The Chaos and the Clutter

Parenting in the Chaos

Sanity Savers for Busy Moms

a huge array of printed out pages and checklists and the cover of a binder

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As moms, we take on so many roles. We are parent, chef, teacher, caregiver, chauffeur, housecleaner, referee, advocate, counsellor, and more. Let’s face it. It can be exhausting and overwhelming. These sanity savers can help make life just a little easier. 

Home Management Success Kit

The Home Management Success Kit was designed by my friend Lena. She is an entrepreneur, a wife, a mom, and a CPA. That means not only does she understand being a busy mom, she understands finances. 

The printable packs included help you manage your home finances, set up a proper cleaning schedule, and get meal planning done easily.a huge array of printed out pages and checklists and the cover of a binder

This system will help you:

  • easily track your monthly budget
  • prioritize your life goals so that you know exactly how much you need to save
  • keep a complete list of your financial accounts so you have a quick reference
  • keep track of important financial and household documents in case of an emergency
  • set up a simple bill payment system
  • quickly plan school lunches for the week with the mix & match checklist
  • plan family meals by the week or by the month
  • organize your grocery shopping so that you buy what you need
  • save money by making meals with what you already have
  • track your family’s favourite meals
  • set up a simple cleaning schedule for your family to follow
  • help your kids understand their roles and limit arguments about chores with chore charts
  • teach kids how to be responsible for cleaning their own rooms
  • see at a glance what needs to be done each week
  • easily get things done in small chunks of time with the micro cleaning tasks checklist
  • and so much more!

Read more about the Home Management Success Kit.

Happy at Home Challenge

woman on bed holding teal mug. Only her hands and socked feet are visible.

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There’s nothing quite like being stuck at home to test certain aspects of your character. Whether we’re at home due to a pandemic, an illness, a new baby, or choosing to be there, feeling cooped up can test our patience, resilience, and positivity. That’s where this Happy at Home Challenge comes in.woman's socked feet are visible as her hands hold a teal mug. Text reads "Happy at Home Challenge"Even under difficult circumstances, we can determine our own happiness. Happiness is an attitude, a choice.

It’s obviously easy to choose when life is roses! But when life is more challenging, that’s when it’s even more important to take responsibility for our own happiness and do what we can to improve it. 

The research is clear. There are things that we can do that increase our happiness.

So will you join me in this Happy at Home Challenge? Try it for just two weeks and see if it makes a difference for you. 

Gratitude.

Gratitude is consistently shown to correlate to higher levels of happiness. Simply writing out 3 things each day you’re thankful for will dramatically increase your satisfaction with your life. 

For many years, I had my kids write out 5 things they were thankful for to start out their homeschool day. And when the pandemic lockdown hit last March, it’s a practise we started again right away. It was so good for all of us.

The challenge? Jot down 3 things you’re thankful for each day. Write each one on a Post-it note and stick those around the house in places you’ll see them to get even more reminders of your blessings. 

Kindness.

Serving others provides us with connection to community and triggers feelings of pleasure in our brains. In other words, helping others also helps us. It feels good.

I also find for myself personally that helping others gives me better perspective on my own circumstances as it brings a greater awareness of the needs and pain of others which leads to me realizing that I have much to be thankful for.

array of scattered papers and pencilsThis Family Kindness Calendar is full of lovely ideas for ways to help others. The kindness suggestions included can be done by school-age children or younger children with the help of an adult. They’re great for getting the whole family working on a common project.

The challenge? Do one small thing for someone else each day. It can be a kind word, an act of service, or even writing a little note on a Post-it and sticking it on their door. If you’re having a hard time thinking of ideas that are safe given the pandemic restrictions, we have a list of ways you can spread kindness without spreading the virus.

Get outside.

Yes, we’re talking about when you’re stuck at home, but the research is clear. Going on a nature walk, spending time in a forest, or even just getting fresh air improve mood and decrease cortisol, the stress hormone. So even if you’re not able to go far, get outside.

The challenge? Get some fresh air every day. If possible, add some movement like going for a walk to get those endorphins going. 

Move more.

Speaking of endorphins…

Endorphins are one of the brain chemicals which are known as neurotransmitters and endorphins trigger positive feelings in your body. They are the “feel-good” chemical and you can release them naturally through exercise.

The challenge? Move more every day. Choose whatever you want and are capable of. Run up and down the stairs, do a YouTube workout, do an exercise video, yoga, or have a dance party with your kids in the kitchen.

