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!<\/p>\n

i have made our daily schedule into a free download<\/a> so you are able to print and use as is, or make changes to fit your family’s needs.
\ni have our schedule printed and laminated {i use this laminator<\/a>!} on the fridge to be crossed off with a dry-erase marker as we go about our day!<\/p>\n

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what to do with your kids while at home during the COVID-19 pandemic<\/h2>\n

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.<\/p>\n

take a breath and say it with me, WE. CAN. DO. HARD. THINGS.<\/p>\n

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!<\/p>\n

what will i do with my kids ALL DAY?!<\/h2>\n

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.<\/p>\n

if you’re looking for some ideas to get you started you can check out these:<\/p>\n

13 toddler activities for spring<\/a><\/p>\n

spring garden sensory bin + weekend roundup<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n