3 Activities to help balance the WFH / Homeschool tango during Coronavirus
What happens when you have to become the hybrid home school parent and the work from home employee all at once? Well, that’s what many parents are facing right now, in the loom of the Coronavirus pandemic. Overnight, we’ve been tasked with the challenge of working from home and homeschooling children.
If you’ve been lucky enough to be in communication with teachers, you may find that you only received the basics: math, history, reading, and English. Activity stations are a great way to give your kids breaks in between subjects without giving into extra screen time. Consider these activities to add some variety in between subjects and help you balance Slack messages and snack time like a pro.
Get an early start on memoirs
Have your kids record their experiences every day. The current state of the world isn’t a once-in-a-lifetime event, it’s an event many haven’t experienced across generations. Your children will be able to read these journals years down the line and reflect on this time. It could make for an interesting memoir in 15 years. In between writing their first masterpiece, guided journals and sketchbooks can help kick their creative side into gear.
Bonus: Trivia, word searches and any other brain teaser can add a fun break to traditional study time. A lot of these can be found free online, just print them out and go.
Get active with PE
Physical education is more important now than ever. Some companies are holding virtual workout sessions. Having your kids participate may seem like some “grown-up” fun to them. If your company isn’t, GoNoodle and YouTube are still your friends. GoNoodle is designed specifically for kids, combining gaming and physical fitness. Their Good Energy at Home program is currently available for free. Free workouts on YouTube are commonplace, just find one easy enough for your kids to do.
Break cabin fever with recess
Go outside! Even if you’re under a “shelter-in-place” order, your open garage, driveway, and backyard are still great places for your little ones to work in some sun time. There’s nothing like some fresh air, sun, and a cool breeze to break cabin fever. If you’re considering an away-from-home field trip, always check with the details of your local order before planning.
While it may be hard to rotate through stations, while balancing zoom calls, if you work out a schedule for your kids, it may buy you a little more time to get some work done.
Breathe
This one if just for you. Ok, it’s not just for you. Kids can benefit from taking some time to slow down too (there are tons of free resources and Amazon books on meditation and quiet time for kids). But, seriously, we get so caught in being super-parents and employees, we don’t take a break from trying to do both. Take some time to breathe. Yep, sometimes that annoying reminder on your Apple Watch is actually necessary. When you take the time to inhale through the nose, exhale through the mouth and be still, you can hear your thoughts. Sometimes that’s all you need to aid with a little balancing.