Write down your feelings.

Writing out your feelings helps clarify your thoughts, relieve stress, help you identify specific emotions and get at their root causes, and more efficiently solve problems. 

Of course, as adults, most of us can identify our feelings, but kids may not be able to easily identify their emotions or the emotions of others. That’s one of the reasons it’s so important to give your kids an emotional vocabulary. 

The Teaching Emotions Toolkit helps parents or teachers provide kids with a rich emotional vocabulary and better understanding of their feelings.

The challenge? Start a journal to track your emotions.

These things can all contribute towards you feeling more happy at home.

2020 Pandemic Journal for Kids

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The 2020 Pandemic Journal for Kids is a powerful tool in helping your child focus on the positive, express their feelings in a healthy way, shift their thinking to gratitude and hopefulness, and create a memorable time capsule keepsake.

As much as we try to shelter our child from the stress of what’s happening in the world right now, we can’t shield them from it all. Their reality has been altered. School closures, not being able to hug grandparents or visit friends, not going out to the playground, movies, or even the store, and maybe hearing the hushed whispers of adults are just a few of the changes your child may be facing. 

Even though we are doing our best as parents to make things as normal as possible for them, chances are, they still carry with them some concern. Worry in a child may look like:​

  • teasing or arguing with siblings more than usual
  • being irritable
  • having trouble falling asleep or having nightmares
  • whining
  • outbursts or meltdowns
  • being rigid/inflexible
  • quick or easy to anger
  • easily frustrated
  • big emotions
  • asking a lot of questions
  • aggression

What can you do to help your child through this?

Offer hope. ​

Talk about the future without making promises you can’t keep. The statement “Someday, you’ll be able to tell your kids that you were 9 years old during the 2020 pandemic.” is very powerful. It conveys to them that this will not end the world. That they have a future to look forward to and it also helps them feel like what they are doing now will hold a place in history. 

Help them focus on the positive.

There is so much surrounding them that is difficult right now that it can be easy for kids (and adults) to slip into negative thought patterns. “It’s never going to get better.” “I can’t do …”

By helping them reframe what they are going through in more positive language, kids can shift their thinking to gratitude and hopefulness.

Give them an outlet for expressing their feelings.

When kids are able to identify their feelings, they can better manage them. By tracking their emotions, they can also learn to communicate about them. This helps parents and teachers be able to help them through even the most difficult emotions and enables them to equip their child or student with appropriate calm down strategies and tools to better manage those.

What the 2020 Pandemic Journal for Kids includes:

  • 19 printable pages
  • prompts to help kids document the journey for a time capsule keepsake
  • pages for them to help identify and process their emotions
  • new habit tracker 
  • gratitude journal 
  • encouraging colouring pages
  • ideas to help them focus on the positives
  • and more

How to Use the Journal:

Supplies needed:

Instructions:

  1. Download the pandemic journal.
  2. Print off the pages. You may want to make multiple copies of some of the pages such as the gratitude page and daily journal. 
  3. Have your child complete the pages of the journal.
  4. If you want to, you can hole punch the papers to keep them in a binder or duo tang. 

How to adapt the Pandemic Journal for Preschoolers:

Even preschoolers can easily use this tool. They can colour the title page and colouring pages, a parent can help them fill in the answers for the “my life during the pandemic page” by interviewing them and recording their answers, the Feelings Log pages can be completed by colouring, cutting, and pasting, and all the other sheets can be completed by drawing rather than writing. 

How to adapt the Pandemic Journal for Older Kids and Teens:

This tool can actually serve as an inspiration for your teen or older child to expand on this idea. Perhaps they will want to create a video journal or scrapbook of news articles to accompany their Pandemic Journal. Maybe they will choose to write a report on what they are learning through this experience or about the ways the world came together. 

They can use the pages in the journal to write their experiences, thoughts, and emotions as well as to document the experience through their eyes. Depending on the age, maturity, and personality of your teen, they also want to follow reputable news sources to create a timeline or even write a book about the pandemic as seen through their eyes.

To download your free copy of the 2020 Pandemic Journal for Kids, enter your email address in the box below.

