It feels like we’re living in The Great Depression, Groundhog’s Day, and The Twilight Zone all at the same time. Today we’re back to e-learning after two weeks of Spring Break and in our 5th week of social distancing. What’s gotten me through these times of confusion and anxiety isn’t drinking wine—though the promise of my 6:00 glass of Sauvignon does help me get through the day. While gratitude and meditation have done wonders, the savior I suggest today is a more tangible practice—a daily Coronavirus “Schedule.” I say schedule in quotes because a schedule suggests a strictness that no one needs right now, but in my family, we benefit from a bit of order. And while the children doth protest at times, it keeps their minds and hearts entertained and stimulated.
To that end, I’m sharing our daily Coronavirus Schedule. It wasn’t something I set out to do; it kinda just happened naturally, but it has served us well and I hope it can be helpful for you.
Our Daily Coronavirus Schedule
A few tips before we get started.
- Color-coding is not necessary (unless you really like to color-code things)
- Don’t be strict about it. Leave room for fun and flow.
- Involve your kids in planning; they’re more likely to do the things they helped plan.
- Make it work for you and your family. Don’t put yoga on your schedule just because Helen down the street swears yoga helps balance your moon in Mercury. A wise woman once said, “You do you.”
6:30—9:00 am—whatever you want, just don’t wake mom up
As an example of how to make this work for YOU…I hate mornings. HATE. So mornings here are a slow, chill time. The kids wake up and watch TV in PJs. This gives me my time to do whatever I damn well please. I write my morning pages, read, sleep in, and mentally prepare for the day.
9:00—get the party started
(Amazon) Alexa is the 5th member of our family… and I love her. She goes off at 9am. Then goes into our programmed family routine. For me, this step is crucial. It avoids me nagging while still giving the kids instructions and gets our day started on a positive note (literally, she plays an upbeat song every day and it’s pretty epic). I feel so strongly about this aspect of our routine that I wrote a whole post on it.
(Check it out here with a download of upbeat songs to use.)
9:30—10:00—get out da house
We all need some outdoor, fresh air time so we walk the dogs together some days.
10:00—reminder: you’re awesome
I’ve had the kids use affirmations before bedtime; now we use them before our “work” days. I say them; they repeat them. Sometimes they think it’s silly, other times they add their own.
Affirmations ideas:
I am capable.
We can do hard things.
I am smart.
Mistakes do not scare me.
I try my best.
*Affirmations can be whatever you/they need them to be, so make them to fit your kid’s personality.
10:10-ish—2:30-ish pm—things gotta get done
The biggest chunk of the day and it’s spent on schoolwork PLUS. The schoolwork is obvious and the PLUS is the added stuff that gets thrown into the day to break it up and inject a little fun.
PLUS includes
snack breaks + lunch breaks
creative breaks
Creative break ideas: Paint, draw, color, Play-Doh, whiteboard marker drawings on windows, dress up, etc.
You can choose how directed or free creative time will be. We’ve done a Water Rainbow activity and Doodling with Mo Willems (more directed) and we’ve done Wacky Bird doodles and simple coloring (more free).
LEGOs are another great creative option. Recently, we started a LEGO challenge where I give them something to build. Since starting, we’ve also come up with an idea box. It’s either a surprisechallenge for both kids or they could pick a challenge when they’re not sure what to build. (LEGO challenge ideas: bridge, castle, house, car, etc.)
yoga + meditation breaks
Cosmic Yoga is everything. They’re short and fast-paced enough for kids.
game breaks
A favorite way to sneak in learning. Game ideas in an upcoming post!
read aloud
Read alouds are freaking e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g! Sit and listen with your kids or play an audiobook if you need to get other things done. Audible currently has children’s books available for FREE!! The kids choose something creative to do while they listen—because let’s be honest, most kids can’t just sit and listen. (The other day, they made cards and confetti for Husband’s birthday.)
Then they tell me about the book or draw a picture of what happened. Another fun idea is to let them retell the story using a Snapchat or Instagram filter!!
2:30-4:00—freeeeedoooom
We’re done! As Daughter calls it, FREEEEEDOM. Sometimes we play video games, shoot a family news video, swim in our new inflatable pool, or lip-sync a birthday video for Husband. Me? I make an iced coffee and relax.
4:30—REQUIRED
I don’t care what you do for yourself but do it. In my opinion, it is the single most important piece of the schedule. The other day, I went upstairs, closed the door, and just sat in quiet. The world may be at a standstill, but my home can be a freaking tornado at a techno club so I need to find silence some days.
6:30—You’ve survived!
Wine. Dinner. Movies with the kids. Game night. Congratulations you’ve made it through a day. You’ve done well today, friend. Celebrate it.
8:00—uncork!
Find ways to unwind. Unwind ideas:
- I’ve had a great time with my Quaran-TUNES series on Instagram.
- Cocktails & conversations with Husband.
- TV or adult movie. I don’t mean porn. We’ve been working through 80’s and classic movies. Some we’ve watched: Tootsie, Romancing the Stone, Say Anything, St. Elmo’s Fire, all three Godfathers, and Adventures in Babysitting to name a few.
The truth is this social distance thing hasn’t been too stressful for us in terms of staying home and I do believe that having a loose schedule has been a large part of it. Having a sense of normalcy can relieve some of these uncertain times. Let me know if you have a schedule!
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