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A schedule for kids at home during the coronavirus pandemic
In this uncertain time, many of us are finding that we have our children home from school. This might be because coronavirus has caused school closures. It might be because as a parent, you have taken the decision not to send your child to school to practice social distancing and attempt to avoid them contracting covid 19. Maybe a member of your household is exhibiting symptoms and your whole household is forced to self-isolate, meaning you and your kids are stuck in the house.
Either way, many of us who are not usually homeschooling parents will find ourselves at home with our children for potentially weeks at a time. In order to get through this ordeal with our sanity intact, we need a plan that will;
- Keep our kids entertained and happy
- Keep our children’s minds sharp
- Allow us to do things such as work and chores that we may usually do when the children are in school
- Stop the whole family from going completely bonkers.
Here’s how to structure your days during the covid 19 pandemic
I will be following the schedule shown in the video above and outlined below. I will be updating and improving it over the coming weeks. I will add more resources as time goes on, so please bookmark this page to come back to.
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Who Will This Schedule Work For?
This schedule is designed for my 3-year-old (who normally attends half-day school in the nursery class), my 5-year-old (who is usually in the reception class in the infants) and my 8-year-old (who is in year 3 in the juniors). I will try to include adaptations where appropriate to help you make the best of it for your own family.
This schedule is designed for when we are all well, yet mostly stuck in the house. If one or more of the members of your household is unwell, the schedule may have to be adapted in order to have more time to take care of them.
For full and up to date information about the symptoms to watch out for, what you should do if you exhibit symptoms and how to keep you and your family safe, please visit the NHS and World Health Organisation websites.
The reason you need a routine during this crisis
You know that I’m a huge believer in routine (it’s how I hold my life together with 4 children) and in these uncertain times I believe that it’s exactly what both adults children need. While it may be easier to stay in our pjs until noon every day then wonder where the day went, I honestly believe that sticking to a routine most days will make this whole experience more positive and will benefit our mental health.
I’ve included some of my previous routine videos in this post that I hope may also help.
7:00 am – Wake Up & Morning Activities Block
7 am is the time that my children would get up for school usually, so in the interest of keeping things “normal” for them, I’d highly recommend sticking to a regular wake-up time.
Does it really have to be 7 am?
No, it doesn’t have to be 7 am, but I’d highly recommend sticking to the same time every day. If you choose to start your days at 8 am instead for example, just shift all of the times forward by an hour. One thing that I would suggest is that you try and keep your wake your wake up time as close as possible to the time you would have to get your family up for school, which will make the transition back to school easier when it happens.
Don’t forget to get your kids to make their beds before going down for breakfast. It doesn’t need to be perfect, I’m not expecting to see hospital corners, but teaching your kids this good habit will help to set the tone for the day.
Breakfast & Morning Chores
Start the day by fuelling you children’s minds and bodies with a proper breakfast and make sure you eat too. While they are eating (because you know they’ll take twice as long to eat as you will), make sure you stick a load of laundry in. If you’ve watched any of my laundry routine or speed cleaning videos, you will know how important it is to keep the washing going to avoid it getting on top of you. By putting a load on first thing, the washing machine is working whole you do other things. An instant win!
Morning “Move Your Body”
As you’ll know if you have watched any of my “Get It All Done With Me” videos like the one below, when possible I like to squeeze in 10 minutes of yoga in the morning before getting dressed.
If you’re looking for a silver lining of being stuck in the house, the time that you would normally spend commuting can now be spent doing things like yoga together with your children. I like to practice 10 minutes of sun salutations (a series of yoga moves) while the kids follow a Cosmic Kids yoga video (like the one below) along side me.
Washed and dressed
Tempting as it may be to stay on pyjamas all day because you don’t have to leave the house, resist the urge. Getting yourself and your kids dressed will start the day on the right foot. Just as you would if you were leaving the house, get everyone to clean their teeth, wash their faces and get dressed.
It also goes without saying at this point that we should all be washing our hands. A lot.
Free play for children, planning for Mum
The last activity to squeeze into this first “morning preparation” block is some planning. Lots of us will find ourselves suddenly not only at home with our children but also working from home too. This can be a tricky combination to juggle. As our minds are freshest early in the day, take 30 minutes after breakfast when everyone is dressed to plan and begin your work. Plan what you will get done during each of the days “blocks”, which we will get to in a second.
Bonus tips for parents having to work from home
If you now find that you are a work at home Mum struggling to get anything done surrounded by kids, you can always try a “Miracle Morning” as discussed in my productivity for working Mums strategies post. Click the button below for more information, but what it means, in a nutshell, is that you get up at 5:30-6 am to get important work done. While this is not a strategy that suits everyone, it may be worth considering if you need to squeeze ore work in.
9:00 am – Block 1 focussed learning
You’ll find that schools often like to do their core maths and English work in the mornings while the children are fresh. Follow this lead and schedule the most academic work that you have planned for your children in this block. If your child’s school has closed, they may well have sent work home for them. If not, you can check out my home learning resources post below for ideas and resources that you can use with your children.
