While we are all trying to navigate these unfamiliar waters, the societal restrictions imposed on us have presented some new opportunities for parents to spend more time with their kids. Personally, I feel that this is biggest gift that we, as parents, could ever get. Hopefully, it will create lifestyle changes in all of us and help us prioritize a better work-life balance and a much deeper connection to our children. After all, our children are the most important thing in our lives and spending quality time with them should be at the forefront of all our decision making. More likely than not however, when this is all over, we will probably all go back to the normal, fast-paced lifestyle we have all grown accustomed to and we will almost certainly have less time together than we do right now. And if that is the case, parents cannot pass up this brief opportunity to invest this free time in our children and be the most involved and creative parents we can be.
So, for the moment, let’s all make spending quality time with our kids our new full-time job!
But how do we as parents take on the jobs of the teachers, the coaches and the friends? Well it definitely isn’t by cooking all day and cleaning up after them, that’s for sure. After a week at home with our 4 kids running wild in the house, my wife and I had no choice but to create a weekday schedule that would provide the structure our kids so desperately needed.
We talked to the kids about it and they were all so excited to get back into a routine and start going to “school” again, even if it’s at the kitchen table. The kids got involved in creating the new schedule and agreeing to the itinerary.
I had no idea that what was about to happen would have such an impact on us. Our whole family is getting so much out of it. To get into every subject and every activity with my kids and be with them to share in these moments of growth and learning in their lives is incredible! I wanted to share our strategy with other families so you might take advantage of this chance to strengthen the bond you share with your loved ones and come out of this stronger than ever before.
Plan the week
Without a schedule, it is extremely difficult to manage their daily activities and monitor their progress at home. Kids thrive in an organized environment where there is a plan, a structure and a goal. Create a schedule with your family that you can all agree on. The schedule may not be as demanding as their regular school schedule, but any structure is better than none at all.
The goal is to provide an ideal work-life balance for everyone in the home.
Give them more household tasks
Now that the kids are home all the time, they can start helping out more with the chores around the house. My kids all agreed that making their beds every morning was something they could all commit and ever since, they come downstairs and put a star net to their name as soon as they complete this task.
Establish Schooling objectives
Working with our kids in all the subjects opened our eyes to their different individual strengths and weaknesses and as parent/teachers we decided to focus more of our attention working with each kid one on one, something they would probably never get in a classroom environment.
Within a week, my son was reading correctly when he could barely get through a sentence.
Our other child worked on math, a lot. Now division and multiplication issues were gone!
Couldn’t believe the progress in just one week!
Teach your Passion
I know all you moms and dads out there have a hobby, a passion and or a hidden talent….so make a class out of it!
Maybe you bake or sing or paint or knit. Whatever you do, introduce this to your kids and get them to create something too! I’m into art and painting and sure enough art class became their favorite class and the whole thing was easy and fun!
Sports/ Gym class
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Whatever sporting activity you choose the whole family should do it together. Even if it’s a walk, walk together. I had by boys’ bike alongside me as I ran. We ended up doing 20km’s, more than they had ever done. I hadn’t run that much in over a year, I couldn’t believe I did that on the first run of the year. When our 7-year-old daughter saw that, she finally said “I want to learn how to bike.” For years she would never even attempt it because she was afraid to fall. Now she was determined and within a week, she was ready for our next long ride as a family.
Stay Flexible
Stay flexible with this schedule and leave room to change things on the fly.
If mom and dad are tired, give the kids a longer break and give yourself the time you need. If kids are feeling lazy, it’s a good time to do play a board game, cuddle up a read a story or something else that is easy, effortless and helps them unwind. If they are energized, its ok to stop math class and go do the sporting activity. Use the schedule as a guide.
After just 1 week, I could see that I was getting just as much out of this as the kids were. I wasn’t doing this for them, I was doing it for us! Our family is a team right now, more than ever. The kids are teaching the parents, parents are teaching kids and we are learning together!
We, the parents, are our kids’ favorite teachers. We are the people they look up to the most, and they want US to proud of them! We are their guides and we must be the ones who watch them and cheer for them and teach them and learn with them! So, moms and dads everywhere, dive into parenting head-first and enjoy it. Savior it. It our most important job of all!
Check out our weekly schedule and use it as a guide when building yours with your family.
Do it your way and have fun with it.
Our Weekday Schedule
Monday- Thursday
Work-Life Balance for All
Includes: Chores, education and sports.
7:30am Chores: Make your bed, brush your teeth and get dressed for the day.
8:00am Breakfast
9:00am English/ French
10:30am Snack/Recess
11:00am Math/ Science
12:30pm Lunch
1:30pm Art class, Baking class, Pottery, Painting. TEACH YOUR KIDS YOUR TALENTS AND PASSIONS!
3:00pm Snack/ Break Time
4:00pm Organized sporting activitiy (Biking, Running, Working out in the living room)
Stay safe everyone!