You may also be interested in reading:

Your Complete Guide to School at Home

How to Talk to Your Child about the Pandemic

Theme Day Ideas for Family Fun at Home

Theme Day Ideas for Family Fun at Home

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Is it just me or are the days starting to blend together?! Without school and appointments, it’s hard to know what day of the week it is. There was one day when I didn’t even realize that it was a weekend. These theme day ideas are a great way to break up the monotony and add it some fun.collage of party images with text that reads "Theme Day Ideas for family fun at home"

The idea for this came because my kids were officially on Spring Break but with it snowing and cold outside and no option to go anywhere fun, I brought the fun to them with a family Beach Party. We even Zoomed with our neighbours who had a beach setup happening at their house too. The beach party gave us all something to look forward to as we prepared for it and then gave us memories to look back on. It certainly helped that Tuesday stand out from the other days that week!

Since I know that some of you are also trying to teach your kids at home right now, I’ve also included some learning or art activities into some of the theme day ideas. 

One last thing to mention: Busy mamas, this is not meant to give you ONE MORE THING to do. Enlist your kids to do the planning and decorating. Ideally, this should give you less work because you won’t hear the cries of “I’m bored” as often. It can also give your kids something to look forward to when so many of their events are being cancelled. They can look and see that on Friday, it’s the family dance party and get excited for that.

Theme Day Ideas:

Backwards Day:

This is such an easy one to do. You don’t need to buy extra supplies or spend money and you can pull this off at the last minute. Here are just some of the things you can do:

  • supper for breakfast and breakfast for supper
  • dessert before the meal
  • wearing your clothes backwards
  • have kids learn about palindromes (words, phrases, or sentences that are spelled the same backwards and forwards – find lots here)
  • count backwards
  • say the alphabet backwards
  • sing a song backwards
  • call everyone by their name spelled backwards
  • read a book backwards
  • walk backwards

Beach Party:

Our beach party was so much fun! It was like bringing a bit of tropical vacation right to our living room. Making the decorations and food for it also gave the kids a fun project to work on for days beforehand. 

If it’s warm out where you are, you could have this in your backyard instead. Here are some ideas for having your own beach party:

  • decorate with beach towels, paper fish (we taped ours to blue recycle bags to make it look like water), sand pails and sand toys, tropical confetti, sunglasses
  • bring in beach chairs or loungers
  • food ideas: goldfish crackers, cupcakes with blue icing and brown sugar (sand) with a tiny umbrella, umbrellas in drinks, picnic food such as sandwiches, chips, candy fish, clear cups filled with blue jello and a gummy shark “swimming” in it, fruit skewers, sand dollar cookies, watermelon slices
  • dress in bathing suits, shorts, sundresses, t-shirts, flip-flops
  • play music like the Beach Boys and dance on the “beach”
  • read books like The Rainbow Fish
  • have a Limbo competition
  • set out a station for fish crafts or put out beach theme colouring pages with markers or crayons
  • paint seashells
  • read lounging out on your beach chair or towel
  • toss around a beach ball

Minute to Win It Theme:

Our family loves, loves Minute to Win It games. They are easy and inexpensive to set up, great for all ages, and best of all, hilarious! Here are some of our best Minute to Win It Games:

Dollar Store Minute to Win It party

Camping at Home:

Drive in Movie in the Living Room:

This is so fun if you have little ones. 

  • Decorate a large box as a car. You’ll need one per child. Let your child use their imaginations. You can use paper plates for wheels and the steering wheel and paint details or add them in Sharpie. 
  • food ideas: popcorn, juice boxes or pop, chips, raw veggies, movie snacks
  • Set the “cars” up in front of the TV and watch a movie. 

Christmas:

Pull out the tree, turn on the outside lights, and start baking! Since it kind of feels like those weeks around Christmas anyway, you might as well embrace it!

Family Talent Show:

Hosting a talent night in your home is great because for days before, it gives the kids something to practise. Set the stage in the living room or backyard and cheer on each family member as they perform. Here are some ideas for talents to be performed:

  • a skit or short play
  • reciting a memorized monologue or poem
  • playing a song by tapping on water glasses
  • playing the spoons
  • magic tricks
  • displaying art
  • singing
  • lip syncing
  • dancing
  • gymnastics
  • juggling
  • comedy act
  • martial arts
  • playing an instrument
  • showcasing a new skill such as knitting, whittling, or macrame 
  • hand clapping routine
  • yo-yo
  • jump rope routine
  • hula hoop
  • baton twirling

Fun Food Ideas:

We’ve been doing these fun food nights mostly for our Survivor nights. I pick a different one each week. 

