Building a new routine with music. FREE music and resources that will shape isolation time into I-so-LOVE-this time for your family!
Social media is full of the highs and lows of homeschooling, lockdown and isolation right now, and I’m sure you’ve seen thousands of different responses as you’ve been scrolling.
This is an unprecedented and challenging time for parents and children, so here at Same Boat Music we have made songs and downloadable resources available for free to help families shape their own ‘new normal’ in this crazy time.
Our hope is that as you’re squeezed and squashed together with no escape, you’ll find joy and unity as a family. So here are our five top tips to help with that!
- Allow yourself and your kids time to ‘decompress’. It’s a massive change from the busy-ness and stimulation of work or school life to being contained at home. All your routines (that you’ve worked so hard to get them on board with) have fallen away and everyone may feel a little lost at sea. Give them time and space and as much grace as you can! Be kind to yourself and take the pressure off. Don’t let that parent-guilt creep in! Build in a routine that works for you as a family, and give everyone time to adjust to the new normal. Routine will help your kids feel safe and secure in a really shaky time, but it may take a while for them to settle in.
- Download and use our FREE resources! Use the songs to dance, be silly, make up actions and sing out all your pent-up emotions. Stick them on at full volume and sing along with the karaoke style lyrics to stay in time! Every day of the week has its own theme, song and downloadable resource bursting with ideas, facts and talking points. Head here to view and download these resources.
- Draw up a family timetable that includes fun, learning, creativity, downtime and music. Make it work for you and use the new-found flexibility of life to your favour! Singing and dancing are huge stress relievers and make for some hilarious family moments so we fully encourage you to include these in your day. Download our free timetable and our @HOME to do list and customise it to fit your family.
- Punctuate the day with more singing! Lots of OOTA songs are available to listen to on Spotify with Ark Music Collective. Using these songs to signal a change in focus as you move into another part of your timetable will really help kids to make the transitions throughout the day. You could use ‘Every Brand New Day’ to get dressed and teeth-brushed to, then ‘Start The Day With Exercise’ before you join Joe Wicks and his daily P.E lessons!
- Stay connected. Thank goodness for the internet! (said every parent in this country right now). Use Facetime, WhatsApp or Zoom to help your children stay connected with their friends. They’ll have lots to catch up on and will be another reminder that although everything seems to have changed, there are constants - and friends and family are still available in this way.
We don’t know how long this will last, and we don’t know your personal struggles or demands in life that you’re now having to juggle, but we hope and pray that you and your family will have the strength to not only survive this time, but thrive in it, making family memories that you’ll look back on as shining lights in what felt like a very dark time.
