FINDING NORMALCY FOR MY KIDS WHEN THINGS AREN'T NORMAL
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Thanks to COVID-19 things aren’t “normal”. My family, probably like yours, is home. That’s not normal. My husband is usually at work in an office building. I am usually all over the state working in client’s homes with my team. My kids are usually at school and at dance and hanging with their beloved babysitter in the afternoons. Not anymore. We are all home and it looks like that is our reality for a while.
After the initial shock of it all, came acceptance and a certain feeling of a challenge posed before me that I had no choice but to accept. I was no longer a full-time working mom but now a very part-time working mom and full-time homeschooler to a kindergartener and second grader. Ever the organizer, I needed to figure out what this was going to look like. It was immediately obvious to me that I needed to keep things as normal as possible for my kids (and also for myself) to cope during this unprecedented time. I thought I’d share what I did (and am still doing/adjusting) in case it helps anyone else.
Here’s what I did:
1.) Gathered Info: I asked my kids over dinner what their days looked like at school and I took ample notes. They were so excited to share all the details. They also told me how their days varied Monday through Friday. Things got a little more complex here and I realized this was a key place that we were going to have to just go with the flow to find what was going to work for us.
2.) Created A Schedule: Since my kids follow a schedule at school I knew we needed to have one at home too. I went to my happy place and created a schedule on a spreadsheet. I laid out the day as I thought it might work, printed it out and put it in a clear page protector and taped it to the wall with a dry erase marker right next to it. I adjusted our schedule a couple of times during the week as we learned what worked and didn’t work for us. Distance learning through our school really begins this coming week so I expect our schedule might be adjusting again. I am also doing more Virtual Organizing sessions so that will be changing things up too. I am scheduling my work when my kids are working independently. I am hoping for the best here and will just have to adjust as necessary. One fun thing I learned this past week is that my kids love crossing out things they’ve done on our schedule just as much as their mother does! :)
I created this in the Numbers app on my mac. I have made a few versions as we have needed to adjust our schedule.
Crossing out everything we had done so far that day. This is easily erased since we use a dry erase marker and a sheet protector.
3.) Organized Learning Tools: I realized we would need a place work, a spot to put their papers and space for their supplies.
Work Space: We decided where we each wanted to work each day and set up our desks. They both wanted to be right in the middle of our family room and I can’t say I blame them. It is the brightest and coziest spot in the house. I wanted to be there too! We figured out how to set it up for the day and also clean it up each afternoon so that the afternoon/evening is back to our “normal” set up. We are so blessed to have a guest bedroom where my husband has been able to set up his home office. This has really been helpful for all of us so we are not distracting each other during the day. I also have an office (our former unused dining room) that I occasionally bop into for my Virtual Organizing sessions but mostly I am with the kids now during the day.
Folders: I used 6 manilla folders from my work stash and labeled them (3 per child) “assignments”, “completed work” and “independent work”. These folders are pretty self explanatory with the exception of independent work - which is more like fun work for my kids i.e. word searches, coloring pages, etc. and give us a spot to put all our papers. This was especially important for my kindergartener as she does less digitally. Their independent work can be done at any time when I am busy doing other things or they complete their school work.
These are types of independent work my kids will do throughout the day.
Supplies: We already have a spot for all our drawing tools and supplies in our kitchen area. On a daily basis my kids take what they need from here and bring it to their desks. At the end of the day these items get put back. My older daughter’s Chromebook stays in my office when she’s not using it to keep it safe ;)
This is our writing supply drawer. my kids are in and out of these drawer so much on any given day.
4.) Created Routines:
Keeping To Our Normal Daily Home Routine: We get up and go to bed at the same times and do all the normal stuff we would do on any other day. Same goes with meals. This has helped us all.
Created Homeschool Routines: We start our school day with morning meeting each day. Both my kids do this in their classrooms and we tried to pull in elements from each of their classrooms to remind them of their routines at school. This has proven to be one of our favorite parts of each day. I put on music while I am writing out the morning message on the easel and they set up their desks. The message shares an overview of what will be doing that day. The kids read the message aloud. My little one circles all her “popcorn” words (as her teacher calls it) that she’s already learned. They are called popcorn words because they POP up a lot. She loves doing this because they do this daily in school. We go over each person’s jobs of the day (board wiper, oil helper, plant helper, table setter, weather girl, etc.). We’ve also been doing a “share” on most days so far because my kids wanted to….so, why not?
My kindergartener circling her “POPcorn” words that she has learned in school.
5.) Implemented A Reward System: We have done this here and there over the years and the kids have always enjoyed this. This is also something they do at school so we thought it was the perfect time to bring it back. For doing good deeds and doing everything they are supposed to be doing they earn “Maiocco Money” which are small circles of colored paper that are worth 1 or 2 point each. Since we don’t promote getting “stuff” in our home we decided they are saving up to earn activities we can do as a family. The first one they are working towards is “ice cream sundae making”. They need 20 points and are SO close!! We are all looking forward to this - YUM!! Other things we have worked for in the past have been movie nights with popcorn, at home indoor mini golf games…and I will have to get creative with more as many times we have visited places that right now are not open.
In summary, I’m happy to share we had a great first week at home together. Yes there were ups and downs but that’s nothing new in the world of parenting. Creating this new “normal day“ for our family has helped us so much. I understand that each family and circumstance will look different but I hope there are things here that might help you too!!
How are you maintaining normalcy for yourself and for your kids? I’d love to hear your ideas in the comments below!!
Wishing you all peace & love during this unique time.
xo,
Emily
******IT’S WORTH NOTING……I wholeheartedly know that I am blessed that I have been able to pivot and be there for my kids during the day. I “see” my friends who are juggling working full-time at home alongside their spouses also working full-time from home and my heart goes out to them because it is so much to manage. While I do need to work to support our household we will be OK in the short term as I focus my main attention to my children. I know so many people do not have this luxury and my heart breaks for them. If you are one of these people, I am happy to brainstorm ideas with you to help! Please reach out! xo -Emily******
