Written by
February 22, 2021

From Chaos to Harmony: Focusing on Opportunities for Growth

Whether your kids are at school as normal, attending on a hybrid schedule, or doing full remote learning, chances are this has been quite a school year.  A few weeks ago, we published tips to help parents thrive. With winter coming to a close and a load of collective experience under our belts, it’s time to revisit the topic and add a few tips. 

 

Tips for Managing School

With school attendance taking many new forms this year, the regular cadence of school days and afternoon practices and clubs is on hold for many families. This change from expectations can lead to a head-whipping range of feelings that range happiness for the opportunity to enjoy a slower pace to the stress as you try to squeeze work, school, and family life into one bucket with no real separation. 

If you had a chance to create a back-to-school plan, look at it, and see how the reality compares to your expectations. Consider:

  • Is school unfolding as you expected? 
  • How’s it going for you and your students? 
  • Are you still on the learning curve for the process, trying to master Zoom calls or turn-in procedures? 
  • What’s your daily time commitment to keep the kids on track?

If the plan still looks good,  re-ground yourself in the process now that you have more information about how school works. Consider small tweaks like adding treats to inject some fun into your days. Perhaps offer your kids an incentive to stay engaged as they move into more of a routine or surprise your family with treats to celebrate progress and dedication under new circumstances.

If you find that your reality is significantly different than the expectations you had over the summer, it may be time to toss that plan and start over. Shake it up if you need to find a new way. Talk to a trusted teacher about your struggles and see if options are available. Consider if other schooling options might work better right now. Let go of normal expectations and accept that grades may be lower than usual. Praise the effort your kids are putting in and look for ways to celebrate small victories.

 

Tips for Managing Relationships

If all this time together strains your family relationships, a few check-ins can help put things back on track. Start with your spouse to get a sense of how you can help each other now that you both have a good understanding of how your time and work responsibilities are shaping up for the next few months. Revisit any agreements you might have in place for housework and child care duties and explore if they still make sense or need to be tweaked. Discuss paid work responsibilities for the next few months and consider if you need to change your respective work/life balance loads. Circumstances can change quickly, and getting out ahead of potential issues can help make them easier to address.

Next, check-in with your kids to get their perspectives.

  • Ask how they feel about the current school situations. You might be surprised by their answers.
  • For older kids, ask if there are things you can do to help them be more successful.
  • Ask if they are satisfied with how they have adapted to their school year or if they’d change anything.

If you have older kids, share how you are doing. If you are struggling, let them know that and ask for help in ways that will be meaningful for you. Above all, share your faith in their ability to thrive under any circumstances. 

 

Take Care of Yourself

Remember, these times are complicated, and we must acknowledge that it’s ok to struggle. Finding ways to replenish your energy each day can help you keep moving and doing everything that keeps your family running. Make time to exercise, soak in the tub, or talk with a friend managing a similar load. 

Finally, remember the power of extending grace to your kids, your spouse, teachers, and yourself as we all continue to navigate new and unchartered territory. While we don’t know how or when life will return to normal, let’s be confident that it will.  Drop me a line sharing your tips for finding success and peace this fall.

 

 

Want More Great Work from Home Tips?

* indicates required


User Type


Continue Reading

Written by
August 10, 2017 0 Comments

5 Tips For Back To School Success

It’s almost that time again – time to go back to school! It’s hard to believe that school will be starting any day now, but as summer winds down, it’s important to gradually get back into the groove.

We all miss summer and its flexibility, but the school year also brings a lot of fun and more structure. It can be a great time to reexamine priorities, take a solid look at schedules, and truly get prepared for the year ahead. With a little bit of prep, you’ll be ready for back to school success!

Establish routines

Routines aren’t established overnight, so ease into a new one gradually. Starting a few weeks before school starts, begin having your kids go to bed a bit earlier. Start with 10 minutes, then 30, then 60, and so on, until they’re close to the time they will go to bed during the school year.

This is a much better approach than fighting on the first night back! It establishes expectations, gets kids sleeping more normally for the school year, and allows them to get on a schedule that works for them. It’s also important to try to have them wake up a bit earlier too, so they can practice being active in the mornings.

Revamp your schedule

This is a great time of year to look at your home based career schedule and see where you can improve, change, or be flexible. You might realize that you’re off balance in terms of work. Maybe there’s too much going on, maybe there’s not enough. If it’s the latter, take a moment to browse some new job positions.

You can also take some time to look at the schedule of your whole family for those first few weeks. Will your kids be starting a sport? Some type of rehearsal? Adjust the family’s schedules around those first few weeks and months to make going back a lot easier.

