what do your older (10 and up) boys do with their extra free time after school? We have several homeschooling friends that Dad farms or works from home, and that's a great place for ds's to spend their afternoons. We don't have the privilege of Dad being home all the time, and I know you don't all have that privilege either. So what do your boys do?

TIA!

HI. Well, I know what you mean. DH used to work from home.
That was so nice!~ He had extra time with the kids and a lot of father-son stuff to do together. After we finish schooling, our son usually plays with his sister, reads, draws, does Legos, snap circuits, works on Cub Scout stuff etc.. Sometimes, he'll mow the back yard or help out with outside chores like weeding.
When it's nice out, I let the kids scooter and play outside with balls and their bikes. We have a LONG driveway which helps.
We have many board games, card games, PC games etc. that DS enjoys. I play things like chess, cards, and such with him as well. We love to make the library once a week for a few hours as well. Letter writing is a great hobby and relatives love to get mail.
HTH
Michelle32

What about sports teams? And I'm a big fan of many computer/video games. Right now "Civilization" is big in our house.

I have dss 12 and 15 and dh works out of town, too. I struggled for years with this problem- too much free time means they fight. I tried limiting tv to weekends only- but gave in because all they did was fight- hey, they are boys and they are bored and lonely as we live on 60 acres out in the boondocks with no kids nearby.

Two weeks ago I did something drastic. I joined a fitness center 30 minutes away. They have a kids program Mon Wed Fri from 3-5:30. It has made a HUGE difference in our days. The boys love it and look forward to going. They are getting great exercise. They are burning off extra testosterone- and not on each other. They are finishing school about the time we need to leave for the gym. They are getting to know the other kids. They take a shower before they leave. They are hungry and ready for supper afterwards. SOOOOO- we do school, we go to the gym, we eat dinner and either watch a family movie or they go to their rooms for video games. No more fighting- OK, not as much fighting. They aren't getting bored and it makes our day go sooooo much better. It's harder on me, but oh, so worth it.

Suzanne