our free, printable daily schedule during the COVID-19 pandemic is perfect for toddlers, preschool and elementary aged-kids while staying at home!
a LOT is going right now with COVID-19 pandemic and with the recent updates of schools being closed for potentially the rest of the year along with restaurants and other businesses, a lot of families are thrown into the realm of being stay-at-home parents and homeschooling parents who need a daily schedule. as a former special education teacher in early childhood education and a current stay-at-home mama to 4 kids 4 and under, i wanted to share what we’re doing as a family in hopes that it might help you and your family!
i have made our daily schedule into a free download so you are able to print and use as is, or make changes to fit your family’s needs.
i have our schedule printed and laminated {i use this laminator!} on the fridge to be crossed off with a dry-erase marker as we go about our day!
what to do with your kids while at home during the COVID-19 pandemic
first, make a mental shift. our kids are relying on us to provide a stable, mentally healthy environment during this time. all school activities, sports, play dates and other normal life activities are cancelled and everyone is forced to be home with their kids whether they like it or not. this does NOT mean that you need to be miserable! zach is a high school math teacher and is forced into remote online teaching {as with all other teachers} within 2 days and with that comes unchartered territory.
take a breath and say it with me, WE. CAN. DO. HARD. THINGS.
and y’all, we can make the best of it! take the opportunity we’ve all been saying to clean out that extra closet, slow down with our crew and really invest…without going crazy!
what will i do with my kids ALL DAY?!
the number 1 question i’ve gotten since all of this has started has been ideas while staying at home. my biggest piece of advice that i learned while teaching in the classroom was to break up your day in small chunks. the younger your kids are, the less attention they have to a given task. while a 15 year old might be able to kill 1.5 hours doing 1 thing, it will last a 3 year old 5-10 minutes.
if you’re looking for some ideas to get you started you can check out these:
13 toddler activities for spring
here’s a few helpful hints:
– our schedule’ it is much more of a routine. if kids are super into their fort, don’t make them stop just because your schedule says ‘snack time’. if they ride that into lunch, great, they’ll eat more!
– think small chunks of time. 15-45 minutes for most activities is fine
– this is OUR schedule…you may wake earlier or later, eat lunch and dinner or skip snacks…do what YOU need to do and what works best for your child and your family.
– if undesired behavior is consistently happening, it may be time to step in. they may be bored or need assistance sorting through problems.
– what if my child can’t play by themselves? great, take this opportunity to help teach them. it’s a great skill to have. you might need to start small but independence and boredom is OKAY! help guide them to pretend!
– use bath times as an ‘activity’!
sink and float science experiements. give barbies, dinos, etc. a bath. lego bath. glow stick dark party. bubbles. painting….get creative!
GET OUTSIDE. raining? wear rain coats. cold? bundle. while this does not apply to my baby {turning 1 next week}, my 2.5 and 4.5 year olds are for SURE outside every day, regardless of weather {aside from lightening}. yes, it may create more laundry but it WILL get some much needed energy out and is always good for your mental health! if you have a safe space for your children to be, age appropriately, send them out while you wrap up dishes or get lunch on the table!
you can download our daily schedule here!
REMEMBER:
y’all. we’re in survival mode. this is an extremely high stress situation so know that it doesn’t have to look perfect. some days you’ll rock it and others your goal will be to keep the tiny humans alive.
we. will. get. through. this.
and above all else, this is temporary. we will resume normal life and things are going to get back to normal. 9/11 happened and although it was a new normal for our country, we did it together.
shoot your girlfriends a text and check in.
GET. OFF. FACEBOOK. and check reliable sources for updated information.
do a mental check on yourself.
take an extra cup of coffee and pour that glass of wine at bedtime.
take a break when you need it and take a bit of nap time for yourself…read your book, take a nap, get a workout in. whatever you need to do to recharge, do it.
of course feel free to share this post with your friends who may benefit and let me know if you have any questions!!
stay safe, friends!
Love this linds! Such a huge help.