I think it is important to have a schedule whether you have 1 person to organize or 20. It looks like we are in this shutdown for the long haul as many surrounding school districts have closed indefinitely. Not many people (or students for that matter) like a schedule, but most of us benefit from having one.
There are so many schedules out there, and after analyzing many of them, I think it's best to find what works for you. Many of these schedules posted assume there are 2 or more adults in the house, or that the 1 adult in the house only has 1 job - to supervise the children as they go about their day. When, in fact, there are many adults who have been sent home to work as well.
I think the right schedule is the one that works for you and your household. Hopefully it is something between "best practices" and "household chaos."
As my district transitions to our online learning platform, Canvas, and start delivering instruction, I am still grappling with my schedule. No . . . I have no children of my own, and my husband is pretty self-reliant. So why have a schedule? Without one, I would sit on the couch, eat & drink whatever I wanted, and watch Hallmark movies all day. So being in charge of me is not easy, and therefore, I have to take matters into my own hands. I have a pseudo-schedule for now, but I realize it may not work after this week. Once I know my duties within our virtual platform, and we begin our online journey next week, there is a chance I will have to adapt to something different.
So here is what I have so far . . .
I originally had my day spelled out from 7am - 5pm. I quickly backed that up to 8am. I am usually up way before that, but I need some sit-there-and-drink-tea time. So now my schedule goes from 8am - 5pm. We'll see how this goes.
I read a FB post from a mom who is working at home with 2 school-aged children under the age of 8, and the father is still travelling for work. Their school district started online learning yesterday. After a chaotic morning of thinking they would all work at the same time, she decided to alternate time blocks for the afternoon. Her kids now have 2 hours of academic time where she can supervise and help them. Then they have 2 hours of down time where she can passively watch over them but concentrate on her own work. This just proves my point; there is no "right" or "wrong" plan. In addition, there is nothing set in stone. I am sure many of us will be adapting as our circumstances change.
Good luck! Happy St. Patrick's Day!
