Afternoon Zoomies

Do you find that your kids come home and go absolutely nuts?!

That’s where we were and it was driving me nuts, too. They’d come home and let out all the energy they’d held in during school. I’ve learned that it’s called “after school restraint collapse”. It means we have created homes that are safe spaces for them. While that’s comforting in one sense, it definitely doesn’t help in the here-and-now sense.

I’ve found that providing a schedule (structure) to sort of shape the let loose time is helping! They’re still playing and getting chores done and whatnot, but they’re doing it in small increments (avoiding boredom) and separately. For my boys, the separation is key. I tell my husband all the time that when they’re given unstructured time alone together, it becomes a contest to see who can do the dumbest thing. And you know what? I’m always the loser in that game. This is saving my life, one “WHAT IN THE WORLD WAS THAT NOISE?!” at a time.

I created mine in Canva, because Canva is life, but you can do it however works best for you. I’ve got this framework in my Etsy shop if you want it. I recommend you keep it short, no more than 20 minute blocks, so that your kids will stay engaged in their task, whether it’s for fun or a chore. I do recommend you balance work and play so that they aren’t hyping up too much by doing back to back play chunks for an hour. Plus, it gives them a chance to participate in the upkeep of the home!

If you try this, tag me and let me know how it’s going!