I know that many families across the country are going to be staying at home for two weeks or more. I wanted to send a very practical guide to help you plan and prepare this weekend to keep life as normal as possible. No fear mongering, no panicking, just simple straight-forward strategies to make this not feel like a huge shift for you and your family.
I have tried to fill in the needs as you’ve emailed and asked. I will send out something later this week that some colleagues and I are putting together to stay busy during this strange time. If there is anything else you need, please just let me know! I hope this weekend is not a time of panic, stress, or frustration, but one where you can see the blessing of spending time with your family.
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Have a daily time set aside for fun as a family. This will help create some normalcy especially if you’re not leaving the house at all. It also just helps keep morale up and gives every one a safe space.
- Here’s a guide based on wacky holidays each day.
- Here are family-friendly audiobooks.
- Order a cooperative game or two. Pandemic is an obvious choice.
- You can even make Disney+ Educational.
- If your school is not canceled and kids have to do work, here’s how to juggle it.
In fact, check out this resource called Building a Heart of Appreciation that’s meant to help families connect better.
Make some meals ahead. This will help you know how much food you actually have.Especially if you have a pressure cooker or slow cooker, you can assemble raw and cook from frozen. Meaning this is a quick and easy way to really know how much food you have.
Set aside an hour a day for peace and quiet. Life is going to be chaotic. So if this means as a parent you get up before everyone or stay up late, then do it. Ideally though it would mean letting everyone, even the kids, decompress. It will be noisy, busy, and nothing will go the way you plan. I know this because it’s the life I know as a homeschooler. So if you can find time to let everyone settle, do it. Play the quiet game or incentivize them if you have to, but aim for some quiet!
Make it a point to listen for ways to help others. The elderly neighbor, the single mom who still has to work, the people in unavoidable circumstances. It’s easy to just shut ourselves in and ignore the rest of the world. But this is a chance to make a big impact for those who need it most. And it’s an easy way to show our kids we practice what we preach.
Order your food if you can’t find any locally. Imperfect Foods even has bread, milk, eggs, yogurt, etc.. Our stores in Boston are completely empty, with people even waiting outside 2 hours before they open, hoping to get the fresh shipments. But I did get my shipments yesterday of both Misfits Market and Imperfect foods. Learn more and get coupon codes in this post. And remember, there’s no need to hoard. Just be smart and assess your need. If you eat meat, butcher box is another great option. Use my link for $30 off your order.
Don’t forget to be smart about storing fresh food.
Staying home doesn’t mean you can’t spend time on the porch or outside. Get the fresh air as you can, opening windows and playing in the sunshine. It’s good for your physical and mental health.
Make some basic switches for re-usable so you’re not worried about supplies running our or shipments not coming in.
- Reusable paper towels
- Bee’s ax Wrap instead of cling wrap
- And if you dare, consider trying out reusable personal hygiene products. Menstrual Cups vs. disposable feminine hygiene as well as buying some cloth diapering supplies like cloth wipes. If you can’t find TP, then it can be used with a wet bag in the bathroom and washed each night.
- If you need disposable disinfecting wipes or want to try reusable paper towels, bees wax wraps, and reusable leftover bags, Grove has some. This is my referral code, you’ll also get a gift and discount.
Be smart about going out. I have friends living in Italy that need paperwork to even go on a walk. I hope we don’t get to that point here. So please be mindful of how you and your family feels before leaving and obviously practice good hand-washing. But here’s how to help prevent viruses from a research perspective.
Best,
Kara Carrero
P.S. I am still updating the stuck at home guide. Much of the above is in the post, but here’s the link if you want to share it or look at it for new updates.
Kara is an author and advocate for positive, grace-filled parenting. She is homeschooler to her 5 children living on a farm in New England. She believes in creative educational approaches to help kids dive deeper into a rich learning experience and has her degree in Secondary Education & Adolescent Childhood Development. She is passionate about connecting with and helping other parents on their journey to raise awesome kids!
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