It’s the 1st official day of NO SCHOOL! All the littles are home and mama, I understand how daunting social isolation can be BUT there is no need to be anxious. We gave birth! Covid-19 quarantine ain’t got anything on us. It’s time to put the COVID-19 SURVIVAL GUIDE FOR MOM: 60+ ACTIVITIES TO DO WITH THE KIDS AT HOME into action with the help of this handy, FREE Daily Schedule for kids and Activity Printables – For an entire month!

Planning may not be your favourite thing BUT I promise, thinking ahead during this time will keep you sane.

STEP 1: Start with this DIY colour-in FREE Daily Schedule for kids.

Being able to “read” a daily schedule creates security for little ones which leads to calm and also helps cut out the “I’m bored”, “What can we do?”, “Come play with me…” moments. The girls know what to expect, as well as when I’m available to play and when they need to be creative on their own. Our home runs far more smoothly with everyone doing their part not needing mom or dad to constantly remind the kids of chores, tidying up, washing hands and more.

Our schedule includes all the basics:

This is the flow of our day BUT the cards can easily be shuffled or left out to resemble YOUR day.

• I also include a little boy and girl for the morning hygiene routine:

• As well as a baby and kid version of snacktime:

• Handy extras to print at your own discretion include a “potty training” and “drinking water regularly” reminder:

TOP TIP: Get the kids to buy in on the daily schedule by making this an Arts & Crafts activity. Put out any colour-in and decorating supplies; pencils, paint, crayons, stickers, glitter glue… And let them go wild! They will love the schedule and stick to following it even more! PLUS this kept our girls busy for a solid 90 minutes – A WIN IN MY BOOK!

Click HERE to download and print your FREE DIY Easy to follow day schedule for kids

* For the perfect sized flashcards, I would recommend selecting a 4 pages per sheet, A4 layout when printing in black and white.

We are displaying our schedule in the dining room.

I added a cute washing line and wooden pegs with the girl’s faces stuck on, just for extra fun. Now they get to “move themselves” as the day progresses. I’m still amazed at how well something this simple works for all of us!

STEP 2: Use this FREE Weekly Activity Planner to organise your days.

Remember those 60+ Activities to do with the kids at home? Now is a good time to print out the list, selecting an activity or two per day. You can include as many as you like BUT please mama, no need to drive yourself mad trying to entertain and educate the kids every second of the day!

Kids should learn to play by themselves. We’ve encouraged independent play since day 1, setting out time for our babies to safely play, by themselves in their playpen with only a select few items to keep them stimulated. Also, no-one needs to become “home-school teacher of the year”. The kids will be fine, learning through play and loads of extra reading and storytime over the next few weeks.

So, in our home we stick to one main activity a day PLUS something small, maybe…

Write down the chosen activity into the corresponding day on the “Weekly Activity Planner“. You will also see a space for “Selected Toys“. These are the toys I will be putting out during “free play” to encourage independent play. It can be anything from LEGO construction, puzzle play, dolls, dress-up clothes etc.

“Selected Books” refer to the books we will be reading this week. The idea is to change things up every week. Writing down titles or themes will help keep track of books read, ensuring I keep the girl’s bookshelf stocked with “fresh”, new titles every week.

An “Activity Planner” and “Recipe Card” can be used to write out the details and instructions for the week’s baking, science and educational activities.

Lastly the “Supplies List” comes in handy! Write down all the ingredients and supplies needed for each week to make shopping and sourcing quick and easy.

Click HERE to download and print your FREE Weekly activity planner for kids

STEP 3: Be present and enjoy this time with your little ones

This is what we are getting up to this week…

Click HERE to download and print WEEK 1’s Planning

* Print these on the 2 pages per sheet layout to save paper.

“Tasty Tuesday” had us making a sweet dessert treat to “celebrate” the start of school holidays!

Last year I attended the KOO interactive cooking experience hosted by Olive Branch Cookery School. KOO had just launched their new range of beans and we got to cook delicious bean-based dishes.

Everything was amazing but the dessert definitely stole the show… Easy to prepare, only a few ingredients needed, super decadent and tasty…

Download and print this Black Bean Chocolate Fudge Ball Recipe HERE

* I 100% recommend doubling up when making this recipe. You will want more.

* Also leave the mixture to firm up in the fridge for at least 30-40 minutes and remember you’ll have to work quickly. Coconut oil melts easily.

* When using the right kind of chocolate, these can be VEGAN too.

For “Wonderous Wednesday” we are exploring various chemical reactions made with Baking Soda!

Always a crowd-pleaser!

CLICK here to download and print this DIY Lemon Volcano Experiment

“Thinking Thursday” includes a touch of science as well as language development.

Combining science and literacy… The kids won’t even realise they are learning making this the best kind of way to practice those tricky letters and words Eliana struggle with at times. PLUS I can’t wait to see the pretty name keepsakes we’ll be making.

Download and print the DIY Homemade Crystal Experiment HERE

* Borax can be found in the baking section of most convenient stores.

