Our "Stuck-at-Home" Daily Rhythm

Well, for at least the next six weeks, we are home. While D was only in school a few mornings a week to begin with, this has still been a big shift for us. Especially because we are also avoiding playgrounds, restaurants, errands, and group playdates. What are parents to do?! I know many of you are in the same boat, so I figured it could be helpful to share what our days look like during this strange, isolated time. I hope that we can all help each other out, coming up with strategies, activities, and humor to help each other get through some long days.

Last week was our first week off of school and activities, and I mostly just winged it. That didn’t work out so well for us. We had a lot of empty time to fill, and everyone felt irritated and even a little bored. While we already follow a daily rhythm, we’ve had to adjust given the circumstances. After our first week homebound, it became apparent that we need a bi more structure and activity to our days! While no day looks or will look exactly the same, and no weekly plan is followed exactly, I am looking forward to having a guideline to follow.

Weekly Rhythm. Here is this week’s plan. As I’ve been home more myself this weekend, I’ve had time to do some activity prep! You will see more details of these on my Instagram account this coming week. :)

Daily Rhythm. This is our daily rhythm while we are home for the next six weeks. It may change slightly, but it’s working well so far! I’ll post a few more details and clarifications below the chart.

Wakeup. I generally wake up an hour or so before the kids, to get myself ready, drink coffee, and respond to messages/work on my blog or IG. When the kids wake up (generally 7 to 7:30am), I get S up and nurse and change him, and my husband gets D up. We all have breakfast together and my husband leaves for work (these days that is our bedroom/home office).

Free Play. You’ll notice a lot of “free play” in our daily schedule. Free play could mean a number of things. It could be each of them playing with their toys at their shelves, together or apart. Other times it means D playing pretend with her dolls, open-ended toys, or vehicles and roads. Much of this time consists of the children leading the play while I am present with them, engaged or observing. This first part of the day is also a good time for me to show D a new activity or give her a lesson on a new work. Other times free play is more independent, and I can work parallel to them, doing dishes, folding laundry, or cooking. If S is extra fussy, I wear him.

Rest. The morning is full with play, movement, food, and work. So while D no longer naps, she still enjoys rest time. She can choose to take rest time in her room or downstairs. Lately she’s been choosing her room. It always lasts an hour, and we use her Hatch machine to indicate when rest time is over (it is pink during rest time and turns blue after an hour). She actually often asks to go down for rest time once S goes down for nap. It’s a nice reset for all of us in our days.

Independent Play. When D has independent play time (often in morning and sometimes in the afternoon when S is napping), we are both working. She knows I’m not available and she chooses activities that don’t require my help. Sometimes I set her up with some art or sensory play, or she just reads books or plays by herself. While we limited TV to a couple times a week prior to the CV situation, I’ve been more lenient now and letting her watch an episode or two (usually Daniel Tiger) most afternoons.

Movement. We try to get outside once a day, which usually just means walking or exploring from our house, but sometimes we drive to a different park or meet up with a close friend. We are avoiding playgrounds and groups right now, so our options are more limited, but we are lucky to be living in such a beautiful area, with forests, water, and a lot of green space. We generally get out rain or shine, but if it’s terrible weather, we might do an obstacle course, dancing, or Pikler climbing and sliding.

Naps. As for S, he takes two naps at this point. His morning nap is an hour or less and his afternoon nap is usually two plus hours. I still nurse him before and after each sleep, and he eats three meals a day with us. He has been putting himself to sleep since he was a baby (thanks Taking Cara Babies!) so naptime sequences are pretty short and sweet (nurse, sleepsack, sing songs, kiss goodnight). D usually joins us (she loves to mimic the sequence with her own baby doll).

Food Prep. Another big part of our day is food prep and eating. D loves to help me cook, and she always prepares her own afternoon snack which I set up in her small functional kitchen during her rest time. We are usually in the kitchen together before lunch and dinner with her as my “sous chef”. The kids typically eat dinner pretty early, and while I might sit and have a bite with them, my husband and I usually eat our real dinner after the kids have gone to bed. We just find it’s a nice time for the two of us to catch up and enjoy a more relaxed meal. When the kids start staying up a bit later than 6:30/7, we’ll definitely do family dinners.

Bedtimes. One nice thing about my husband working from home is that I can often escape for a run or walk by myself in the early evening. So sometimes my husband will take over dinner with the kids, and then I’ll come home in time for the kids’ bedtime. He is also home to help out with bedtime now! The kids now take a bath together, and then we cuddle and read stories in the nook. My husband gets D ready (brush teeth, jammies, songs) and I nurse S and sing him bedtime songs. They both fall asleep independently and quickly these days!

Note: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase a product through one of these links, you won’t pay anything extra, but I will get a small commission, which helps keep this blog going. Thanks for supporting Montessori in Real Life!