Current Schedule: School in Quarantine
September 21, 2020
This school year looks very different from others. My son’s kindergarten public school is remote (for now). My daughter’s private preschool is in-person (for now). I am trying to juggle both of their schedules, while also juggling my own work schedule, while also juggling the baby.
I am lucky that I currently have some help from my mom and father-in-law. My mom helps with the baby while I am helping my son with the school. My father-in-law sometimes comes after school to help with the big kids so I can work or run errands. It is a balancing act for sure, but for now, it is working.
In order to make this all work, I spent a lot of time during the month of August thinking about what our schedule would look like in the fall and this is what I came up with. It is still ebbing and flowing, and will change once again when my son goes back to school in person (for two afternoons a week only). He will get speech therapy in person (hallelujah, he needs this so bad).
Here’s what my days currently look like.
4:30 am – I am up, brush teeth, make coffee, write gratitude and read bible/bible study.
5:00 am – Work. Get my big project done and out of the way.
7:00 am – Get everyone ready. Breakfast. Shower. Get dressed.
8:15 am – Circle time with Matthew and his class.
8:35 am – Walk and drop off Maggie at her school. (This is MWF only. If this isn’t needed we move to the next part of the day early.)
9:00 am – Independent practice for Matthew. Reading games and activities on the computer.
9:20 am – Read aloud with Matthew and his class.
9:40 am – Independent practice for Matthew. Fine motor and other similar activities.
10:00 am – One-on-one with Matthew and his teacher or speech therapist. (This changes, but most days is at this time).
10:25 am – Specials. Gym, art, music, yoga.
10:45 am – Short break for all to gather ourselves. I sometimes check my work email in here or get school cleaned up and organized for the afternoon.
11:00 am – Walk to pick up Maggie. (Again only MWF.)
11:30 am – Home. Lunch for all. Prep snacks for the afternoon as well, so everything is ready. Clean kitchen. Change diapers. Again, sometimes there is enough time after lunch to check emails. Depends on the day.
12:20 pm – Math with Matthew and his class.
12:40 pm – Independent practice for Matthew. Math games and activities on the computer.
1:00 pm – Some days Matthew has more school (OT, etc.) Other days, he is done around this time. As soon as he is done with school, I jump into work for me. Clear out emails. Prep projects for the next day. Do easy, manual tasks like scheduling web articles. Screens for the big kids (or play with Poppy or Grandma). Nap for the baby.
3:00 pm – Snack for me. Maybe make dinner in here. Clean kitchen.
3:30 pm – Try to get kids outside or virtual OT or feeding therapy for Matthew. Bath. Something to get kids off the screens.
4:30 pm – Eat dinner with the kids.
5:00 pm – Go for a run when Mike gets home. Or do yoga. Or stretch.
6:00 pm – Do any misc. chores that didn’t get done during the day. Put laundry away. Pick up. Clean the kitchen.
7:00 pm – Get everyone ready for bed.
8:00 pm – Read a book. Eat a bowl of oatmeal. Fall asleep.
It seems long and tough. But the reality is, it isn’t that bad. The only days that are tough are the ones where Matthew has a long school day AND I have an assignment due. That is stressful to say the least. Once the kids both do get to go back to school, I think I might stick to my routine of getting up at 5 am to work on projects. Maybe one day I will be able to write that book that is stirring around in my head.