Today is Friday the 13th and also the first day of life as we know it changing drastically. Schools in the area are closed for a minimum of one week but most likely two weeks or more. My gym, where I can be found every morning after dropping the kids off, and which is my biggest source of stress relief, is closed for at least two weeks. My husband is still at work today, as courts remain open, but I'm not sure how long that will last. And we are being told by officials to stay in our homes and attempt social distancing as much as possible, which means no play dates.
Before I had kids I worked as a 4th grade Assistant Teacher for a couple years, in the infant room of a daycare, and as Montessori School teacher for a couple years, so I'm digging deep into my reserves to come up with activities for the new Mommy School that the kids seem pretty excited about. I have my two students, ages 5 and 6, and I'm happy to say that Day One is in the books. I made a schedule for the day and we've executed it pretty well. They had some screen time while I made them pancakes with fruit for breakfast, and there was only minimal complaining about it.
We started our "school day" off with a morning meeting where we talked about the weather and sang some songs. Unfortunately it's a rainy day, so no outdoor "recess" will happen today but from now on as long as it's not raining, they'll be spending some time outside. After our morning meeting we practiced writing, with a prompt for Zoey and tracing activities for Josh. After that it was time for Art. Using paper, glue and beads they created their own designs on their paper with glue and then carefully put small colorful beads onto the design. I had them do some exercises in the living room to get out some energy, followed by reading some of their favorite books. Now it's snack time, and I'm letting them watch a show while eating. I guess after this we'll do bath and bed time and I can pat myself on the back for a successful day. The first of many. I have to say, it went by pretty quickly and I'm looking forward to more days like today.
Oh shoot. I just looked at the clock and it's 10:05 AM. There are 9 more hours in this first day of quarantine until their bedtime. Forget everything I've written, and send help.
