Working from home is taking on a whole new meaning with our little ones unable to be at daycare. I was initially feeling pressure to be “the perfect parent” and “perfect employee” all at once – and when I get stressed, I get crafty as a way out of the chaos that brings beauty to the world. Voila – our board! (I used all the creativity on the board, didn’t have any energy for a name 😊).
We took our dry erase calendar normally covered with commitments and covered it with construction paper. Every morning we have “board time” and engage with each section. My littles are 3 and 1, so we kept it basic: Weather, Day of the Week, Letter of the Day, and a Jesus story. Every section has Velcro so we can move things on and off.
The real brilliance of the board came when we thought through the day’s activities. We knew our kids would not respond or follow a rigid schedule. So instead we made six envelopes with activities. So they can pick the activities for the day and we do them in the order they choose.
Red is Room to Clean: Win for us! We pick a room everyday and everyone pitches in. To keep it interesting, we always have a dance party while we clean.
Orange is Quiet Time Activity: These are things the kids can do it on their own and don’t need lots of supervision. Examples: Books, Puzzles, and Block
Yellow is Art: Examples like Play-doh, Painting, and Chalk
Green is Special Family Activity: This is the activity that gets our energy for the day. Usually I prep it the night prior. My rule is that it can’t take more than 15 minutes to prep. Examples: Scavenger Hunt, Mini-Van Picnic, Make Cupcakes.
Blue is Learning: I’m always checking Pinterest for ideas to teach letters/numbers. A recent hit was taping the letter A (cut out of paper) and taping one in every room of the house. We went for a hunt – and then my little Facetimes relatives and took them on a hunt too. Examples: Letter, Alphabet, and Phone Numbers
Pink is the Person of the Day! We pick one person a day to celebrate and remind they are loved during this time of social isolation. We either make cards, a fund video, a picture or a baked good and drop off on their porch. We keep a box stocked with supplies near our table so we can easily start this activity!
After each activity is finished, we take it off the Velcro on the envelope and then we put it inside the envelope. This helps us know which ones are finished. Then we allow our littles to choose the next one. If we don’t get to all of them, we carry that to the next day. Most days I pre-pick three activities and Velcro them on the envelope. This is especially true when I have done prep work!
The finishing touch is the stickers – we use these for our party chart and chores! Our kids engage with the boar throughout the day! And pro-tip: We keep the stool right next to the board so we are ready at any time to move cards, choose a new activity, and put stickers on our chart!
Ready to make your own board? What types of activities would you include?
Give us a clue in the comments or drop us a comment on MBP social media:
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Special thanks to Danielle Kosanovich DeNise for contributing this post to Mommy's Block Party.
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