Here in Kuwait we’re entering week 4 of working from home and virtual school. Whilst I love that I get so much time with my kids, finding a way to work, home school them and stay sane all while making sure the house is at least sort of tidy has been a challenge! Here’s our approach, in case it helps anyone else figure out their own;
Getting Started
We’ve kept the same times for waking up as we would have (not by choice, they just keep getting up early!). So we make the most of it and get up, get everyone dressed, have a healthy breakfast, brush teeth and hair, etc. Keeping things the same as they would be in ‘real’ school has helped us keep going. It’s also a good way to differentiate weekends when we lay around in PJs for a bit first.
Follow a Schedule
We actually made a mistake here this week. We broke our schedule, or rather neglected it, for a couple of days. We saw the difference – the kids were more easily upset and needed more reassurance. Back in the routine we’d set and they are fine. I cannot recommend having a routine strongly enough. Check out this post for some ideas (POST LINK).
Independent Activities
When I need to work, the kids need things to do as well. Finding things they can manage to do mostly by themselves, whilst sat next to me at the table is a big help here. As I write this our 5 year old son is on my left making a superhero shield with mini beads and our 2 year old daughter is on my right playing with stickers. This gives me time to work without them being on their own.
Put Work Away
We have a hard deadline of 3pm for our work. If it’s not finished by then it can either wait until the kids are in bed or until the next day. This way we don’t let work bleed over into home.
Take Some Time for Yourself
I appreciate not everyone can do this, but if you can, swap with your partner or a family member or someone. Time to exercise, take a bath, read, just breathe is going to help you feel less overwhelmed and enjoy the quiet for just a while.
This is a big learning curve for all of us, and there are no right answers for how to make this work for your family – but by sharing ideas I hope we can all help each other.
