Help With School Agers!

[melissa ann]

So yesterday was the first day for my new family. 1 boy and 2 girls. The boy is well behaved, plays well with others. His 2 sisters are another story. They are AWFUL! They are in school, 1st and 2nd grade so they here for about an hour in the morning and about 2 hours after school. They run back & forth, stand/jump on/off the sofa, the one sister is rough with her brother. Yesterday after school, I had a project set up on the kitchen table and they did that, then they did their homework. But after that, it was horrible. I kept telling them to knock it off. Then, my own 2 kids (who know better) joined in. I put in a dvd, hoping that would help. That lasted like 10 mins then it was back to taking off the cushions on the sofa, running around,etc.
I heard some of you say you would never take school age kids. Now I know why!

[queenbee]

School-agers = evil!!!!!!

I only provide care to school-agers in the summer, and they are the ones who have been with me since infancy. I love the dearly and they know my rules verrrrrrrry well

[Heidi]

can you send them outside? THAT IS OUTDOOR BEHAVIOR!

[melskids]

can you send them outside? THAT IS OUTDOOR BEHAVIOR!

I agree! We plan outside time EVERYDAY for the schoolagers after school. They need to be able to decompress from the day.

Just yesterday, my son (who's 9) was wound up tighter then a yo yo after school.

I said "T, pleeeeease. I listen to screaming and yelling all day. I just need you to be quiet. "

He looked at me and said "But mom, I have to be quiet aaaalllllllllllll day. I just need to scream and yell!"

I hated to admit it, but he was right.

[melissa ann]

I will try taking them outside when we come home. Then, we will do a craft and homework. Although, they behave like that at 7 in the morning too: (
Thank you!

[melskids]

well, the other thing i wanted to mention is, with SA, you have to lay down the law right from the start with them, or they will walk all over you. don't let them get away with anything!

find out what the girls are really into, and maybe even ask them for some ideas. when you involve them more in the decision making, they are usually more willing to comply.

My SA love crafts, art stuff, legos, polly pockets, the marble run, cooking, science experiments, and helping me with the little kids. the boys like computer games, of course, but they have to earn those priveledges here.

[lil angels]

I have 2 boys one is my own that Gets off the bus everyday they are 7 and 9 they need about 2 hrs of stuff to do everyday so I will print out crosswords, word finds, things like that to keep them busy the first hr off the bus then we have snack and then they along with my others will set at the tables with puzzles, playdough, those perler beads the older kids love, and art project ect. When they ask if they can leave I just tell them nope you run in my house and that is for outside only and I leave it at that. When it is nice outside (above 25) we will go outside after snack otherwise that is what they do and they don't say boo anymore they do this everyday and it is routine for them. Oh ya did I mention I won't take SA unless they grow up here.::

[krissy_mo]

I wasn't licensed when I had the majority of school aged kids. I told the parents I was just a parent and up front made it clear that it needed to be OK for them to play in the backyard while I was indoors with my own toddler and the other toddler I watched sometimes.

Sometimes, it's nice to not be licensed because just peeking out the window on a consistent basis was all it took to ensure their safety, (of course I watched a lot more until I was sure they were clear of and would follow the rules)

I also disciplined well, too. If they are acting up at this age, first yeah, take into consideration their need to run and play... but then putting on a DVD or trying something else as distraction without confronting the real issue only caused more problems.

I made it clear, no, sorry, no running, yelling, or climbing the furniture. I would let them know if they cannot find something acceptable that they want to do, then all of them would be at the table and they could spend the time either completing homework, writing a letter to a friend, or making up stories... in other words, I said, "If you can't control yourself, then I have to... so you pick who you want in charge of what you do for the next hour."

[jessrlee]

I would sit them in time out just like the littles. I have 4 school agers plus my 3 daughters every day and they play quiet as little lambs. Their fist week here I am a rules natzi and they learn very quickly what not to do

[karen]

This is what has worked for me in the past.....
A job chart gives them some responsibility....Morning jobs and afternoon jobs.
Make them your little helpers. They can help you serve breakfast in the morning maybe set the table....Clean up snack in the afternoon, load the dishwasher, wipe the tables anything do with cleaning and always tell them what BIG HELPERS THEY ARE!
In the afternoon if you have some time you could sit down and play beauty school with them I have found little girls love doing stuff like this.

[melissa ann]

So yesterday after school, I told them we were going outside for awhile. It was pretty nice out. Sunny, upper 40's. After about 30 mins or so, we came in, had a snack, did a craft, worked on homework, then they played. What a difference. Unfortunately, it's raining today: (

[mismatchedsocks]

Try this for rainy days with school agers.

Have races. One idea is to start everyone in the same place. Get stop watch, most cell phones have them. Tell them one at a time they willl have to touch 3 doorknobs, knock on 2 doors, find and work a kiddie puzzle of 24 pieces, and do 25 jumping jacks and give all the littles high fives. Maybe one of them can write it down, one can do stop watch etc. Then they can root each other on, remind each other what to do, etc. SOon after you start this "race" they may make up their own.

scavenger hunts. I have lists made up for inside days/outside days and give them to the kids when they are getting antsy. For example one yellow ribbon, farm animal, stuffed animal, one red lego, a book about bunnies, a movie with "the" in the title, etc.

[AfterSchoolMom]

I definitely agree with giving them as much physical activity as possible when they get home from school. Last school year, I used to have homework time before play, and it was a huge pain in the butt for me. I switched it up and let parents know that we'd work on homework, but not until a half hour before pickup, and that if they didn't get finished, it was on the parents to help them finish up at home.

As far as discipline, if one was acting up, they got a time out - I usually had them sit and read as far away from the group as I could put them while still being able to see them. I've also done sentence writing (with the parents permission) and that works as well.

If the whole group is getting rowdy, they sit in a circle in a quiet room and stare at one another without speaking. It bores them to tears and works very well.

Finally, I have the rules posted at all times and we go over them frequently. I make sure that they know what the schedule is and what the rules are from day one. That way, there are no surprises.

After all that, I know it sounds funny, but I miss my school agers!