  • Build your own nachos bar – pie plates for everyone, different kinds of tortilla chips, shredded cheese, and all the toppings: sliced black olives, jalapeños, tomatoes, onions, red peppers, taco meat or shredded chicken, beans, sour cream, salsas, and guacamole
  • Make your own pita pizzas
  • Sundae bar
  • Decorate your own cookies or cupcakes
  • Appetizer night
  • Popcorn bar
  • Pasta bar
  • Breakfast for supper
  • Fondu night

Other Fun Theme Day Ideas:

  • pyjama day 
  • crazy hair day
  • Rainbow party
  • formal day
  • Dr. Seuss party
  • sensory play all day
  • celebrity lookalike day
  • dress up
  • twins day (dress to match someone else in the house)
  • Lego building challenge
  • baking or cake decorating challenge
  • family dance party
  • family fun night (hilarious!)
  • backyard or living room picnic
  • 50s day
  • 60s day
  • 70s day
  • 80s day
  • 90s day
  • moustache day
  • backyard Olympics
  • math game marathon
  • role reversal day (kids and parents swap clothes and roles)
  • kitchen restaurant (kids make menus and cook for parents)
  • Zombie day
  • un-birthday party (cake, decorations, singing, streamers for no one’s birthday)
  • fort building competition
  • kitchen science experiments

These fun family theme day ideas can help you make the most of this time you have together. You can build memories and infuse some laughter into these weeks and focus on building family connection.

Looking for more ideas for family fun or resources to help you connect with your child? Join our free 5 Days to Better Family Connection email series.

You may also be interested in reading:

The Ultimate List of Family Game Night IdeasThe image contains a collage of 5 photos and the words "the best family game night ideas". The pictures include a boy with his nose and mouth covered in flour sitting over a plate of flour, a boy with a stack of Oreo type cookies stacked on his forehead, a girl wearing a light green shirt with a pair of panty hose on her head with a tennis ball in the end of each as she swings her head from side to side trying to knock over red cups on the floor, a smiling blue eyed girl holding a paper bag between her teeth, and a curly haired boy with an Oreo on one of his eyes.

The Complete Slime Making Guide

Ways to Spread Kindness During the Pandemic

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The world has changed so much over the past few weeks. As this virus spreads, so do fear and uncertainty. Here are some ideas to help you spread kindness to others. Hard times are a wonderful opportunity to allow the best of humanity to shine. young blond boy holds a plush heart with text that reads "Ways to Spread Kindness"Communities are reacting in an attempt to protect their members. Yesterday, our community announced the closure of all schools, community centers, libraries, and large gatherings including church services. It’s a lot to take in.

There is a lot of panic and fear which is understandable. There have been reports of that fear causing toilet paper shortages, bare shelves as people hoard and stockpile, and even some of the worst of humanity emerging like the man buying out all the children’s thermometers in a city to take advantage of parents’ fears and sell them at exorbitant prices.

But there is also the opportunity during something like this for us to model for our kids how to serve others. I have seen beautiful stories. I have heard so many people offering help to others.

I hope that when we look back at these surreal times, we are able to remember the way the world came together to help and neighbours bonded as they cared for each other’s needs.

Ways to Spread Kindness:

  • Make individually portioned freezer meals for seniors or those who are immunocompromised and shouldn’t go out. Soups, stews, and casseroles are all great ideas. *Be sure to wash your hands thoroughly before cooking and don’t cook for others if you believe you may have been exposed to the virus.
  • Deliver groceries, medicine, and other necessities to seniors. Leave items on doorsteps for safety.
  • Call those you know who are in isolation just to say hello and encourage them. Remember those who are extraverts or prone to depression as this time may be particularly hard on them.
  • Shovel a neighbour’s driveway or mow their lawn.
  • Offer child care for essential workers such as nurses, doctors, police officers, firefighters or single parents.
  • Share or trade puzzles, board games, or books with another family. (be sure to wipe down anything before it comes into your house)
  • Host virtual playdates and activities over Skype or other online platforms. You can do a simple activity together using common household items that everyone has on hand. This helps with boredom and isolation.
  • Deliver pet food or offer dog walking to those on isolation with pets.
  • Donate to the local food bank.
  • Listen.
  • Join an online community support group (there are many local ones on Facebook) to find the needs in your area.
  • Be kind.

