A Day in the Life During Social Distancing
/Being a SAHM, social distancing isn’t causing too many hiccups for me. However I know that is not the case for many, and I am most certainly counting my lucky stars that this outbreak is not causing chaos at home. Even if my anxiety is through the roof.
If you aren’t used to having all your kids home all day, I thought I would share a quick glimpse into our days along with some suggestions on what to do to keep the kids entertained. As a reminder, I have an almost 4 year old, a 2.5 year old, and a 5 month old.
600 - 830am - Wake up, breakfast, changed, and general free time. My husband and I are usually catching up on how the overnight shift went for the little sleepers, what the morning news is, and what the plan for the day is. We also take this time to get ourselves ready for the day. Typically, the baby does tummy time and free play on her mat while the boys are jumping on the bed and running around the living room doing unstructured play.
830am - Baby naps + the boys get media time and a snack. Usually I start a movie and towards the 30 minute mark they start to wander and play. I let them come and go to the movie while I start a load of laundry, wipe down frequently used surfaces, and prepare for morning play time.
930am - Recess. I send the boys in the backyard to play. Sometimes that is the bouncy house, sometimes the sandbox. I am looking into making them an obstacle course this weekend. If they aren’t enjoying themselves or treating each other kindly, I will intervene with a structured activity - nature walk + search, I spy, practicing soccer drills, talking about cloud shapes, etc.
10am - Baby wakes and eats. She will hang in her high chair and play (mostly with the lid to her bottle) while I start to figure out lunch for the boys and myself. If the activity that I have planned for the afternoon requires any prep, I do it at this point of the day. That usually looks like cutting pieces to a craft, drawing lines to be traced, making sure I have the supplies I need for an experiment, etc.
11am - Recess ends. Thank you FL weather for allowing the boys to be outside for over an hour! Depending on the activity and their sweatiness, we will either have them take a full bath or just a hand washing and change of clothes.
1130am - Lunch.
MOM TIP: Always eat at the same time that your kids do. That way you can get other things done when you have a minute alone.
1215-230pm - Naps. They all nap. If my oldest doesn’t for some reason, he still stays in his room and plays quietly. I will take this time to rest myself if needed, plan the afternoon, place orders, schedule appointments, meal plan, write, and now create a little curriculum for my oldest son.
230pm - Baby wakes and has a bottle. She and I usually hang until the boys emerge from their rooms groggily. We will read books mostly. I also take her on a tour of the house and chat with her. She loves looking into mirrors too.
3pm - The boys come out of their rooms and have a snack and watch a show. It takes them a little while to wake up so leaving them alone works for everyone. I will do dishes and continue to play with the baby.
330pm - Activity/School Work. My oldest is only in PreK so his learning isn’t heavily academic. However, I don’t want him to feel behind when he gets back to school so I am making up some activities for him to do that will coincide with what they are doing in class. For him, each week of school is centered around a letter. This week is the letter V so yesterday we used construction paper to make a vase shaped like a V with flowers inside. We talked about the sound the letter made, discussed the colors of the flowers he wanted to make, and counted the petals. His younger brother was busy putting stickers inside a bubble letter V. Today, I am going to make a quick volcano out of baking soda, vinegar, and water. Thank you, Pinterest.
4pm - Free play for the boys. They will hang out in the playroom and play unstructured. I go put the baby down for her last little cat nap and then play with the boys. There is a lot of dress up, make believe, Legos, and book reading at this point in the day.
5pm - More media time while I make dinner.
530pm - Baby wakes + dinner time. The baby also gets her solid food at this time so we are all eating together.
6pm - Playtime with dad or more outside play.
630pm - Bath time for the boys and bedtime + bottle for the baby. While dad puts the baby down, I will finish up baths, get teeth brushed, and start our bedtime routine - lots of running around and then calming down with a book that we all read together. Dad will join at the tail end to put one of the boys in bed, and I handle the other.
7pm- Bedtime for the boys
I am lucky that my only child in school is not really at the age yet where homework or school work is expected of him. I am leaning heavily on Pinterest and Busy Toddler right now for activities. My hope is that over the weekend I will be able to sit down and make more of a curriculum of activities vs scrambling at the last minute like I have the last two days.
I hope that helps you figure out how to structure your days. One thing that I always tell myself is that children thrive on routine. They are discovering so much about the world every day that knowing when to expect a nap or a meal is a huge comfort to them.
Hoping you’re all well!