Location, Location, Location

Well, it happened. We all thought that schooling couldn’t get more complicated than last year, but thanks to the Covid 19 pandemic, schooling has gotten strange. Between online school, self-monitored assignments with office hours, and in-school classes this year has become a tangled ball of yarn instead of what used to be a “standard” school schedule. The planning and organization needed to manage all of these different schedules is leading to family wide anxiety. The good news is that when we keep one set schedule despite the type of school day, we are less stressed and function better. We are sharing our suggested routines to better organize and structure your daily schedule and make your life a little easier.

School days are still Monday-Friday. Students need to get up at the same time every school day. Wake-up time should be early enough to have the same morning routine that was the constant when we were in person. Morning routines should include breakfast, being dressed for classes, checking emails, organizing books and supplies, and when having a synchronous our asynchronous day, “walking to school.” Exercise is the best way to increase focus and reduce anxiety. School is also a place that students are conditioned to going to school; exercise before school will simulate the “going to school” and help students be most attentive.

School day routines should include:

• Check email before school, at lunch, and after school while planning for work completion.

• Set alarms to go off at start and stop of each period; children are used to changing classes to bells. The bells help our brains acknowledge the shift in work.

• Move during passing time. 5 minutes of quick cardio and walking to change books will simulate the hall passing time.

• Lunch should be a time to eat and move. Exercise will restart focus for the afternoon.

• Use Free time for work, meeting with teachers, sending emails for clarification, or study groups. Free blocks and asynchronous times are like study halls. They are not time off.

• Turn off notifications and close extra tabs during the school day

• Keep your camera and microphone on during class (unless your teacher asks you to mute). Stay as engaged as possible.

• Students should not play computer games or use social media during the school day.

After school routines should include:

• Make sure to add at least 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise to your afternoon/evening schedule each day. Exercise has a significant impact on focus and mood.

• When possible, move school, schoolwork, computers, and long periods of phone time out of the bedroom. Definitely try to avoid working on your bed. Neuroscience has determined that the brain associates work and tech time with the bedroom, and, most importantly, the bed which limits REM sleep.

• Take a 30-minute break between classes and “homework” but don’t get on computer games or social media unless for school purposes – directed by your teacher.

• Make sure that there is a plan and time for work completion each night.

• Try to eat dinner as a family and make sure there is social time with friends.

• Have a regular bedtime.

Weekend routines should include:

• Fridays should be a no-homework day and children should be able to enjoy their afternoon and evening with friends or family activities after creating a plan for weekend work and community balance.

• Any overdue work should be planned for and completed over the weekend, so each week begins with all work completed.

• Families should plan activities – cooking, walks, bike rides, game night, Zoom gatherings with extended family… so that children don’t feel isolated.

• Children should see their friends online, socially distanced, or within their POD each weekend.

• Weekends must be planned to offer our children balance.

Learning has always been supported by school routines. By recreating many of the routines at home, we are helping our children manage the atypical and gain resilience that will stay with them. Adapting to our every changing school schedules is allowing our children to realize that they are able to shift schedules if they are taught to build the routines that they need for success.