Purchase your items

It’s a lot easier to get your back to school supplies now! Avoid the mad rush and create your list. Browse the list from your children’s teachers, or simply find some basic back to school shopping lists online. It’s better to go in prepared so you don’t forget anything. Go on an off peak time and have your kids select their items. It’s more fun to get them involved, and they can choose items that match their personality.

Also, make back to school shopping fun. You don’t have to spend a lot of money, but you can make a fun day out of it so your kids are encouraged to start the new year on a positive note.

Set some goals

Setting goals this time of year is important for you and your family members. While this doesn’t need to be done until closer to back to school time, it gets everyone into the habit of thinking ahead and working towards something.

Set some short term goals that can be accomplished within the first few weeks of going back, such as sticking to bedtimes, getting all the lunches packed, creating a work schedule that will work for the school year, and applying to a certain amount of jobs in a week. You can also set longer term goals with your kids, such as making the spring musical, playing a sport, or saving a specific amount of money for a purchase.

The goals don’t necessarily need to do with school, but are more for getting everyone thinking and being more productive during the school year.

Enjoy the rest

Above all else, it’s so important to enjoy the rest of the summer. While you slowly implement tasks and items that will make the school year much smoother, don’t forget to enjoy the rest of this time of year. You can even create a summer “bucket list” of items that you still have time to do.

Take another small trip or enjoy a staycation and technology-free weekend. Take an afternoon to do something fun in your local area. Book reservations at a fun restaurant for your kids. Soak in this time and create memories! Schedule more playdates, more pool days, and fun times with your family.

You can certainly prepare for back to school while still enjoy the rest of what summer has to offer. Then, when the school year starts, you’ll be all set for success!

Continue Reading

Written by
August 10, 2017 0 Comments

4 Technology-Free Summer Activities for Kids

Summer has arrived! Kids are home all day, and it can be challenging to pull them from the allure of the TV, cellphone, and tablet devices. While there’s a time and place for these items, it’s not great for kids to spend their entire summers enveloped in these activities.

It’s important that kids get out, stay social, and enjoy nature! Viewing technology as a treat, and other activities as the “main events” will go a long way towards a happier and more productive summer for you and your kids. Read along for some ideas that are technology-free!

Social Activities

There’s so much going on in the summer in the way of enrichment activities for kids. Local libraries, schools, and community centers often offer summer camps or discovery activities. These might include a class on a particular craft, sport, or hobby, which gives your kids the opportunity to learn something new, make friends, and turn off those devices.

Ask your kid what they’d like to learn about, or hone in on a particular interest that might be taught in a local kids’ class. They will most likely love the idea, and they’ll enjoy making memories and learning something new over the summer break.

Toys & Games

Toys don’t have to be electronic! There are plenty of toys that are educational, fun, and don’t even involve batteries. You can also get out the old games – simple ones, such as cards, Monopoly, Connect Four, or something similar that holds interest. An afternoon of games goes a long way towards creating memories and encouraging problem-solving and thinking skills. Crafts can also fall under the category of “toys and games,” and you can spend an entire afternoon on a craft of two. If possible, invite some of their friends over to partake in the fun as well. Kids love creating, and they can take their craft home to display.

Games can also include sports. Sports such as swimming often have seasons in the summer, and it’s a great way to get your kids involved in a team environment. They’ll make friends, get some exercise, and enjoy the outdoor environment while staying cool!

Outdoor Play

Outdoor play is the best part of summer break! Require outside play daily when the weather is nice, although sometimes it may be rainy or too hot.

Suggest some activities that your kids might enjoy – calling over a neighbor friend, biking, rollerblading, collecting bugs, or anything else that may be fun to them. When they’re encouraged to get outside, there are plenty of activities available to them.

Plan something different

Keeping your kids engaged (technology-free!) over the summer can be challenging. As the days wear on, they can become bored by the activities they’ve done over the last few months. It’s time to mix it up! Have them help you plan an outdoor picnic, end of summer party, or other event that is a bit more special.

You can also have them create a fun game to play, purchase a new piece of sporting equipment, or take them to a different pool for the day. It’s all about being spontaneous, and using the benefits of summer – the warm weather and flexible schedules – to your advantage.

Use technology sparingly this summer! We all love computer and phone games and communication, but when it becomes unbalanced, it’s a problem. Encourage your kids to enjoy time in nature this summer, as well as in activities that will grow their brain, social circle, and knowledge base. Summer is a great time to expand horizons, grow, and enjoy the beautiful weather.

Continue Reading

Written by
June 25, 2015 0 Comments

Top Tips for Juggling Working from Home and Kids in the Summer

School is officially out in most parts of the country, and that means that your kids will now be home for the summer! It’s a great, fun time of year for moms, but it can also be complicated if you work from home.

Since your work life is very closely connected to your home life – quite literally! – it helps to have  a plan in place to keep kids busy and juggle the demands of kids and work.