As you’ll see in the post, there are lots of online resources where you can download and print worksheets. I have opted to buy some age-appropriate workbooks focussing on numeracy and literacy for my children. I like the idea of something to work through that will show progress, plus it saves printing off reams of paper.
During learning block one, I suggest focussing on one of the key areas of either numeracy or literacy with your children, using the resources available.
10:30 am – Get outside & get moving
If the weather is fine, get outside and get some fresh air. If you have a garden, this is the best and safest option. If a garden is not an option, you could choose to go for a walk as long as you pick somewhere where there will not be may people and the current advice in your area allows it.
If the weather is looking a bit wet and rubbish, then maybe get another episode of Cosmic Kids on to get your kids moving. Games such as “Just Dance” or “Zumba” are other good options too. It doesn’t really matter what you pick as long as it gets your children moving.
11:00 am – Block 2 focussed learning
During this block, focus on another key area that requires brainpower. If you did literacy in block one, do numeracy in block 2, or vice versa. More worksheets and workbooks from the home learning resources are ideal for this block.
12:30 noon – Lunch
It’s important to keep mealtimes at regular times when at home, just as they would in school. Remember that if they eat lunch later, then dinner will be late, bedtime will be late which will have a knock-on effect for the next day.
What you feed your children for lunch is of course up to you, but I usually go for a cold, ploughman’s type of lunch and a hot mean later on. Lunches in our house usually consist of bread or wraps, cheese and ham, carrot sticks and fruit.
Don’t forget to take the load out of the washing machine that you put on this morning and get it dry.
1:00 pm – Free play
At this time of day in school, your children would usually be out in the yard. Weather permitting, get them back in the garden to run off some more steam. This is a good time to get some of your own work done. I like to position myself at the kitchen table to work where I can see them playing.
1:30 pm – Block 3 quiet time
After lunch is often when children will hit a bit of a slump. Younger children or babies may need a nap here. If I’m honest, my 3-year-old who recently started school in the afternoons still really needs a nap a few days a week.
For those children who are beyond the napping stage, I’d still recommend some quieter time. Options for this block include learning-based iPad apps, reading or educational TV programmes.
2:30 pm – Block 4 – creativity
This is the time that the arty Mums among you can go wild with all of the cutting and sticking and arts and crafts that you desire. For the Mums like me that are less than Pinterest perfect when it comes to art, this is a good time to whip out the sticker books and colouring books.
If the activity that your children are engaged in doesn’t require too much supervision, this can be a good opportunity to get some of your own work done.
3:30 pm – Free play
This is an ideal time for free play. While it is an option to ask your children what they would like to do, I would highly recommend getting a complete set of toys “out” rather than just letting your kids play with a mixed-up jumble of random stuff. Your children will be engaged for longer and have better quality play this way. Ideas for toys and games to play with are;
- Board games
- Roleplay games (such as getting out play food to make a cafe)
- Imaginary play (dolls, sets of figures, Polly Pockets etc)
- Construction toys (LEGO, Duplo, blocks, Mechano)
This block is another good opportunity to get some work done while the children are entertained.
4:30 pm – Preparing for dinner
While you prepare dinner, even if you never got your kids involved with chores before, get them to help you clear away and lay the table for dinner.
5:00 pm – Family dinner
If possible, sit together and enjoy a meal. This is a great time to chat with your children, especially to learn about any anxiety they may be feeling about all that is going on.
6:00 pm – Bedtime routine
Just as getting up on time is important, maintaining a good bedtime routine even at times like these is important. A good bedtime routine not only sets up your children the right way for the next day, but it will make life so much easier when it is time to transition back to school.
A bedtime routine should include;
- Washing / bathing / showering
- Cleaning teeth
- Putting away any laundry that has been washed during the day
- Tidying away any toys in the bedroom
- Reading – either you read to them or they can read to you, depending upon their age and ability
7:00 pm – Bedtime
Now the exact time that your children go to sleep should depend upon their age, but I’d highly recommend keeping it the same as you would on a normal school night. In our house, my 3 and 5-year-old girls go to ned to sleep at 7pm, as by this point they are very tired. My 8-year-old son stays awake longer doing free reading in his room, but will still be asleep by 8 pm.
Post kid’s bedtime Mummy time
What happens after the children go to bed entirely depends upon how much working from home you are expected to do and have managed to get done.
As a work at home Mum who usually has 3 school runs a day and a toddler with me for the majority of the waking hours, I tend to work at this time anyway.
If you have managed to get plenty done during the day, I’d highly recommend practising some self-care at this time to make sure that you are fresh to do it all over again tomorrow.
More Resources To Help With Home Schooling At This Difficult Time
How are you coping with the Coronavirus pandemic?
I’m sending love to you and your family at this testing time. Let me know in the comments where you are in the world and how you are coping.
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