We all remember this viral video, right? It’s hilarious as long as it isn’t happening to you!

We’re sharing tips from years of experience as well as children specific virtual tours to get you through these work + home schooling days.

First, expect distractions. Kids will disturb you no matter how often you ask (or tell) them not to do so. Plan for them and alert others if you are on a call or video conference that your kids are home and may bust in at any moment.

Heather suggests: “Have your kids on their regular routine (as much as possible). Wake them up at the same time each day, plan to take a break and have lunch together, have them go to bed at the same time each night, etc. Set aside time to check in with them, really check in with them, to find out how their day is going, what they want to work on (my son is digging a hole in the backyard as I type. Do we need a hole? Nope. Is this something that he is enjoying and it is keeping him outside and active? Yep. So, it works for me!), what you want them to work on or help out with, and how they will report back to you and when.”

Morgan recommends: “If you have small children around, are there ways you can include them? The Society 54 team is 100% remote. When my daughter is home sick or if her daycare is closed, she often wants to ’help Mommy work.’ I try to offer her office supplies that are safe for use with minor supervision – paper, pens and pencils, a hole punch, stickers, post it notes – and let her go to town. I ask occasionally for her to do something special for me (draw shapes, punch holes in the pink and green post its) and she is usually pretty pleased to ‘help me with my work.’”

Searching for some ways to keep kiddos occupied while you get some work done? Check out these great online resources:

Cincinnati Zoo Home Safari is live at 3 pm ET, seven days a week. “The goal with the daily live sessions is to provide fun and educational content to people who are stuck at home,” says Cincinnati Zoo Director Thane Maynard. Adorable zoo animals and an activity for my kids, sign me up!
Travel the world and visit 12 famous museums from the comfort of your home. This may be the closest we ever get to most of these exhibits!
Never been to Paris? That’s ok. You can tour the Louvre virtually and it’s almost like being there (minus the bonus of visiting a French bistro when you’re done).
Undoubtedly China’s most popular tourist attraction, take a virtual tour of the 2,000 year old Great Wall of China and boast to your friends that you’ve spanned it’s vast 3,000 miles.
Here in the U.S., we are lucky enough to have the beautiful and awe inspiring Yellowstone National Park. On their website, users can tour some of the park’s main attractions.
Searching for something a bit more “out of this world?” We have you covered. You can explore the surface of Mars (yes, really) via NASA’s Curiosity rover.
If you have a love for music, you won’t want to miss this opportunity to see free streams of previously recorded operas from The Met in NYC.
It doesn’t get more adorable than this video from Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium. One of their penguins got a chance to take a fieldtrip during the closure. We’ve only watched it 100 times!

Have other things to add to this list? Let us know! Email morgan@society54.com.

Working From Home With Kids