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Maddie
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| Posted: Dec 15 2009 at 5:38pm | IP Logged
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Could you share with me what your evening routine is like? On a typical evening, say from the dinner hour until bed? What do your children do to entertain themselves? What do you do to unwind after they're in bed? Do you spend your evenings with the children or do you all disperse in different directions?
I'm curious as to what other families do and I'm also looking for ideas to make our evenings more memorable and pleasant. Not that I'm looking for more work, I'm usually pretty tired, but I love reading about Almanzo Wilder's family eating apples and popcorn together on long winter nights and I am wondering what everyone else does for the "Children's Hour".
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SeaStar
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| Posted: Dec 15 2009 at 6:12pm | IP Logged
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Maddie- my family walks after dinner as often as possible. Sometimes the weather will not allow this... but if it does, we go. Right now the kids are enjoying taking flashlights and looking for deer, owls, etc. Then we come in and everyone has an area to clean up (sometimes we do the cleaning before the walk: if you don't clean, we don't walk...)
When we get home we say our family rosary and prayers. At this time of year we add in lighting the Yule log and reading a Christmas book from our Advent basket. If there is left over time, the kids can play before bath time.
Dh does the bathing at our house, and I use that time to put away laundry or various other things. If I am all caught up, I use that time to answer e-mail, etc.
After bath the kids have a snack, then we read a chapter or two from whatever book we have going. Then Dh and I each take a kid to tuck into bed.
That all sounds very nice, but the kids do tend to get pretty wound up on the walk and then in the tub. If they don't behave in prayers, they don't get a snack before bed. By the time they are both asleep, dh and I are both pretty exhausted. The only things I do at night are read and do some computer work (read the forums, do on-line shopping, etc). I tell myself that whatever doesn't get done by 8 pm can wait til the next day.
Unless it's urgent, I give myself the evenings off.
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
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LLMom
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| Posted: Dec 15 2009 at 6:20pm | IP Logged
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Now that it is dark so early, we are inside reading, the kids play games with Dad (while I exercise or have some quiet time alone) and then (ideally) we pray the rosary and have baths. They go to bed fairly early (the older ones can stay up later and entertain themselves) and the Dh and I have our time. Usually, we just sit and chat about our day for 45 minutes or so. Then we read and pray before bed.
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Lisa
For veteran & former homeschool moms
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stellamaris
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| Posted: Dec 15 2009 at 6:44pm | IP Logged
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My husband often has to work late, so we don't have very much time between dinner and bedtime. We try to pray the Rosary together then. Sometimes my dh reads stories to the younger children. I often will be helping my dd with her homework at this time (she is in a Catholic high school this year for the first time). After the little ones go to bed, dh and I sit and talk with dd for a little bit and then we all go to bed early, since we need to take dd to the school bus at 6:15 a.m.! I unwind by praying the Divine Office and reading, and my dh also reads his Bible at this time. Then we chat a bit...and that's our basic plan!
I'm usually too tired at night to do any great "family" moments. If they happen, and sometimes they do, it is just a special blessing!
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Caroline
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Sarah M
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| Posted: Dec 15 2009 at 8:23pm | IP Logged
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SeaStar wrote:
| Maddie- my family walks after dinner as often as possible. Sometimes the weather will not allow this... but if it does, we go. Right now the kids are enjoying taking flashlights and looking for deer, owls, etc. |
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I love this!!!
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DominaCaeli
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| Posted: Dec 15 2009 at 9:21pm | IP Logged
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My kids are all still young, so bedtime is early here (6:30 if they don't nap, 8 if they do). My husband does arrive home from work at 5pm every day, though, so after dinner, we usually pray the Rosary and then he reads to the toddlers while I put the baby to sleep. Then we get ready for bed, do evening devotions, and leave them for the night.
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Celeste
Joyous Lessons
Mommy to six: three boys (8, 4, newborn) and four girls (7, 5, 2, and 1)
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violingirl
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| Posted: Dec 16 2009 at 12:48am | IP Logged
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We're in a little bit of a strange situation right now while my DH is in school. Three nights a week he isn't home until after 10, so I'm on my own for the evening.
We do bath time and pajamas, then we read a picture book and the Bible together then pray. On the nights Daddy is home the boys get to each have a little time alone with him- DS1 has a picture search he likes to do with him, and DS2 usually asks daddy to sing. :)
After the boys are in bed I usually check in on some online stuff then sew or knit when DH isn't home. On the nights he is home we talk for awhile until he has to do homework or if he's all caught up we play games.
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Erin
DS (2005) DS (2007) DD (2012)
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LucyP
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Half the time my DH is not at home, so I never factor his presence into our plans - basically we eat, ideally at around five, then I do dishes while the children play at the table with a mama-selected toy (puzzle, wooden village etc) or look at books. Then, if we didn't eat until nearer six, we just get into pjs - if we were early, we do baths followed by pjs. If DH is home that week, he reads aloud using a chapter book; if it's just me, I do a couple of picture books. Once that is done, we do nappies, then we light the bedtime candle, have blessings and kisses, pop on a talking book/lullaby CD, and I go downstairs. They are in bed by 7. But mine are just 6 and 2, neither will nap, and they are exhausted in the evening. I am looking forward to spending more time together in the evening as they get older, or if we get a dishwasher and I can spend less time washing dishes!
