How many times do you think you’ve uttered “This is so crazy,” or something to that effect this week? We knew going into it that we had a nightmare ahead of us. It was the week after the time change, a full moon was en route and the week was bookended with a Friday the 13th. What we didn’t see coming was the major escalation of the Coronavirus pandemic.
So, here we are, in the first chapter of a futuristic dystopian novel, in the reality of a worldwide health crisis and national disaster. It’s safe to say we are in unchartered territory here. Most of us have transitioned to some hybrid school calendar that is part homeschool, part year round school off track situation. Oh, and there’s no more toilet paper and don’t you dare shake anyone’s hand.
We are convinced now more than ever we need each other. Your community, both online and in person, are what is going to help you through this. To do our part, we’ve come up with a few resources to hopefully help get you through this crazy time that our grandchildren will undoubtedly write social studies reports about.
Processing & Coping
Brittany wrote a great piece about the grief we’re collectively feeling right now. Read Grief in the Midst of a Global Pandemic and tell us your thoughts.
Distractions
Anyone else doing some nervous, unnecessary online shopping to distract yourself and pass the time? Here are Heather’s favorites from the Nordstrom and J. Crew Factory sales.
Binge Watching
What have you been binge watching? You MUST go watch Tiger King on Netflix. My mind has been blown.
Schooling/Activities
We know this is heavy on the minds of a lot of you. Some of you may be feeling anxious about the gap in their education and struggling with your own inadequacies to fill in that gap. Or maybe you just don’t want to do it. Hell, I’m a former teacher and I don’t want to homeschool, but here we are.
There are so many resources out there to help, so fear not! The digital age is truly a saving grace in regards to the amount of resources that are at your fingertips.
- We created a Pinterest board with activities. The plan is to add to it as we gather more resources, so be sure to follow all our boards.
- If you are looking for something slightly more academic, Teachers Pay Teachers is an incredible resource. It is full of content created by real teachers who teach every subject and grade. Some is free, some is for purchase, but it all goes to supporting teachers for the hard work they put in to create learning material. Be sure to try and find their Instagram handle. A lot of teachers are having major sales on their products!
- Here is a list of companies offering free educational material during school closures. This will also be updated as more things are discovered. It has a lot for upper elementary, middle and high school grades too.
- This is a fun list of ideas!
- McHarper Manor is doing live art and craft tutorials every day! They will be posted if you can’t watch live. Perfect if you aren’t a “crafty” mom or are just lacking creativity right now.
Bottom line, don’t stress about school. As long as you are doing what you’re able, your kids will be just fine. If all of that seems really daunting, just reading and writing each day will help keep their skills up. Everyone is in the same boat and will go back to school a little rusty.
Screen Time
If you’ve followed us for a while, you know we believe in screen time and doing what you need to do to survive. Remember the time between now and school reopening is a marathon, not a sprint. Some days you may be on the front lines of the anti-screen battle, and some days you may have nothing left to fight it. Screens are not the enemy, and can be super education in a time like this, but it can be easy to become reliant on them. Just do your best to balance it with some structure. This reminder is just as much for the two of us as it is for you.
Bottom line: don’t be a hero and don’t feel guilty. Here are a few educational apps you have used and loved:
Daily Life
If you will be home with your kids during this time, we created this schedule to help tame the monotony and chaos that comes along with that. We all know kids thrive when they’re on a schedule but it isn’t always an easy task. Feel free to download, print, and share the schedule below. We hope it helps!
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD YOUR DAILY SCHEDULE
Staying Sane
In case you need a break from the scrolling of the news cycle, we highly recommend subscribing to our podcast, to give your brain a break. We drop a new episode every single Tuesday. You can find it wherever you get your podcasts!
We also have a plethora of reading material to take your mind off of the current state of the world. Outlined below are our most popular posts in each category. Click around, find something you like, and share on Facebook!
Motherhood
- How to maintain an active lifestyle as a mom
- A mother’s insanity
- Raise kind kids: Because the world needs you to
- What it’s like to parent a child with high-functioning autism
Recipes
- One pot chicken quinoa
- Instant pot buffalo chicken
- Chocolate oreo pudding cookies
- Slow cooker tri tip dip sandwiches
- Paloma drink recipe
DIY
Party
Travel
- San Francisco
- Turks & Caicos
- Austin, Texas
- San Diego, California
- Monterey, California
- Sonoma County Wine Region
Stockpiling
We definitely don’t recommend cleaning off the shelves at every store you can, but it’s probably not a bad idea to have some extra food on hand right now. I’m going into this school closure with a sick kid. Tensions are high and while I’m confident she isn’t infected with COVID-19 or contagious, that gnarly lingering cough will surely incite a riot. That means going into a store is out of the question. Grocery pick ups are hard to come by and having food on hand is a life saver. Just being ready to be at home for a good stretch is a good idea. Restaurants may close or be inundated, so cooking at home is in a lot of our futures.
I’m also making sure there’s always gas in the car, just in case. That might seem a little crazy, but I like the peace of mind of knowing that we are ready, and aren’t we all just looking for a little comfort right now?
Not that I think we’ll have to make a quick escape or won’t be able to get to a gas station, but depending on quarantines or how quickly Coronavirus spreads in the next few weeks, there could be a big breakdown in the supply chain so I’m trying to think ahead to everyday things I use that may be disrupted. Whether it be due to lack of workers, lack of resources, whatever, this whole situation is going to get worse before it gets better. We just don’t know what worse looks like yet.
People To Watch
- Kelly Mindell is founder of StudioDIY and adoptive mom. She is also immunocompromised, so she is self quarantining with her husband and toddler. They have a different theme planned for each day, including activities, screen time that fits in the theme and books. Her approach is positive and fun and gives us hope that this can be done without going crazy.
- Susie Allison is the genius behind Busy Toddler. She makes entertaining toddlers and preschoolers look fun, so we have to hand it to her. All of her activities are free, easy and don’t require a million special items or steps. Definitely a go to resource!
- Friends Art Lab
- PreK Wolf Pack
- Pinch of PreK
We view this post as a living document and will be adding to it as we find new resources that could be helpful or come across people that are handling this whole situation like a boss. If you have something we missed that should be added please let us know! We’re all in this together (sung to the tune of the High School Musical song, of course)!
Helpful Links From Our Community
We asked and you answered! We will be adding all helpful links shared with us below. Keep ’em coming!
Our friend Lindsey at Every Day Above Dirt shared her helpful post about Indoor Toddler Activities.
Can you make the schedule editable? I would love to add a few things to fit our family. Any I have three kids so having it say “both kids” need a bath doesn’t work for us…lol
Not editable, but here is a link to one with the descriptions removed. Feel free to edit on Canva or something similar to add your own! 🙂 Hope this helps!
Thank you SO much for not forcing me to sign up for an email newsletter in order to download this! I am going to bookmark this site for future reference!!
No problem, we know how annoying that can be! If you do love what you see, the email list is a great way to keep up with new content. Promise we won’t send you an email telling you our response plan to the virus 😉