This viral COVID-19 family schedule is just what parents need

As COVID-19 continues to spread and health officials stress the importance of social distancing and self-quarantines to flatten the curve of the virus many parents are wondering how they will fill the days that used to be filled by day care, school and activities.

That’s why many parents are thanking mom and photographer Jessica McHale, who made a handy COVID-19 schedule for her own family and shared it with the internet. McHale isn’t a medical professional or an educator but those who are have been sharing her chart everywhere because it aligns with the best practices we should all be taking during the pandemic.

“It’s gotten picked up by behavior groups, doctors, teachers, and has been shared more than 10k times that I know of. I feel like I just got an official mom trophy,” McHale wrote on her Facebook page. “I made it based off my kids ages and our family, use as-is or as a jumping off point for your own. Whatever we can do to help each other through whatever is coming,” she explains.

Because we all know our kids can’t just go from waking to working on academics, McHale has scheduled family walk times before school work and included blocks of creative time. She also differentiates between digitally-assisted academic time and screen-free study time.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, “one way to keep control and help children learn is to create structure. Structure is created by consistent routines and rules. Rules teach children what behaviors are okay and not okay. Routines teach children what to expect throughout the day.”

Thank you, Jessica! This post is helping so many families know that we can do this! It’s a little overwhelming at first but sticking to a schedule will make it easier on our kids and ourselves.