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Gloria JMJ
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| Posted: Dec 16 2009 at 12:25pm | IP Logged
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My family fights  a computer addiction  . While I'm making dinner, one of the boys is setting up a game of Command and Conquer Generals with Dad on our networked computers, while the others are helping me get dinner on the table (with lots of prodding from mom to help and not watch the game  ) Then after dinner, whoever isn't playing the game helps with the cleanup and pjs go on unless it's still light enough out to play outside for a while. Then we do a general tidy of the house and have evening prayers and ideally I read to them from a chapter book (Redwall, Swiss family, etc) and tuck them in. I'll sit at the computer and nurse the babie to sleep while dh is at the other computer and we'll talk about the day at that time and then go to bed ourselves.
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Smoothing Stones Holy Family Rosaries
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SusanJ
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| Posted: Dec 16 2009 at 1:10pm | IP Logged
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My kids are pretty little so we don't have much of an evening. Dinner is 5:30-6:30 depending on when dh gets home. Then we move pretty directly (though we try not to rush) through: Evening Prayer, five minute pickup, everyone upstairs, I nurse the baby in our bed while dh reads a picture book and a chapter to the other two kids, then we come downstairs. Our kids are usually down between 7:45 and 8:30. Usually dh and I both have some work to do but we too often just end up sitting and talking.
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Mom to Joseph-8, Margaret-6, William-4, Gregory-2, and new little one due 11/1
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PDyer
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| Posted: Dec 16 2009 at 1:57pm | IP Logged
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I drive back and forth to the pool, but I bet that's not an activity you're looking for...
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Patty
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Barbara C.
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| Posted: Dec 17 2009 at 9:28pm | IP Logged
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We eat dinner around 5:00. Then you never know what will happen. DH spends a lot of time in his man cave, but he might come up to play some Beatles Rock Band or other Wii games with the girls. Sometimes I play a board game or watch a movie with the big girls. Or one hops on the computer, another watches a movie, and I read. Or they go upstairs to play in the playroom while I watch television. Or any combination.
At 9:00 it's snack time then getting ready for bed. 9:45 sees the start of the "lights-on" routine. These days it's family football...lots of tackling daddy, for about 15 minutes. Then putting the big girls to bed. Once they are settled then the toddler and I head to bed, usually around 10:30.
Welcome to our crazy life! 
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Barbara
Mom to "spirited" dd(9), "spunky" dd (6), "sincere" dd (3), "sweet" dd (2), and baby girl #5 born 8/1/12!!
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Nina Murphy
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| Posted: Dec 17 2009 at 11:57pm | IP Logged
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I don't have time to post extensively but I will give you a bare bones schedule that is pretty much followed. Keep in mind it is HECTIC and pretty much every single person around here is melting down at this point. We all get grumpy and need to go to sleep late in the afternoon!
Dinner is served between 5:45 and 6 every night. Immediately after dinner, older kids clean up. Then oral medicines, then Rosary (sometime littles are put to bed before Rosary because they are losing it....), then breathing treatments, teeth, and hopefully, bedtime books, with Mom. My husband sings to the littles every night when they are tucked in----he is amazingly consistent. They are kind of addicted and sometimes whine that they can not fall asleep if he is not here to do so.....then I do so, if I have patience, or I tell them to get to sleep IMMEDIATELY.
We used to have daddy read aloud of fiction when all of the kids were "little" but now we have too much of an age range and it is too chaotic. But the older kids wax nostalgic from time to time: "REMEMBER when Dad used to do read-aloud every night". "sigh...."
I can't believe the books he got through, including all of the Tolkien. Those were the days....
Just kidding. To every time there is a season, purpose under heaven, etc. etc.
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~~Nina
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and 2 yet-to-be-met
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Michiel
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| Posted: Dec 18 2009 at 4:49am | IP Logged
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Ours isn't very exciting, but I like it.
After dinner, all of us are in the kitchen together cleaning it up, usually all getting in each other's way, until everything is done. Then we read a story aloud together. We rotate who gets to pick the next story. After stories, we might watch a movie, play a board game, play ping pong, or read books individually. Often the boys go upstairs and horse around. Then jammies, and read in bed. Prayers, kisses, etc.
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Willa
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| Posted: Dec 18 2009 at 9:44am | IP Logged
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Nina Murphy wrote:
But the older kids wax nostalgic from time to time: "REMEMBER when Dad used to do read-aloud every night". "sigh...."
I can't believe the books he got through, including all of the Tolkien. Those were the days....
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That sounds like our family back in the "old days".
Our evenings are fairly short since we eat late -- about 6:30 when the highschooler comes home. Then it's usually just sort of dinking around until we say family prayers and then the younger ones bedtimes -- meds, read alouds and "blessings".
DH listens to Teaching Company tapes at bedtime, and I listen too, and/or read. The older kids read in bed too.
That's about it -- rather boring! Sometimes especially on weekends I bake something and the family hangs around the kitchen and talks. Sometimes DH and older children watch a video together. And sometimes there are seasonal sports commitments.
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AMDG
Willa
hsing boys ages 11, 14, almost 18 (+ 4 homeschool grads ages 20 to 27)
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4Real Forums : Mothering and Family Life
Topic: what does your evening look like?