Plan ahead

You can prevent a lot of chaos and stressful days by doing some simple planning head! Begin your search earlier in the year, and now if you haven’t started yet.

Are your kids interested in summer camps? Some type of swim or tennis lessons?  Get together with them and schedule a time to discuss what they’d like to do this summer.  Although summer is a more spontaneous time of year, it doesn’t mean you can’t plan and make everyone’s time more efficient and productive.

Look into your local colleges or schools for free or inexpensive classes and discovery sessions of various activities.  There are also inexpensive sports leagues that only take place in the summer and often run for most of the day.  If your kids are older, talk with them about potentially getting a summer job or scheduling some activities they may enjoy.

Work ahead

Just as you can plan your kids’ activities ahead of time, you can do your best to get some work done ahead of time.  Determine the time(s) of the week that you’ll be spending time with your kids over the summer break and work around that.  If you know Monday mornings are your time to hit the pool or an activity together, put in a little bit of extra time on Friday to make your morning less stressful.

Another helpful tactic is to add 15-20 minutes per day so that you don’t have to spend hours at the end of the week working ahead.  If you dedicate a small portion of your week to this every single day, it’s not overwhelming and can truly give you that free time that you so desire with your kids.

Allow for some space

Despite your best planning, things don’t always go as planned in the summer.  Whether a storm comes up that cancels swim practice, or you have to reschedule a call to pick up your kids in the middle of the day, it’s important to allow some space for the unexpected.

This can’t really be planned for, but by working ahead as in the aforementioned tip above, you can be much more prepared for those unexpected times.  Another way to allow space is to be sure that your kids understand your job, and that it requires you to work during most of the day.  This is much more effective for those with older kids, as they’ll be able to entertain themselves.  Create times of the day where you can do things together or offer a ride, but let it be known that you are working and you do have tasks that need to be accomplished.

When you allow for some space, keep in mind that schedule is always the #1 tip to keep things under control and juggle it all.  Create a family schedule that everyone can see, along with a personal work schedule so you know you’re completing all of your work task

Continue Reading

Written by
December 3, 2014 0 Comments

A Trio of Skills Teens Can Teach Themselves

As a work-at-home mom, you figuratively have your feet in two different worlds. Although you certainly stay busy with work and projects in your home office, you also understand the life of a homemaker. While you probably have enjoyed having a flexible schedule that has allowed you to do things like volunteer in your kids’ schools and work around them at least part of the time, you also recognize that your kids are now teenagers, and it’s time to cut the proverbial apron strings a bit. But where do you find these life skills for teens?

Fear not, thanks to the power of the Internet, it is more than possible to encourage your teens to take the reins and teach themselves some needed skills. In addition to showing them the value of self-reliance and independence, encouraging your teens to learn things on their own will also teach them that they don’t always need mom to lead them through every new experience. Consider the following skills that teens can handle on their own — at least part of the time:

Basic Cleaning

Although it might be hard to fathom, your teens will someday be on their own. To help prepare them for life in their future apartments — and frankly, to take some of the housecleaning burdens off of you now — it’s a great idea to teach teens to handle some basic cleaning duties. Teenagers are notorious for thinking magical elves come in and clean the bathrooms and floors. They are definitely old enough to learn how to handle a dustpan, broom and container of Clorox wipes. While you are busy working on a project for an important client, ask your teen to spend some time on the Everyday Cleaning Tips website. The site offers easy-to-follow instructions and advice on how to clean just about everything in the home. Ask your teen to use the site to learn how to transform the soap-scum-covered tub into one that sparkles, or to properly scrub a toilet.

Driving Test Prep

If you have a teen who is chomping at the bit to get his or her driver’s permit, you probably have picked up the booklet from your local Motor Vehicles Division. But while it can be fun for you to quiz your kiddo on the sample questions in the book, your teen can also do a lot of the studying on his or her own. Driving-Tests.org is a terrific and useful website that is great for teens who need to study for their driving exam; the site includes sample tests from all 50 states, as well as encouraging success stories.

Cooking Skills for Beginners

If your teen is constantly interrupting your work by calling out “Mom! I’m starving!” it’s time you show your teen how to teach him or herself some basic cooking skills. Fortunately, there are plenty of websites that offer cooking classes for beginners — and some of them even offer free courses that are ideal for teens. Smart Kitchen features a variety of terrific online cooking classes that will help your teen get more comfortable in the kitchen. Once he or she has mastered some basic skills, you can encourage your hungry teen to use cookbooks and websites to find easy-to-fix meals and snacks.

These are only a few of the life skills for teens you’ll find when you peruse the Internet. How-to videos and tutorials are there for the taking.

Check out these other great articles about tips for mom as a work from home professional. Also check out our current job postings for mom professionals.

Continue Reading