A working mother finds time for crafts, school

CORNWALL — Unfortunately, in our particular region, we will not be receiving specific direction from the school on distance learning until the end of next week.

In the meantime, I have kept my kids on a regular schedule to try and maintain their engagement and also my sanity.

We wake up everyday around the same time that we’d all be getting ready for school and work and follow a schedule like the one in the photo above.

Throughout the day I check in, but I am also working from home on regular office hours so this is really helpful for us all. Just making the extra effort to wake up early and get changed as if we’re leaving the house makes a huge difference for everyone! Pajamas are a big distraction.

To supplement the suggested links that were provided by our teachers, I also purchased workbooks that cover a variety of subjects in math and English Language Arts. I stocked up on a bunch of craft materials at Michael’s before the stores started to close (but I also always have plenty of art tools on hand).

On days that are cold or too rainy to be outside, I use the Nintendo Switch to help me out with an hour of Just Dance or yoga to keep them active and moving.

I try not to just end our day at 4 p.m. and tell my kids they’re free to do what they please; I feel like that’s too open-ended and they’d spend the remainder of the day watching TikTok videos until their brains melted out of their ears. I give them dedicated “free time” between 4 and 5 p.m. and then they help me with dinner or other chores around the house.

Our schedule isn’t always 100% concrete and we’ve definitely sprinkled in other activities here and there, but having some kind of general outline keeps us all functioning.

Note: TikTok is a website with short videos at www.tiktok.com.

Brianna Juliano works in Cornwall and lives in Torrington. Her children are in second grade and fourth grade.

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