By Fleur Coe
It may seem like an exaggeration, but as this Stay Home Order goes on (and on… and on…) this has been a total sanity saver when it comes to being home with my two little ones. While Baby E (10mos) is happy to explore the house with her new found crawling and pulling up skills, S (almost 3) needs a whole lot of stimulation to keep him out of mischief, and coming up with new activities on the fly takes a LOT of mental energy.
About a month ago, I came up with this “sanity schedule” – it’s purpose is to give me some direction and our days at home some predictability. When my morning caffeine hasn’t kicked in yet, I can just glance at the Sanity Schedule and it tells me what to do.
(Customizable file linked here).
NOW what makes this a “sanity schedule”, and not a regular schedule, is that we don’t follow it minute-by-minute. If he is happy crafting for 45 minutes, I don’t disturb him. If the weather is nice and we want to walk right after breakfast, off we go! If he’s bored after 15 mins of yoga, he can go play independently. I just won’t get another activity out until the next allotted time.
The pieces:
(1) Independent Play – He heads into the playroom to play with the toys on his shelves. I switch out what’s available to him every week so it’s still interesting, new and fresh. Sometimes I’ll have an “invitation to play“ and a sensory bin set out, but I usually save that for days when we’ve been in the house 2-3 days straight.
(2) Craft time – Playdough, Painting, watercolors, scissor practice, gluing/collage etc. I offer two choices and then get him set up. Depending on E’s naps, I’ll join him for some 1-1 time or let him work independently (with loose supervision to ensure there’s no paint on the walls) Check out @busy toddler, @mamapapabubba, @theartfulparent for inspiration.
(3) TV – S isn’t old enough to tell time yet, but he CAN match numbers.
We have a piece of painter’s tape with 10:30 written on it stuck above the oven clock.
It works wonderfully because I’m not the “bad guy” when he asks to watch – I just say “let’s go check the time”. He matches up the first two numbers himself and we do the second set together. I then say “It’s not time yet, let’s go do a puzzle and then we’ll check again” or “Yes! The numbers match. It’s time to watch now.” We do half an hour in the morning and half an hour in the afternoon because that is what works for our family (and what enables me to get my daily tasks done).
(4) Walk/Yoga – Pretty self explanatory! E is usually up from her nap by now and when the weather isn’t miserable, we load up the stroller and head out for a walk. If the weather isn’t cooperating, we LOVE Cosmic Kids Yoga and then have a dance party to Caspar Babypants 🙂
(5) Outside/Active Play – E is generally asleep for this window, so even if the weather isn’t great, S and I get outside! He’ll practice riding his bike or we’ll draw with chalk or work in the garden – really anything to get some fresh air in our lungs!
(6) Free Play – this after dinner play is generally time for my spouse and S to play together. They build “tall tall towers” and knock them down, make epic forts with our @nuggetcomfort, do obstacle courses, and generally horse around to get the last wiggles out before we settle down for bedtime.
(Customizable file linked here).
I hope this helps you get some structure into your day in a way that enables you to keep your sanity!