts my heart!
Usually to reconnect I just sit down with one of the girls when I find her alone. Or call one of them into a quiet space. Sometimes we talk, sometimes we just sit together. Almost always we end up with a hug.
Sitting and eating dinner together
We take a few minutes to talk about our days and reconnect before starting on our afternoon activities.