How a young mom makes quarantine time productive and enjoyable for her kids

Like everyone else, young homemaker Marielle Mendoza and her family felt disoriented when the government implemented a community quarantine beginning last March 15 to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

“The first week was full of trial and error and admittedly, most of us at home were rattled and confused,” the 30-year-old mother of two shared.

“The first thing we did when the quarantine was announced was to plan on how we will go about our daily routine and monitoring the inventory of food supplies at home,” she added.

After two weeks of adjustment, Marielle, her husband Ping, and their two kids, seven-year-old Drake and two-year-old Maya, have learned to adapt to quarantine life while staying in DMCI Homes’ Verawood Residences condominium in Acacia Estates, Taguig City.

Even though they are confined in the condominium for the rest of the quarantine period, Marielle has devised a way to make the situation productive and enjoyable for their kids by applying Montessori methods and principles she learned when her first born was four-years-old.

Daily schedule

“It’s pretty tricky to have a toddler and a seven-year-old kid at home. So the best way to handle their day is to put up a schedule for each so they know what to expect each day,” Marielle explained.

“This also prevents or lessens tantrums and breakdowns. Children thrive when they have a daily routine,” she continued.

Since the residents are discouraged by the Property Management Office to go out of their units, the family instead hangs out at the balconies of the unit for their dose of sunlight and fresh air. 

“Since the kids cannot go to the playground, we try to maximize the use of the balconies. We go there every morning or every afternoon to play with the kids, enjoy music, or read books. The kids also started growing plants in our balcony like tomatoes, squash, and chili,” Marielle related.

Different needs

In preparing the daily activities of Drake and Maya, Marielle had to take into consideration the varying needs of her kids.

“For our toddler, we made sure that we still stick to her daily schedule pre-quarantine. We allot time for play and doing practical life activities like watering the plants, folding clothes, sweeping the floor and the like. We also put up our indoor pikler triangle and slide in the living room so she can still move around, which is essential for toddlers,” she said. 

“As for our eldest, since his school continues to aid in his learning by sending school work and lesson guidelines, our task is to guide him with his daily lessons and schedule and make sure he submits necessary worksheets and assignments on time,” she added.

To help with the homeschooling of their son, they transformed his room into a classroom type setup so he can stay focused in doing his school work. 

“Our son needs a more conducive space to focus on learning at home so his room had to be shaped into a prepared environment. We also assign our son some household chores like setting up the table during meals. It's also important to give them free time so they don't get burnt out from school work” Marielle enthused.