On Friday, parents across Quebec who weren’t already keeping their children home learned that they were about to start an unexpected extra March Break of at least two weeks. Adding to that information the fact that families are isolated by a growing list of public services that have been closed, the news has generated an unsurprising amount of anxiety. In the face of that concern, The Record has reached out to a number of local parents to find out what they have planned over the next few weeks and what suggestions they might have for fellow parents who are feeling isolated. Each day a different set of thoughts and recommendations will be shared beginning, today, with those of Rebecca Enright: a fifth grade teacher at Sherbrooke Elementary School and mother of two.
Many of us are faced with the joyful reality of spending the next two weeks in isolation; trapped in our home with our spouse and child(ren). Some are trying to juggle working from home and childcare simultaneously while others are privileged to have time off work. Either way, we are in for an adventure with no outings and a chilly, wet weather forecast.
Personally, I’ve decided that in order to preserve my sanity and ensure I don’t end up watching Frozen 2 endlessly on repeat, I need to have a tentative schedule. This gives me a semblance of structure to minimize boredom, but also allows me to be creative and nurture my children’s interests. Ultimately I decided my schedule had to be flexible rather than time dictated, so I established a rough pattern of quiet activity/active activity. That time chunk may last 10 minutes or an hour, I’ll go with the flow.
Reading/Songs
Free play
Creative time
Snack & Outdoors
School time
Gym time
Lunch
Nap/Quiet time
Reading/songs
Snack & Outdoors
School time
Gym
Free play
Creative time
See full story in the Monday, March 16 edition of The Record.
