Daily Schedule during COVID-19

Hello Friends, this has been a difficult and challenging time for the world. As we navigate and try to understand the sudden change in how we have lived our lives for so long. We have all taken on numerous roles and responsibilities we never planned. Working from home, with children in tow. My family and I have been working and schooling from home for the past 3 months. My hope is to share our daily schedule during COVID-19. In the hopes that it might help any family trying to adjust during this difficult time.

For those who are new to my page, my husband and 1 have 12-month-old(Khalid) and 5-year-old (Amir). For safety reasons, we took the kids out of Daycare. As an individual, I thrive on routine and love the predictability of it. I also believe kids thrive better with routine and are less prone to tantrums. My goal was to create a sense of normalcy for the kids and try not to make any drastic changes to their routine post-COVID-19.

We also chose to explain to our 5-year-old about what was going on to the best of his understanding. We did this because he had questions about why he was not going to school and not visiting his cousins. All he knows is that there is a virus and it is safer for everyone to stay home until the virus goes away.

“The greatest gifts you can give your children are the roots of responsibility and the wings of independence.” – Denis Waitley

Daily Schedule during COVID-19

Morning

7-8.00 The kids wake up, teeth brushed diaper changed, clothes are worn. I am the late riser in the family. Hubby is usually up by 6:30 so he takes care of this part of the day.

8-9.00 Baby gets his bottle, toddler eats breakfast. Breakfast is usually something easy. Cereal, peanut butter and jelly sandwich, pancakes, or waffles. I also open all windows in the living and dining area to let in the light. Since everything is in the house, this is my way of letting everyone know its daytime. While I supervise the kids, hubby starts his work day.

9-11.00 This is what I like to call free time for the kids. They both play with their toys. While we multitask keeping an eye on the kids and muting our respective calls if needed. When things usually slow down a bit for me. The baby eats cereal and a second bottle. Then he goes down for his morning nap. Then school work starts with the 4-year-old. We have free worksheets that I have printed online. I try to get him to do 2-3 a day. If I have a call during this time. Then my husband steps in, either feeding the baby or supervising the toddler’s work.

12-2.00 I make lunch for everyone. The preschooler eats and then he takes his afternoon nap. I usually use this time to enjoy some silence, catch up on work emails, I also like to schedule my meetings during this time block.

Afternoon

2-4:00 The baby goes down for his afternoon nap. I put on something on youtube for my preschooler so I can get some more work done. My go too’s are alpha blocks, number blocks, blippy, or khan academy.

4/6:00 the baby is up from his afternoon nap and I start rounding my work for the day. He gets his afternoon snack and a bottle and my preschooler also gets a snack. After concluding the workday If the weather is good, we go for a walk. We may also sit on the front or back porch and let the kids play.

6-8:30 Kids get a bath, while I cook hubby gives the kids a bath or vice versa. After dinner the Amir gets an hr of TV time. At 8:30 both kids are in bed for the night. I try to clean the kitchen once they are in bed. Waking up to a dirty kitchen usually puts me in a bad mood. Hubby is usually nods of by 9/930 and I usually push it till 10/11. Then we wake up and do the same dance again.

Takeaways

During the weekend Amir has a later bedtime but due to the consistent schedule will have in place by 9:30 he starts to nod off. I am sharing our daily schedule during COVID-19 to serve as a template for families struggling to establish a routine during this time. Another thing I want you to take away from this post is to give ourselves the gift of grace. There is no perfect way to navigate and adjust to an unprecedented occurrence. Be flexible with your routine and tailor it to what works best for your family. For my nighttime routine for the kids check out this post.