For “Fun Friday” we’ll be exploring our backyard!

This is such an easy yet fun activity AND no help is needed. The girls never have any trouble exploring our garden. Armed with a basket or bowl and the checklist below. Each will have their own. As soon as all 3 have found all of their treasures, we can compare and discuss their findings.

Find the DIY Nature Scavenger Hunt for Kids HERE

Vind die doen-dit-self Natuur Skattejag vir kinders HIER

* Make these reusable by laminate the list and using whiteboard markers to tick off items.

And that’s the plan for this week. Weekends will be reserved for all-day pajama parties, movie marathons and games night! No plans, just relaxing together!

Did you like our week 1?

Find our planning for Week 2,3 and 4 below PLUS links to all the FREE downloads!

WEEK 2

Click HERE to download and print WEEK 2’s Planning

Remember to download and print these too:

• Kids Art Activity: How to make a “fireworks” painting

• Baking: BEST Banana Bread Recipe

(Can be made vegan by replacing the butter with coconut fat and using an egg-replacer. We recommend using Orgran No-Egg Egg Replacer available at Dischem.)

• Nature Craft: How to make a bird feeder

• Sensory Play: 2 Ingredient snow dough

I also made the girls some fun number tracing cards, 1-5.

FREE Number Tracing Cards 1 to 5

Trace the numbers with your finger, with stickers, paint, a pencil, inside a sensory bin… There are so many possibilities.

EXTRA:

We will be using these worksheets below as an extra, revising one number daily.

FREE worksheets: Learning numbers 1-5

(I have left a space to colour-in, draw, cut-out, paint and do whatever you like, at the bottom of the pages.)

WEEK 3

Click HERE to download and print WEEK 3’s Planning

Remember to download and print these too:

• Sensory Play: Homemade Slime Recipe

* PLEASE NOTE: The success of your slime is determined by the glue you use. If you can’t find clear glue, I’ve added a Ponel recipe too BUT this is more of an oobleck slime. See HERE for edible slime.

• Sensory Play: Homemade Slime Recipe – Ponel ooblecks.
• Making: Apple Slice Cookie Recipe
• Baking: Egg muffin recipe and filling ideas

• Arts and Crafts: Nature Collage Cues Cards to help get you inspired

Use pressed flowers, twigs, grass, mud and leaves to complete the pictures above.

• Fine Motor Skills (and a touch of maths): Treading numbers 1-10
• Fine Motor Skills (and a touch of maths): Treading numbers 11-20

I also made the girls some basic colour and shape flashcards. These can be used in many different ways for sorting, identification, indoor and outdoor scavenger hunts, as part of an obstacle course… Anything!

FREE Colour and shape cards

WEEK 4

Click HERE to download and print WEEK 4’s Planning

Remember to download and print these too:

• Kids Art Activity: How to paint with salt
• Making: No-Bake Coconut and Peanut Butter Energy Balls OR Easy Peanut Butter Energy Balls

* For nut allergies – substitute the peanut butter for any seed butter. The taste will vary BUT it’s still delicious.

• Science: How to make a Lava Lamp

Letter Recognition: Word Scavenger Hunt for Kids OR Woord Skattejag vir Kinders

Colour Identification: Colour Scavenger Hunt for Kids OR Kleur Skattejag vir Kinders

Now that’s it mama’s, YOU’VE GOT THIS! More than enough ideas to keep the little ones entertained and you sane. Just remember, you’re apart of history so make this a time to remember too.

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4 WEEKS AT HOME WITH THE KIDS… . Tighten that #mombun ladies, let’s show these little ones what we’re made off😜💪🏻 . I know I’m outnumbered, but they don’t know I’m shivering in my boots😜 and our latest blogpost “COVID-19 Survival Guide for Moms (parents actually): 60+ ACTIVITIES TO DO WITH THE KIDS AT HOME” is a secret weapon for every • one • of • us! (LINK IN BIO) In it together 👊🏻#momstrong . . . . . . . . . . . #motherhoodmoments #motherhoodquotes #motherhoodrising #motherhoodslens #stopsdropandmom #momlifebelike #momlifeisthebest #motherhoodunplugged #momstrength #motherhoodintheraw #motherhoodjourney #momofthree #toddlermom #babymom #newmom #girlmom #boymom #realmomlife #honestmotherhood #justamamma #letterboardquotes #hotmessmom #momhood #supermom #covid_19 #motherhoodthroughletterboards #letterboardsofinstagram #feltletterboard

A post shared by •Family•Motherhood•Motivation (@justamamma) on Mar 16, 2020 at 10:25am PDT

Stay safe!

PHOTO CREDIT | Cover photo by Celeste Van der Berg from Celeste van der Berg Photography.

Disclaimer: Please note that the FREE Daily Schedule for kids and all other resources available above are for recreational purposes and not intended to be used as educational aids in classrooms. I have not used the correct “Grade 1 ” font and the idea is to learn through play, not homeschool your child.