We survived our first week you guys!!! I was actually surprised by how busy I am now with everyone at home. My work has definitely slowed down dramatically and I assumed I’d have a chance to sneak away and catch up on my TV shows during the week day, but that has been impossible. We were able to stick to our week 1 schedule for the most part but were quite flexible depending on what else the kids wanted to do. Luckily they were happy to follow the hourly plans for 95% of the time.
Living in a downtown condo during these strange times has not been easy as we couldn’t really think of any spot to take the kids to. Our elevators are still quite crowded and maintaining a 6ft distance is impossible. This is why the kids spent the entire week at home with no fresh air, except for hanging their heads out of our windows (before you ask, we have no balcony and no car). We’re so used to exploring our city and love where we live but for the first time, we’re noticing some REAL challenges living in a condo in the heart of the city.
Luckily for us, the kids have been great sports and are actually enjoying being home bodies. Mind you, on day 8 (yesterday) they did ask if we could go to 7 Eleven and so grudgingly, Chirs and I agreed. We made them wear mittens and took our own cups to the self-serve units but I only allowed them to drink it once we came back home (a mere 3 minute walk) and I wiped down the cups. These are strange times and I’m being very EXTRA but that’s okay. Better safe than sorry.
As we head into week 2 I wanted to share our plans with you
We’ve been having a lot of fun with the online games and the Facebook lives. The kids are loving the interactions that happen during our morning and afternoon live streams. We hope more of you will tune in or catch up on your own time. If you have ideas on what else we can do to entertain your kids while we’re all doing our part to social distance, please let us know!
The chores have been very successful and even Chris is cleaning a lot more than usual! Of course our condo is nowhere near being clean but it’s better than nothing!
For the online education, we’re going to switch things up a bit and try some new resources this week so I thought I’d share them here. The ones from last week were great fun but I’m trying to keep things fresh for the kids and thought I’d switch them up each week. Keep in mind that the below options are for the 6 to 8 age group for the most part.
Language App – I’ll switch to French next week but we’re still focusing on English skills
I am continuing to share our daily happenings on Instagram so please do give us a follow and have a chat with us… we appreciate the conversations more so now than ever!
Having a schedule has also meant that we’re able to give some routine for the kids and some structure. It’s so easy to forget what day it is and I really want to continue celebrating the weekends. Our schedule enables us all to know when the weekend rolls by and we can just do WHATEVER we want!
I’ll also mention that since we’re all home a lot more, it’s much easier to gather your friends for virtual parties and catch ups. I’ve allowed the kids to use Facebook messenger to video chat with their friends whenever they want during their free times and I’ve been doing Facebook group video chats with my friends as well. Chris even got together with his game group virtually this weekend! It’s a time to connect and I’m mentally preparing myself for a few more months of this. It’s family and friends who will continue to cheer us up and keep us sane, even from a distance.
Hibby Turnbull
December 21, 2020 at 7:29 amReading this now in Dec, this seems like a lifetime ago. Look how far we have all come now. That first week now stretching into months and months of life not as normal and honestly I think we still have a long way to go.
Yashy
January 8, 2021 at 3:54 pmI read this post often and try to muster the same enthusiasm I had back then. It’s hard most days this into the chaos.