Quarantine Schedule

The rumors are true. We are stuck at home. Now what? Well we typically get outside to soak up that vitamin D as much as possible because #health and also "momming" is a lot easier outside. The hours slide right by instead of dragging on like senior year. Plus, having a wine spritzer is much more acceptable at 11am if you are outside. Not sure why....

Let’s pretend it’s raining. Stuck at home during quarantine and raining. Ok. Don’t panic. This is the half hour schedule I use to control the chaos of my 1.5 and 3 year olds. Have it their way and they will dump over every bin of the house before 7:32am.

• 7:30 - Kids wake up - They have the Okay To Wake clock in their room that we are learning about during quarantine. Life saver! Let the kids play in the "wake up zone" which is an area of toys that you set up the night before for them to explore. This morning my wake up zone was a box with holes cut into it with a bunch of random toys inside. They sat in the box and pushed toys out. Plenty of other activity ideas listed here, the key is to have it ready and waiting before you go to bed the night before so the morning starts smoothly.
  
• 8 - Breakfast at the kitchen table. 
• 8:30 - Independent play. Let them re-explore all the toys that magically disappeared overnight. This is also your chance to finish your luke-warm coffee.
• 9 - Education 1/2 hour.  Pick an educational workbook and give him big bro some special 1-1 time. I put little bro in the high chair and rotate books (this one is the current fave by far) or tape down toys with painters tape. Total time suck.... I mean... great opportunity for baby pincher practice. Also a great time for baby bro to have nap #1 if he still does that sort of thing (I hate you).
• 9:30 - Get some exercise. Ask Alexa to "play Animal workout."The kids will have a blast and it gets their blood pumping for a bit. Or bust out beach body or yoga. My kids love doing it with me. Just have to modify to make sure its safe for kids. Race from the front door to the back door. then do it in a bear crawl, then backwards. Just get moving! 
• 10 - Snack #1 : fridge snack. My kids eat snacks at the counter in their stools just to mix it up a bit. Hummus with carrots, blueberries with yogurt, sliced apple and peanut butter. Leftover dinner scraps. Anything... so long as it comes from the fridge.
• 10:30 - Puzzles. The trick with this is to get the puzzles out while they are having their snack. Don't even ask them if they want to do a puzzle. If YOU just start doing it they will get enthralled and want to take over pronto.
  
• 11 - Build stuff - Blocks, Legos, a fort, whatever.... just don't get too invested in your creation because the kids will just knock it over as soon as you put on the last piece. And this is a great chance for the kids to get out some energy/aggression on a toy instead of on you.
• 11:30 - Crafts and Coloring - Might as well use the marker and glue excuse as to why they have to wash their hands before they eat lunch! And it will force you (and you kid to help!) to clean up the kitchen table so you can actually eat. Lots of craft suggestions on this list! We are making a "Quarantine Art Wall" where we make a new craft each day and are adding to our art wall so we can admire it. I think the crafts will get fancier and fancier because the kids will want to see it on THE WALL.
• 12 - Lunch time at the kitchen table. We use this time to call grandparents on the iPad! Actually anytime they are eating we bust out the iPad for a long distance Howdy!
• 12:30 - Head upstairs/to the kids bedrooms. We all need a new room to stare at by now. This gives you a chance to throw in a batch of laundry and take the load that has been in the dryer for 3 days out. I let the kids do gymnastics on top of the laundry while i attempt to pull out kids stuff and put it away. I leave all of my and my husbands laundry in a big ole pile that gets thrown in our closet to die a slow death. 
• 1 - Nap time. If no one is sleeping in your room, put your laundry away. If someone is, like my kid right now, then you have the luxury of going downstairs to clean. You wont regret a fresh start in the afternoon. Needing a tech break? I get it! Throw Netflix on your iPad and take it around with you while you put just a fewwwww things away. Once you sit down, you know you wont stand up until a kid cries. And even then, it might take you 7 minutes to find the will to get them. Friendly reminder to myself: The days are long but the years are short.
• 1:30 - Wipe down EVERYTHING. Now is a great time to set new cleaning expectations for commonly used surfaces. Its also a great time to say screw it and move on to the next half hour slot because thats 10x more fun and 100x more likely to happen.
• 2 -  Sit. Nap or maybe even have your last cup of coffee for the day. Yes, I said last... so you don't accidentally stay up until 1am. Trust me.   
• 2:30 - Fear sets in. Start fearing children will wake soon... do a mad dash to get dishes in dishwasher so you can hit your bed as soon as possible tonight.
• 3 - Snack #2 : pantry snack, while kids eat you get to prep dinner! Prepping now means you can (A.)  make sure you have all the ingredients, and (B.) not hate 5pm because kids hit witching hour and you are just trying to cut a damn zucchini.
  
