Social Distancing With Teens at Home & a Free Printable!

Hey friends! How are you doing? That first week of social distancing was a doozy, huh? My emotions were all over the map, and I just couldn’t bring myself to post about anything. But I wanted to pop in today to say hello and let you all know I’ve been thinking about you and praying that you and your families stay healthy! Especially praying for those of you who are on the front lines, those in the medical field and those who have to continue to work outside the home during this pandemic. I’ve also been thinking about all you mommas adjusting to having your kids at home with you full time. Last week felt like it was a month long! Just me? 😉

We’ve been home as a family taking this social distancing thing very seriously since Saturday, March 14th. So all last week my main priority was tending to my kids. Making sure my teenagers are physically, mentally and emotionally okay is really all that matters to me, especially now.

Schooling teenagers from home is fun. Said no mom ever. Ha! It definitely requires a mega amount of patience. It’s not the school work part that’s been tough, not for us at least. Our schools have done an incredible job of transitioning to a virtual schedule. But we’re finding that school work doesn’t fill up all the hours in a day, and unlike little kids, my teenagers aren’t super excited about doodling tutorials or neighborhood scavenger hunts. And I’m not anti-technology or down time, but I’d rather they not spend 10 hours a day glued to a screen or complaining to me about being bored.

SO, through some trial and error last week, and after sending out an SOS to my Facebook friends with teens, we developed a schedule that seems to be working fairly well for us.

This gives them some ownership of how they choose to spend their time yet establishes some guidelines and expectations. So far so good, and with regard to the “something helpful” category, I’ve also created a new household motto. Some of you that follow along on Instagram are already aware. 😉

Yep, I totally made it a printable. Ha! If you’d like to annoy your teenagers, print these for your home. 😉

We’ve got to keep our sense of humor, right? 😉

But seriously though, teenagers are more than capable of helping out around the house. And my kids have always had household chores, but during this time I’m having them up their tasks just a bit…..because they’ve got plenty of time on their hands. And also because more helping hands make for less work. Life skills are just as important, maybe even more important, than Algebra II. 😉

Stay healthy and stay home as much as possible friends! We’re all in this together!