Hey Hey! In today’s article, I wanted to share with you a few activities for your kids while they’re at home during the COVID-19 Shutdown that will keep them sharp and occupied and allow you to remain productive if you’re having to work from home.
I know for a lot of parents this isn’t easy and considering I work from home on a regular basis I thought it would not only be effective to share some of the things that I’ve done in the past that have worked for me, but also compile some of the resources that I’ve found from all around the web.
I know these are trying times, but with a little bit of strategy, you can make things work in your favor until this all blows over.
Who knows you may come out with a new and improved routine and you’ll have this experience to thank for it.
A Few Activities for Your Kids at Home During the COVID-19 Shutdown
1. Create a schedule that you can manage.
This may be difficult for some just because you’ve never had to do it before, so my recommendation is going to be to take it day by day to start and know your personality as a parent and the personality of your kids.
All kids are not created equal and while some of these standard schedules you’ve seen floating around Instagram look good in theory, you may have to work through this until you figure it out.
Which requires patience and time.
So to help, I’ve found a schedule today on Facebook that I think would be ideal for a first-timer.
It can be stressful trying to figure it out all on your own, and it’s my belief that you need all the help and support you can while we’re in this time to keep you as the parent level headed so everyone in your home can stay level headed, lol.
Maybe you can use this as starting points and see how it goes from there.
Download the schedule here —>>> Stuck at Home Schedule from Sankofa Kids <— this organization is designed to help African American kids learn about their culture and keep their history in their hearts and this schedule seems pretty doable for a first-timer that is new to managing the kids while working from home.
The video below is a walkthrough of the schedule from the owner fo Sankofa Kids, I hope it helps.
2. Set expectations with your clients if you’ve got to have meetings virtually
Let’s face it, kids are extremely unpredictable, and a lot of times I know as parents we find ourselves feeling the need to apologize for our kids being kids if they’re at home, but here’s the deal, everybody’s kids are at home right now, and EVERYBODY is having to adjust the way they operate to accommodate the times, so there’s really no need to apologize.
Instead of stressing over the interruptions, try being transparent and saying:
“Hi Mr/Mrs Customer as you know the kids are at home so there may be some interruptions. I’ve done what I can to ensure they are occupied during our time together but we’re going to have to keep this meeting 1) on time, and 2) if I’m interrupted I’ll have to take a brief moment to handle the interruption.”
I’ve lived through natural disasters and it’s been my experience that this is the time that people usually rally together to help one another and people’s understandings miraculously improve.
If it really becomes an issue consider re-adjusting your meeting schedule so your kids don’t interrupt, but I’ve been doing this from home with kids for about 7 years now, and honesty is the best policy.
3. Have a conversation with your children if they are old enough to understand
For me, this one is pretty easy to manage because I’ve got two teenagers and two younger kids and my teenagers are a huge help. But depending on the age of your children this one will work in different scenarios.
Your kids are not crazy and even though some of them are excited about the extended breaks, some are also concerned if they’ve been watching what’s happening around them.
So use this as a moment to have upfront and honest conversations about how life will have to be right now in order for everyone to succeed.
The reason why this is important is that kids need and operate well when there are consistency and rules in place, and if you’re fortunate enough to have kids old enough to follow these standards, you’d want to do this now so everyone is happy.
We had a conversation with our kids when we found out what was about to happen for us and established some ground rules for everyone to follow.
We answered their questions and we put the plan in place starting TODAY.
Now on the flip side of that coin, if your kids aren’t old enough to truly understand what’s happening you’re going to have to get creative mama bear on how you’re going to manage your schedule.
When my kids where smaller I would try the following
- Adjusting your face time meetings around your kiddo’s schedule (ie naptimes, early mornings, some evenings if necessary)
- Find activities that the littles can do without you or with you in close vicinity that will keep them occupied during your meeting time
- If they are super small put them in their swing or playpen next to you while you meet if they’ll keep quiet
- This sounds terrible, but I would use to give my toddler a snack and turn the TV on Disney Channel in another room where she couldn’t hear my voice about 15 minutes before go time so if she was going to fuss she’d get it all out by the time my meeting started and she would either fall asleep or watch TV until I was done (judge me if you may, it worked)
Even in doing this, just remember that transparency is also key, and if it got too bad you may have to stop and attend to their needs first.
4. Take advantage of the free resources that are out right now
There’s a ton of academic resources out right now that are offering some of their services at no cost because of the times.
Use these resources.
If your kids are used to being at school, they’ve grown accustomed to the stimulation of a learning environment and need it to stay fresh.
There are a ton of apps out there that you can use that will make the best use of technology and keep your kids occupied on your behalf, don’t be afraid to take advantage of them.
Even if a high use of technology is not your thing, you may need it in order to survive lol, so I say go for it and worry about breaking the habit later.
A ton of us are in survival mode right now, and when you’re trying to stay productive and sane at the same time, sometimes it calls for you to do some things you normally wouldn’t do.
This doesn’t make you a bad parent, it makes you resourceful and right now we have got to use all of our resources.
Agreed?
So to help, I saw a homeschooling mom make a post on Instagram with a wonderful list of resources and I’m just going to embed her post below.
Lastly, I want to remind you that right now we are all in a position where we are having to try new things and figure it out, and sometimes that can be stressful for us AND our kids.
Do your best in this season not to over-analyze your parenting skills. There’s no right or wrong answer, we’re kinda all working through this as it goes.
Try things and evaluate what worked and what didn’t work daily and adjust your schedule as you go.
Who knows how long this will last, but eventually you’ll figure it out.
Later this week I’ll be talking through how you can incorporate some self-care into your routine to help you cope with the changes, but until then remember, there’s no right or wrong here.
You can do this and your kids won’t be scarred from this experience.
Use the time to get in some family time that you might not have been able to squeeze in else-wise, join some mommy groups online for support and stay encouraged.
This too shall pass…
“I will not cause pain without allowing something new to be born says the Lord” ` Isiaih 66:9.
You got this mama!
I’m cheering for you.
Now go make today an amazing day!
