Wondering how to schedule school days in COVID-19 quarantine? We have some tips.

COVID-19 is stressful and scary. The global pandemic has led to school and workplace closures around the world and, in some countries, sweeping self-isolation measures. In addition to this, many schools have mandated that parents support their kids in schooling efforts every day during the self-quarantine period. In the wake of said closures, we’ve been hearing lots of discussions about the challenges of maintaining a regular home schedule that works for everyone.

Experts in Denmark have recommended (among other things) that while in COVID-19 isolation families:

1. Keep regular morning and evening routines.
2. Try to schedule homeschooling hours at the same time every day.
3. Make sure that everyone takes regular breaks from school and that said breaks from structured school time include movement and creative activities.
4. Be flexible and adaptable.

While these recommendations make a lot of sense to us in practice, we realise that adhering to them is definitely easier said than done. It's difficult to maintain routines without some kind of external structure or accountability at the best of times. And, as some Danish parents have asked, how are a workday, a school day, and early childcare all supposed to happen under the same roof? Add in all of the extra pressure on parents that this pandemic has created (whether emotional, financial, grief or health-related), this task can seem downright impossible. (Shoutout to the parents who are unable to be home with kids and are still heading out to work these days: medical professionals, cleaners, waste management workers, transit employees, grocers: thank you for taking care of all of us!).

How can you create a school schedule that works in COVID-19 isolation? In short, our tips for creating positive family routines and structure during COVID-19 isolation measures are:

• Prioritize your family's mental and physical health, not just productivity.
• Create a routine together that everyone understands.
• Use visuals to represent activities, so kids who are more visual can process what’s up next.
• If your child needs more active support, try the Tiimo app so they can follow along with their schedule in real-time.

First and foremost, we want to remind you that the health - mental and physical - of you and your family should be at the fore right now. In many situations, it’s going to be impossible for all of the things that happen in non-crisis times to happen. That’s ok. Be gentle with yourself - these are exceptional times.

That being said, structure and routine can actually reduce stress, especially for people with ADHD and/or who are autistic. Planning a schedule in advance, aligning expectations within your family (ie. making sure everyone understands what the schedule means), and creating a visual schedule that everyone can follow along with can all help give your days structure and better ensure that everyone’s needs are met as best as possible.

This is where Tiimo can potentially help. Our digital support tool was designed to support youth with ADHD to provide structure and visual support. On web, families (like yours!) can plan a weekly schedule by creating activities that include visuals to represent them in a web calendar.

After you’ve created a day’s worth of activities, you can move on to saving routines. We always advise users to create a morning, evening, and weekday routine (that includes work and/or school related activities). Our web tool is completely free and you can create up to five calendars. Here’s what your child’s weekly schedule could look like:

If you or one of your kids wants more active support, our app (available for all iOS and Android devices) allows you to follow along with what activity is happening at that particular moment, complete with a visual timeline and the opportunity for a short note. When an activity changes, you're notified via a notification and a vibration or a sound. Anyone can try out Tiimo for fourteen days for free!




Jade from The Autism Page, one of our partners, has already put together a wonderful guide on managing her family’s life under COVID-19 isolation measures and in it details how the Tiimo calendar is part of helping build routine for her kids.

We’ve also asked members of the Tiimo community to share their weekly schedules with us, in order to give you all some inspiration. Head to our Facebook page to see their ideas! And please feel free to share your family’s schedule or tips there. These are difficult times, but we know that helping each other out is going to make it easier. As always, reach out to us if you have feedback, questions about getting started or want to chat.

---

Are you interested in knowing more about Tiimo app and how Tiimo can assist neurodivergent people?
Read our user story with Ria, mom to 9-year-old Marc, who at the age of 4 was diagnosed with autism. From the day he was born, Ria knew that there was something special about him.