The little kids go to an after school program each day where they get a snack, do their homework with help from school staff, and then play until I come get them. They can stay until 5:30, and it costs about a dollar an hour. Pretty great deal, and although they don't love it all the time, it's been a lifesaver since I went back to work full time a few years ago.
The only drawback is that because it is largely staffed by the college students in town, when the college is closed, so is after care. Not a lot of days, but still something to figure out every so often. Normally, they go to one of our neighbors' houses or get picked up by any one of our many village friends. It's worked out fine, but does require me to ask favor after favor.
Long story longer, there is no after care this week. We decided to try full on latch key kids. Well, actually full on garage code kids. At 10.5 and 8, they are in the age range where it starts to be acceptable, and if they could be responsible in the 45 minutes until someone else gets home, it would sure make these weeks easier to manage!
They got lots of instructions and then it was time to try it out. My kids are actually pretty responsible, and with my neighbors home, I felt more than comfortable. When I got home, I found them sitting next to each other on the couch watching a Disney movie. They had completed their homework, eaten a snack and Abby was completely ready for dance! I was super proud of them, and even though it makes me sad to see how grown up they are getting, I couldn't help but see the possibilities!! They were seeing the same possibilities because they both told me that I could cancel after care since they could clearly do it on their own. Ha! We're not quite there yet, kiddos. (But I'm kind of already dreaming of the day when I can leave anyone for any length of time. It'll be amazing.)
