Paige
Sammy is super responsive and has successfully paired us with a great candidate – it’s been a delight to work together!!
MAYDAY Mums and Dads – how are we surviving, working from home with kids?!
Thought you had mastered the art of parenting until you were forced to work from your dining table and home-school your kids at the same time?
Children don’t care if you are on a conference call… you need to see their dinosaur drawing RIGHT NOW!!
Don’t worry, you are not alone. Many of the MAYDAY team are also tackling these new challenges. We’ve put our heads together to share experiences, life hacks and insights on how to preserve as much productivity (and sanity) as possible while working from home with kids.
Experience from our team:
Imogen Storie (Co-Founder & Director)
Having recently returned from maternity leave Imogen spent one day in the office before having to work from home and self-isolate…. Not your standard transition back to corporate life but is there really any “normal” right now? Imogen’s spent the last couple of weeks reconnecting with our team members over regular one on one Zooms and focusing on contact projects to ensure we’re supporting all our clients through this crazy time.
Imogen’s husband Jack, Director of MAYDAY Blue, runs two businesses from home. He and Imogen are juggling work while caring for a beautiful 7-month-old boy, Callan and a very enthusiastic fur baby, Chesney…. Needless to say, there’s never a dull moment in the Storie household!
Jo Ward (Co-Founder & Director)
With two babies under three, Jo has sought refuge in her bedroom, creating awareness that this is now “Mummy’s Office”.
As Jo and her husband Frazer are both home all day, they saw this as the perfect opportunity to start potty training 2 ½ year old Alfie and introduce little Betty Bea to solids, earlier than planned. Talk about hardcore parenting! .png)
Lizzie Marshall (Team Leader)
Lizzie’s husband Alex has hung up his Pilot’s cap in exchange for a Professors hat, as every day from 9 am he becomes Principal Marshall. Whilst Lizzie is WFH, Principal Marshall incorporates fun into learning. In the last 2 weeks of home-school, they have built a den, taught their youngest Annie to ride a bike with only two wheels, taken lessons in the art and preparation of “lunch making” and go outside an hour daily for some physical education. Good work Principal Marshall; A+ for effort!.png)
And let’s not forget about all our fur babies as well…. Frank, Chesney and Millie! One major silver lining of being home more is that our pets are in their element, thrilled to have some extra cuddles and belly rub time..png)
Ideas to Create Routine and have FUN!
Watch & Learn
Sydney Reptile Park: Tune into Tim’s Wildlife Videos, as he live streams daily educational videos for you. Watch and learn about the creepy reptiles and cute animals
Click on the image below.
Taronga TV; Not into reptiles? Tune in to Taronga TV with 24/7 live-streaming cameras so you can enjoy your favourite animals at any time of day.
Click the image below.
Create and Maintain Schedules and Routines
- After breakfast get them changed out of their pyjamas
- Create an everyday schedule such as Morning lesson, followed by PE
- One MAYDAY Client does a “walk to school” with their kids every morning. “A small stroll around the block before starting school work.”
New ways of learning
- Follow the Marshalls, by getting your children to make their own sandwiches to incorporate learning at Lunch (and to pass the time)
- Encouraging them to help you with everyday chores will not only make them independent but they’ll learn how much is done every day – without earning a cent. They learn to respect the non-materialistic lifestyle too.
Digital Activities
Zoom playdates
Online Activities:
- BrainPop
- Curiosity Stream
- Tynker
- Outschool
- Udemy
- iReady
- Beast Academy (Math)
- Khan Academy
- Creative Bug
- Discovery Education
Youtube Channels:
- Crash Course Kids
- Science Channel
- SciShow Kids
- National Geographic Kids
- Free School
- Geography Focus
- TheBrainScoop
- SciShow
- Kids Learning Tube
- Geeek Gurl Diaries
- Mike Likes Science
- Science Max
- SoulPancake
Let your team know what your schedule with your kids looks like
- Once you have a plan, it is critical to communicate it with colleagues in a way that ensures they are supportive and can work with your constraints and your availability.
Create YOUR workspace
- Research shows working from home is less stressful when you have a dedicated work area. This helps you mentally and physically separate roles and boundaries.
Practice with your kids
- In the midst of a conference call or something you are reading and cannot be interrupted? You can teach your kids not to interrupt by practising through play. Talk to your kids about what they need to do when they notice you’re doing an activity that requires full attention. Give them specific instructions and pretend to take a call or have a meeting, and see how your kids react. Go through this drill over and over again. Praise and reward them when they start to do it right and give them gentle guidance when they don’t
More awesome free learning websites that we like to use**
https://www.storylineonline.net/
https://www.highlightskids.com/
https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/
https://www.coolmath4kids.com/
https://www.uniteforliteracy.com/