You can print off your own copy of the Ways to Spread Kindness poster to help remind you and your kids of ways to make the best of this time.

You may also be interested in reading:

How to Talk to Kids About the Pandemic

Your Complete Guide to School at Home

Easy Indoor Sensory Activities at Home

School at Home Sample Schedules

 

School at Home Sample Schedules

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Kids need the security of routine. Right now with everything in their world a little off kilter, they need it more than ever. I know that some of you suddenly find yourself teaching school at home unexpectedly. That may feel overwhelming and scary, but I’m telling you. You can do this. 
 
You were your child’s first teacher. You cheered them on as they took their first steps. You helped them learn their colours and shapes. You know your child best. I’m telling you. You can do this.Sample School at Home Schedules
 
I homeschooled for 19 years. Ironically, this year, most of my kids were in school and I now find myself with them all home again!
 
One of the things the most common questions I’m getting about schooling at home is how to set a schedule. This is obviously something that will vary by family due to circumstances, age of kids, and other factors. But I wanted to give you some general sample schedules to help you plan and find something that’s right for your family.
 
While it’s okay to relax and not keep a perfect schedule, right now, kids are needing some kind of a routine. With all the changes happening, one thing you can do to create a feeling of security for your child is to give them a routine they can count on. 
 
When school were first cancelled, I just assumed we would settle into some kind of natural routine because of all our years spent homeschooling. The first few days were chaos! There were lots of big emotions and little squabbles. It soon became obvious that we were not going to just naturally slip into anything positive. 
 
At the end of day three, we sat down and had a family meeting. We talked about the current situation and its challenges, acknowledged and validated everyone’s feelings, and laid out the new plan. We allowed the kids to have some input into the schedule and I wrote it up on the white board.
 
The next day went much more smoothly as the kids knew what was expected of them, what was coming up when, and they had the security of some structure. 
 
I’ve kept the time slots blanks on these sample schedules so that you can fill in what works for you. Some families are early risers and others, not so much. This is only meant to be a guide and jumping off point to help you create the best routine for your unique family.
 
It’s important to note that depending on their age, grade, and ability, kids only need between 1 and 3 hours of actual sit down schoolwork per day. You are not attempting to recreate a school in your home. Play and connection are still the most essential things you can provide your child with.
 
If you’re looking for information on how to help your kids learn during this time, check out Your Complete Guide to School at Home.

School at Home Sample Schedule:

Wake Up
Breakfast
 
Mindfulness          
Movement            
Reading              
Snack & Water
 
Schoolwork
 
Sensory Break      
Lunch
 
Chores                
  • include heavy work for mood and anxiety
Schoolwork
     
Play                    
Snack & Water
 
Art or Craft          
  • drawing, painting, paper crafts, art tutorial online
Movement
 
Dinner
 
Free Time            
Bedtime

School at Home Sample Schedule (religious):

Wake Up              
Breakfast
 
Devotions & Prayer
 
Movement            
Reading              
Snack & Water
 
Schoolwork
 
Sensory Break      
Lunch
 
Chores                
  • include heavy work for mood and anxiety
Schoolwork
     
Play                    
Snack & Water
 
Art or Craft          
  • drawing, painting, paper crafts, art tutorial online
Movement
           
Dinner
 
Free Time            
Prayer
 
Bedtime

Preschool at Home Sample Schedule:

Wake Up              
Breakfast
 
Mindfulness          
Music & Movement  
 
Snack & Water
 
Fine Motor       
Lunch
 
Chores                
  • include heavy work for mood and anxiety
Gross Motor        
Play                    
Snack & Water
 
Art or Craft          
  • drawing, painting, paper crafts, collage
Movement            
Dinner 
 
Free Time            
Bedtime

Preschool at Home Sample Schedule (religious):

Wake Up              
Breakfast
 
Prayer & Scripture
 
Music & Movement  
 
Snack & Water
 
Fine Motor       
Lunch
 
Chores                
  • include heavy work for mood and anxiety
Gross Motor        
Play                    
Snack & Water
 
Art or Craft          
  • drawing, painting, paper crafts, collage
Movement            
Dinner 
 
Free Time            
Prayer
 
Bedtime
To get printable versions of these sample School at Home Schedules, simply enter your email below. You’ll also receive our Parenting in the Pandemic email series designed to help you through these strange times.
 
 
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