Family Quarantine Routine – The BEST Start to Your Day

The best start to your day in a family quarantine routine is reading together.  Reading as a family to start your day will re-energize and reconnect you.

By now, our families are antsy, stir-crazed, and driving each other crazy. The honeymoon phase of being stuck at home together is over. Yet, we are still stuck at home! So we need to reenergize and reconnect. It is time to rework your family quarantine routine!

Wake Up the Household

Our quarantine routine needs to kick off with some good old family reading time! Now, I do suggest two things to happen first in your daily routine. These are to wake up the household!

1. Me Time – time for quiet activities alone…for some, that may be sleeping in a bit!
2. Everyone Get Ready for the Day – time to get dressed, make your bed (yep, even the three year old…with a little help if needed), feed pets, eat breakfast, and brush your teeth and hair

Let me elaborate. “Me Time” allows for the household to wake up at their own pace. It also allows our brains to get working. If you are like my household, there is a mix of morning risers. You have what I call poppers…the ones that POP out of bed bright and early! That’s my son, my youngest daughter, and my husband. Then you have the ones that need to ease into the day….that’s my oldest daughter. As for me, I’m naturally an ease into the day kind of person. BUT, I have trained myself to join the poppers! It’s don’t necessarily POP, but I do wake to an alarm and enjoy my morning “Me Time.”

“Me Time” & Get Ready Time to Start Family Quarantine Routine

So this “Me Time” for poppers will be their quiet alone time. Puzzles, Legos, reading, building, sculpting, or anything else that is a quiet individual activity. The ones that take a little longer to get moving, this is their time to ease into the day. They made need to sleep a little longer and then roll out onto the couch before moving. That’s ok, too. Once we all have had some “Me Time,” it is time to get ready for the day. Everyone gets dressed, makes their bed, feeds the pets, eats breakfast, brushes their teeth, and brushes their hair. It doesn’t really matter which order those are done…just get them done!

Look below for some “Me Time” ideas!

Reading Time for Family Quarantine Routine

OK, time to really get going with our new family quarantine routine. READING! Let’s face it, our kids are bored of being stuck at home. The novelty of missing school has worn off. They miss their friends. Yet, our kids still crave our attention, and we adults need more time to ourselves. How do we get both accomplished? Start your day together. Reading. One of the most relaxing times together as a family is when we read together. Typically, families end the day by reading to their kids. It feels good. We snuggle. It’s relaxing and captivating. So why not start our days with all of that yumminess??? Then, we start our day by giving kids what they need…attention. So we reconnect. After that, they are ready and excited to move on from us. So then we get what we need…time to ourselves. We are all reenergized. Win-Win! The biggest BONUS — BOOKS…the ticket to a great education.

Benefits of Reading Together

There are so many benefits to reading together. When you start your family quarantine routine with reading together, you’ve already done the following:

• Bonded and snuggled with them
• Jump started their brains
• Expanded their vocabulary
• Created great conversation starters
• Modeled fluency to them
• Encouraged the joy of reading
• Enhanced their empathy and human awareness
• Strengthened them as a writer
• Connected with them
• Energized their minds

The benefits of reading aloud to your kids are endless. Every kid benefits and enjoys it, too…no matter what age. We’ve all started the quarantine worried that our kids will fall behind while stuck at home. So reading to your kids is the best thing you can do for them. This extra reading will actually enhance their education.

What to Read

Read lots of books! Grab those picture books. Better yet, let your kids grab the picture books! The younger ones will love them, and honestly, so will the older ones. Pick a nonfiction text also. You don’t have to read this one cover to cover in one sitting. Instead, read a section. Read however much feels right for the age of your kids and complexity of the book. Right now, we like nonfiction books about the human body. Since we are stuck at home because of a virus, it feels right to learn how our bodies work and how to take care of them! Then, read aloud some chapters from a novel or two! I personally love to read aloud from one novel and listen to the audio of another novel. During the audio, we can snuggle, and I get to drink my coffee! Happy Mama.

Movers, Shakers, and Talkers

I know what some of you are thinking…”Sure, you might be able to read as a family, but my kids are too active and crazy to sit still that long!” I totally get it…I’ve got those kids in the mix, too. My solution? Let them bring something that keeps their hands busy. It obviously needs to be something quiet, but let them fidget! The really little ones can play quietly play toys brought to the area. They are more content when they are playing right in the middle of everyone. For the ones that ask lots of questions, tell them to place their hand on you when they want to ask a question. Place your hand on theirs for recognition. When there is a good stopping point in the book, then allow them to ask a question. Thanks Julie Bogart, creator of Brave Writer and author of Brave Learner, for that idea!

Here are some ideas for fidgeting:

• Draw
• Rubix Cube
• Knit/crochet
• Bracelet making
• Puddy or slime
• String puzzles with fingers

Here are some ideas for the younger ones:

• Dolls
• Trains
• Play Kitchen
• Magnatiles (these are one of my favorite kid toys for all ages!!)
• Puzzles

Ways to Increase the Magic

Cuddle up on the couch, on the front porch, the back patio, in the playhouse, on the grass, in a hammock, or wherever else feels right for that day. Bring some magic to the experience. Hot chocolate is fun for a cold morning. Use those cozy blankets! Have your kids build a fort during their “Me Time” or the day before and read in the fort! Enjoy this time together. Really delving into this time will make your kids ready to head over to do their other school work, satisfied with the relaxation and time with you and re-energized to focus on the rest of the school day.

Final Thoughts for a New Family Quarantine Routine

I know many of you need to work or move along in the day. But you will never regret reading with your kids. Schedule the reading in your work calendar. I recommend about an hour , but do whatever you can! Just read aloud to them for as log as you can. To extend “reading” time together, work right next to them while they listen to an audio book. Honestly, if you do no other educational work with your kids the rest of the school year or summer, then this will more than suffice. When you read together, the learning continues. You’ll have great dinner conversations about the books. Your family will be excited to share and feel connected. You will always remember your quarantine routine that brought you closer as a family. Let’s reenergize and reconnect as a family through books!

Want More for Your Family Quarantine Routine?

If you’d like more ideas about how to have fun and make the most of your book conversations, or if you’d like to know about the rest of my family’s quarantine routine, then click the links below!

Stuck at Home Routine