• 3:30 - Crafts and Coloring - This is another "sneak it in" moment. While they are having their snack, casually start coloring and BAM, kids are totally into it. 
• 4 -  Lets get physical, physical! Obstacle course time!! Great opportunity to clean... Have the kids pick up one toy and put it away and then come back and touch the door knob and do a somersault and then put a dish away. Literally anything goes. 
• 4:30 - Science Experiment - So many on this list. Pick one that seems age appropriate for your kids and do it again and again and again for days. My kids love repetition. And you might get lucky to be able to get dinner started before they realize you're gone. 
• 5 - Prep dinner and let the kids help. And by "help" I mean get an extra box of mac n cheese from the pantry and tell them to shake it. Have them smoosh bread, have them stir milk a cup. Literally anything to keep them happy and in the kitchen with you. Or you can turn on a show. Either way works... All I know is, my 1.5 year old will end up on my hip either way.
• 5:30 - Put dinner in the oven and dance party with the kids! Gets the wiggles out, duh. On Alexa, I suggest Disney hits, Moana, Frozen, Frozen 2, Lion King (but only the good, non-scary songs). Bring in musical instruments and really jam out! 
• 6 - Dinner time at the kitchen table!
• 6:30 - Show And Tell/Talent Show. Show each other (a.k.a. Dada) all the crafts and activities we did that day and discuss our favorite things. If you sang songs or did gymnastics or anything they can "DO" that day, give the kids a chance to perform it in front of everyone.... i.e. you and you husband who have already seen it 67x. 
• 7  - Final Witching Hour. Either give the kids a bath (we only do this every few days) or start warning bed time is soon by setting a bed time timer and then get back to playing. This is usually wrestlemania time at our house. Everyone on the floor stretching and wrestling and somersaulting.
• 7:30 - Begin bed time. This consists of diapers, pajamas, reading books, singing songs, kisses and bonks and lights out.
• 8 - Kids sleep. ESCAPE! And head downstairs to quickly throw some random stuff in a box or clear tub or blow up pool or front carpet and designate it "the wake up zone" for the next morning. You wont regret having this ready to go.
• 8:30 - Give yourself a moment. Hug your spouse, Stretch while you watch the scary news. Whatever you want to do. Oh, here's a good one. SHOWER.
• 9 - Get in bed and read a book. Not TV, a book. If you watch TV, you also scroll social media and all of a sudden its midnight and your kids are going to be up at 2am. Trust me, read a dern book.
• 9:30 - Pass out.  I mean it. Pass the F out. Turn your light off and stare into darkness. You have a long day ahead of you tomorrow. If you can't fall asleep, take one last lap around the house to see if you can find, i.e. step on, any stray Lego pieces and then try again.

Did you notice? No tech time included on the schedule? This is not because I don't use tech. In fact, we just finished watching Frozen 2...again. There is no tech on the list simply because I rotate it in during different half hour slots based on what the kids are into, or more importantly NOT into, that day. Give yourself grace momma. Try as hard as you can, but at the end of the day, it is what it is and its a tough time right now.

Good luck mommas!
#DanielleDaredMe