Coronavirus School Closure Guide for Parents

As the number of schools in the united states and around the world have shut down due to the COVID-19, parents are stuck wondering what they should do with their kids for the days, weeks, and months ahead in quarantine. Here is a guide for parents with the Coronavirus School Closures implementing social distancing.

Coronavirus School Closure

First of all you, please check with your local school district for local school closures and follow all local procedures. Some schools may have some mandated homework, bookwork, or online lessons they are requesting parents to follow. If that is the case, make sure you are following their guidelines first and foremost.

But what about those who don’t have great plans or whose workload only takes children an hour our two? What are you going to do with your school age kids for all that time?!?

You’ve got this!

First of all, breathe .You can do this! There are so many opportunities this provides your family. So think with me for a couple minutes on what you would like to accomplish as that will dictate what resources you want/need.

COVID-19 Quarantine = Extra Vacation

Granted this will be a staycation, but you have just been given the gift of time! You can make those craft for kids you always intend to make, but never have time for. Plan some epic activities, themed days like Disney Fun Days , or play all your favorite board games.  Take time to bake cookies together and snuggle up on the couch to read together as a family. Let kids play in their backyard, draw with chalk on the driveway, make homemade bubbles, or plant a garden! Current guidelines state that as long as you are 6 feet from your neighbor you can get fresh air. Remember that everyone is in isolation right now so your kids are not the only kids that wont finish their textbook this year. And you know what , that’s okay. =) Now if this lasts a month or longer…. perhaps it’s time to move to Plan B…..

Don’t miss our 101 FUN Activites for kids stuck in Coronavirus Isolation!

Cornavirus Quarantine = School at Home

If your goal is to help your child stay on top of their academic studies, start off by working on the curriculum that your child’s teacher sent home. Some school districts even have  online lessons and time to chat with their teacher online. But for the majority of you, that will not take up much time and many school districts were not prepared for the size and scope of this Coronavirus pandemic.  So parents are left trying to figure out how to homeschool on the go.

Please remember that a month or two will not make or break your child’a academic career. They will not fall so far behind that you need to worry!  With that in mind, I would focus on supplementing the schools curriculum or absense of homework with fun, hands-on, educational activities and worksheets to keep skills fresh and even learn a few more! See our quarantine schedule for kids below!

Creating Your at Home Schedule

The most important thing to keep your children at ease, engaged, and not climbing the walls for weeks of isolation is a routine! Kids crave routine whether they know it or not. So make a quarantine homeschool schedule for your family. Here is an sample homeschool schedule coronavirus (you can grab the free editable schedule here):

• 8am breakfast
• 9am school activities – math worksheet, writing prompt, and if time allows math game or math flashcards
• 10am recess / play outside if possible (kids need fresh air and exercise!)
• 11am school activity #2 (language arts activity such spelling, grammar, phonics, & word families and history unit or read historical fiction together
• 12 noon – lunch and play outside
• 1pm – kids read books by themselves or on the couch together as a family (this quiet time is a great chance for you to get things done you need/want to do)
• 2pm – bake cookies, make a kids craft, try a science experiment, build a fort
• 3pm – recess (play outside or play a boardgame together)
• 4pm – kids can play in their room (another chance for mom to get some me time/ things done)
• 5pm – dinner followed by your families normal routine of baths, chores, reading together, free playtime, video games, exercise, family movie night, etc.)
• 8pm – bedtime (or whatever your families normal bedtime is – remember you want your children to have a strong immune system to fight of any possible illness or disease!)

If your child came home with some homework you can look for what types of material they are working on: division, learning us states, simple machines, parts of speech, etc. No material sent home – ask your child what they were learning last or look at homework they brought home. Still not sure what to work on? We’ve got free printable worksheets for kids by grade and by subject to help you know what your child should be learning each year!

You can jump right to the grade(s) you need by click on the following links or thumbnail below:

Or find resources you need by subject by clicking on the thumbnails below:

Looking for more fun ideas with your family? Try our 40+ April Activies for Kids or these fun April Crafts for Kids. Spend time reading together as a family with our April Stories for Kids, Childrens Books to Read, or our Bookcase Reading Logs to have a friendly family reading contest.

Plus don’t miss our other great articles on surviving the pandemic:

• 15 Ways to Avoid Social Isolation as you Shelter at Home
• Conversation Starters – Stay Connected with Grandparents During Social Isolation
• Sorry, you are NOT Homeschooling – debunking the homeschooling is too hard myth
• 10 Things Parents MUST do in Social Isolation
• Is your Family Driving you Nuts in Social Isolation? Try this!
• 101 FUN Things to do in Isolation

• Brain Breaks for kids – studies show that taking a 3-5 minutes brain break increases productivity for the next 45 minutes! Plus, kids need to get the wiggles out and not sit in front of a screen all day as they school at home!
• Keep encouraging kids to wash their hands to fight germs with these 40+ FREE Printable Wash Your Hands Posters
• 1 million FREE Worksheets, Games, and Activities for Prek-8th grade
• Learn about other countries in the news: Spain Coloring Pages, Italy Coloring Pages, China Coloring Pages
• 40 Virtual Fieldtrips for Families practining Social Distancing