Covid Quarantine for the Type A Parent

Remember last Sunday when our biggest collective concern was the time change? Indeed, times have changed, probably much more than most of us could have ever imagined in this past week. As we live with this new reality, most of us will have to make some significant changes.

I’ve noticed that many of my friends are dealing with a lot of anxiety and stress in these uncertain times. I say this without any knowledge of its truth or certainty but mostly with a blind faith - Everything will be ok. We will get through this. And in the very, very worst case scenario, we won’t. And that is ok too, because that is the ultimate destination anyways.

Whenever I feel overly anxious or helpless, I love to make a plan. I’ve been telling my kids that right now we are staying in because we are superheroes fighting some nasty germs. If we stay in, they can’t get us and they will shrivel up and die. So far, the kids have been enjoying being inside and having added family time. I hope to keep it that way by making a plan for success.

When I first searched ideas for how to keep kids busy during a quarantine, I quickly become overwhelmed by the hundreds of suggestions and resources. I decided to make a more basic schedule and build on it as time goes on. Even though this schedule looks pretty packed, I think it will actually help our family slow down.

Keep in mind, the schedule below is what works for our family (3 kids – 5, 3 and 1. One stay-at-home parent and one teleworking parent in a 1000 square foot apartment). It won’t work for everyone but hope it helps others with young kids. For any schedule, I would build in laughter, movement and learning.

This week the main objective is to get the kids used to the schedule and find a family rhythm. Next week, I’ll think more about a curriculum and learning goals.

Try to implement this as early as possible. The hope is that kids can go back to schools in two to three weeks but we have to acknowledge the reality that it may be longer. If that’s the case, having a rhythm in place will be all the more beneficial. So, you may need to resort to junk food and screen time, but hold off as long as you can! Sugared up, over-stimulated kids in confined places will not do anyone good. 

Follow along on Instagram @reclaimingparenting for recipes, tips and updates on how things are going. I’ll edit this as we learn and add the next day’s schedule the evening before.

8:00 am – 9:00 am	Wake kids up, brush teeth, change clothes, potty and breakfast	Breakfast: Overnight Oats (Prepped 12 overnight oats on Sunday to use for various meals throughout the week.) Try to mimic school day mornings as much as possible. Check-in feelings and circle time to say welcome.
9:00 am – 9:45 am	Structured free play	Today we will do Magnatiles. Clean up begins at 9:35. As needed we will incorporate online learning tools to the mix. These resources look good: Khan Academy Kids Scholastic Classroom
9:45 am – 10 am 10 am – 11 am	Get ready to go out Outdoor walk/bike ride	I will schedule this for longer intervals in the future but I think it will be low 40s at this time tomorrow so will just do something low-key around the neighborhood.
11 am – 12 pm	Crafts	Play-doh. Put down newspapers on the table. Start clean up at 11:50.
12:00 pm – 12:15 pm	Laugh time	Watch funny videos, tell jokes, jump around or something else to laugh. This is a good opportunity to reset if the morning hasn’t been going too well. Today we will watch the song that never ends video. Kids request.
12:15 pm – 1 pm	Lunch	Packed Bentgo boxes for kids. (Pack lunches the night before, this will help the day go more smoothly.)
1pm -3 pm	Nap/Rest time	Do dinner prep so everything is ready for the kids to ‘help’.
3:30 pm - 4:30 pm	School time	Our younger kids nap can often run past 4:30 so this is mostly for our oldest. Today, we will do letter tracing book and write a card for someone. We will put a stamp on it and go put it in the mailbox either today or tomorrow.
5:00 pm – 5:30 pm	Family dinner prep	Stir Fry with chicken and walnuts
5:30 pm -6:30 pm	Family dinner	Focus on conversation. We do “Memorable Moments” at dinner in which each person shares something memorable that happened each day.
6:30 pm -7:00 pm	Get ready for bed
7:00 pm – 7:30 pm	Stories and prayers/reflections	I am going to use this time to build a deeper gratitude practice with my kids. We generally express our thanks in our evening prayers but will ask them to think more meaningfully about the things they are thankful for.
7:30 pm – 8:30 pm	Clean up house and prep for tomorrow	I’m adding one deep clean thing here for each evening to make sure our house stays in good shape. Today, clean bathrooms.
8:30 pm – 9:00 pm	Social media
9:00 pm – 10:00 pm	Work out, knit, write or do any other hobby	I’m still nervous about using our building’s gym. I’ll be trying to do videos at home or getting a run in at some point. Today, I will be doing this and this.
10:00 pm – 10:30 pm	One organizational task	I will try to do one organizational thing at this time. 15 min minimum. For today, clean off the top of my blue desk. Pick a drawer, a basket, a closet and tackle it.
10:30 pm - Bedtime	Read, watch TV, veg, whatever. Will be trying to sleep by midnight but we tend to sleep on the later side.	I’m going to try to do one maintenance thing each night like nails, fix hair, face mask because I’m the type of person to let it all go when I don’t have to go into work.