Establishing Routine at Home

Unless you haven’t been in civilization for the last two weeks, you know that the world is currently preoccupied with COVID-19 right now and politicians, as well as the entire public, are wondering when the coronavirus will peak. Scientists are feeling pressure to make accurate projections about how the outbreak will unfold and how many people will become infected, but their projections are only as good as the information they’re receiving. At this point, most of the modeling as to what the outcome of COVID-19 will be have been focused on getting the right set of data versus making premature predictions and analyzing that data, of course, involves a lot of math. Many of the variables to modeling and predicting are numbers such as, disease incubation time, quickness of virus spread through population and the 'case improvement versus not' ratio. While it might take a while to be able to capture and analyze all of those figures, we are immensely appreciative for scientists and mathematicians who are working on it. 

With the world changing how we do everything from simple tasks, like grocery shopping, to more complicated things, like telecommuting or homeschooling, we are now more than ever in a time of change, and our kids feel that. We as parents are used to having our own space by going to work, meeting up with friends, exercising or playing sports and to tell you the truth, so are kids. This adult time and kid time helps keeps family life balanced. Staying grounded, keeping a routine and showing empathy during a development is key to helping our children get through everything that’s happening in the world, despite that it means that the routine is changing. So what can you do to care for your child and yourself? Here are some ideas to find a healthy structure:

Wake-up time. Just as school and group activities start at a specific time and your child must wake-up at a certain time to be there on time, a good home routine should be no different. We aren’t suggesting you must have your children up by 6am, but having them up at a reasonable hour to start the rest of their day, say, by 8:30am, is a start to establishing healthy habits for the rest of the day. 

Meal-times. You might generally only have one meal with your kids – dinner. This could be a chance to have more meals together. You don’t have to cook gourmet every meal, some can be more convenience foods, but regardless, meals should be a restful and nourishing time for everyone. Set an adequate amount of time for everyone to eat, and don’t allow TV or phones at the table. 

Learning time. This should be the time when your child should be focused on schoolwork they’ve received from their school or their online coursework. Some students may need help at various times, some which you might be able to supplement as a parent and some not. We’re working, at Mathnasium of Littleton, to rollout Mathnasium@home, which will have online instruction over video conference with instructors. This program will be available for those with Mathnasium memberships, and we will have more information about it in the next few upcoming weeks. In the meantime, give us a call at (720) 307-2967 if you’re interested in a Mathnasium membership.

Playtime. Children need breaks. Playtime/breaktime can be in the form of breaks between learning, or when they have finished their coursework, but it should be a time when they do what they want and free-play, whether it’s with dolls, playing basketball, reading for pleasure, watching something on YouTube, playing with the dog etc. Here are some math related books that we recommend for students who like to read in their spare time.  

Chore time. Being that kids and parents will be spending a lot of time together, keeping a clean, organized household is important for the sanity of everyone. Asking your children to take on extra chores can give them a sense of purpose and belonging in the household, especially when they are spending so much time there. It’s also instills work ethic.

Bedtime. Just as most kids have a bedtime on schoolnights, keep with this routine Monday – Friday. They will be more productive during the day and more responsive to the rest of the routine. 

Work and free time for parents. Let’s not forget this. Most parents need to work and need a bit of free time, too. This could be during learning time, playtime or chore time for kids, but there needs to be time set-aside during which you request your kids not interrupt in order to accomplish your task list and relax. 

It will also be helpful to decide who will be responsible for which household duties during this newness. Things like grocery shopping, preparing meals, cleaning, laundry, taking care of siblings and taking care of pets and plants are all household chores that can be divided and conquered. So your child may not always help with cooking. This could be an excellent time for them to learn how to do that. Perhaps your spouse typically doesn’t do the grocery shopping. Make a list together and let them help with it. Flexibility is required for everyone during these times and not every plan will work right away. It might take time and practice to fine tweak what works for you and your family, but being patient, committed and open to new ideas will help you find a workable rhythm. In these times of working to find a vaccine and get back to normalcy, on thing is for sure; we are certainly grateful for math!