Welcome to Camp "Stuck-At-Home"

Making the Abrupt Transition from Parent to Camp Counselor in the Era of Covid-19

This is part 1 of as many installments as I can write while I try to navigate my business and family life during the Covid-19 pandemic.

As of today, schools in our neighborhood are closed for two weeks (At least!). In Washington, where we last lived a few years ago, the entire state has closed schools through late April. If you haven’t been relocated to work-from-home (WFH) or been told not to come in to work, that is most likely on the horizon. 

There are a host of surreal challenges that we all are facing: from how to pay the bills to implementing social distancing, and for many people, what the heck to do with your children all day. 

The first order of business is getting your head right about what is going on, so you can help steer the ship that is the emotional health of your family. The news is changing hourly and the only thing to do is get knowledgeable. 

In the past few days, I’ve found these sources helpful for understanding why we are cancelling everything, what it means to "flatten the curve," what we really should be doing to tackle Covid-19, how to tell the difference between Covid-19, the flu and allergies, and some of the do's and don'ts of social distancing.

With that said, a complicated and crucial piece of the puzzle is how to set up your home to host your entire family and take over some or all of the responsibilities that you’ve been able to share with schools, daycare centers, nannies, friends and family. 

As you start to organize your home, here are some suggestions for how to succeed in building your very own “Camp Stuck-at-Home,” also known as “School Stuck-at-Home,” or for those of you that are using humor to navigate this current reality, “Camp Corona.”

Be Patient. It could take your school a while before they sort out distance learning, if they do. This is a new reality for just about everyone. Prepare your family for the bumps and missteps that come with solving for school-at-home on a massive scale.

Set the Structure. Sit down as a family and plot out how you’ll spend the coming days, splitting time between your work, school studies, play time and everything else. Then, get it on a calendar so that everyone can see when and what they’ll be doing

Transitions Matter. The school day is built on predictable and organized transitions. No matter how well you currently work with your children to transition, you may need to up your game on talking about when transitions between activities are happening and how best to work with your children to make them a success.

Breaks Matter. Take a second look at how your school structures the learning day, and mimic it with similar breaks between activity blocks. Ask your children how their favorite teachers run their classroom. Many teachers invest key minutes during an activity period in quick mental breaks, physical energizers, and other quick techniques that help children reset and refocus.

Resourcefulness Rules. No matter what you have stocked at home, there is almost always more to work with than you think. Bed sheets, rubber bands and hair clips can become forts, which can also become magical study rooms.  And, because you’ll likely be ordering a few more things online rather that going to the store, odds are you’ll have a few extra cardboard boxes lying around. Cardboard and a little bit of tape can go a long way! If you need some inspiration around what you and your children can do with cardboard, check out Caine's Arcade.

Stay Connected. Social distancing shouldn’t result in social isolation. Take advantage of the video on your phone and/or computer to schedule regular check-ins and even virtual play dates with family and friends. Don’t underestimate how important it is for your children to stay in touch with their friends, and have some private or semi-private time to check-in. This is a major part of how children spend their day at school and will be deeply missed in this era of social distancing. You need some video dates with friends and family too!