Parent Project

Parent Project

We want to support Club Greenwood parents like you. Follow along as our staff with kiddos provide resources, tips, and tricks that have been helpful for keeping their families busy and focused during this time.

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Time Blocking as a Team by Kelly Buresh

woman working at a desk and writing in her day planner during daytime

I live for my daily planner with hourly blocks (even before quarantine). Now that my husband isn’t traveling for work… Every night after the kids go to sleep my husband and I sit down and talk about how to block our schedules. Most of his calls are established and I work around that.

I typically have 6-8 AM open to exercise and record video workouts. I always plan on writing my workouts for the next day after 8:00pm. I consistently block off 2-4 pm for my preschooler’s schoolwork while my younger one sleeps.

If I have a call or client then my husband tries to block off that time in his schedule if it’s open.

The most important thing right now: GRACE! If there are kids running around behind my video, so be it. Sometimes everyone in my husband’s conference call gets to hear a Dinosaur battle raging in the background. It’s an unusual time, we are all doing the best we can!

Working at Home

young girl sitting at a desk focusing on school work

Creating a Home Workspace by Christine Morris

Remember that this is a very weird time for everyone. Find what works for you and do it, it might not be the same every day, but that’s ok. Give yourself grace!

1. Consider what your needs are

2. Work with what you have

3. Simplify Everything

4. Time blocking is KEY

Read more on the blog

boy working on homework on a wooden table during the day

All About Working From Home by Vivian Griggs

First: Set up a dedicated space to work. You might have to set it up each day and take it back down (kitchen table??) but that’s ok. Make an office! Add a plant.

Second: TIME BLOCK. I can’t recommend this strongly enough. Otherwise, you’re in constant fire drill mode. I find myself anxiously checking all my various work communications all day. It’s not healthy.

Third: Set parameters! You shouldn’t be available 24/7! You need a mental break. Workout, go for a walk, read, puzzle, play with the kids, etc. Anything that helps you decompress.

Finally, give yourself some grace. This is a temporary solution to a weird problem. It will all be OK!

Tips from Kristin Burgess

Online Learning

As the weeks go on I have noticed an increase in the amount of work given. The first few weeks were a pretty good balance of challenging and doable. Lately, it has gotten a bit more intense! Anyone else?

One thing that has helped us, is keeping to our schedule and I ask them what they want to do next…do you want to do your journal or read for 20 minutes? (They might say recess!) Then I’ll let them know we have one more task we need to finish and let them pick what they want to do.

This seems to be working. I know they don’t get to pick in school, but I do know their school/teachers allow for some ownership on their part. This seems to work best when a break is needed. They have some ownership but also need to finish their duties.

Anyone else find this to be working?

Burgess Family Daily Must-Dos (M-F):

  1. Get outside at least three times
  2. Morning exercise (my workout is 5:00-7:00, my husband is 6:00-7:00 and the kids 8:00-9:00)
  3. Drink the appropriate amount of water for your weight
  4. Tell someone when you need something or if something is bugging you. No need to get irritable when all you need to do is communicate! ???? I hug them at least fifteen times and kiss them at least a hundred ????
  5. Snacking is permitted. In fact I encourage it. Low blood sugar makes everyone crabby.

These five ‘must-dos’ make our daily lives much more manageable and happy. We are not perfect and we have our challenges, but when we give our body and our hearts what they need, we are pretty good.