Anonymous
07/20/2020 10:20
Subject: Surviving Summer — share what’s working
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Here’s our routine (nanny to 5yo twin boys):
They wake about 6:30 and get themselves dressed and brush their teeth then come wake me up and they play while I get dressed, unload DW, make breakfast, pack snacks, etc.
About 8-10 we go for a walk to a park near the house with a big empty field and some shade trees. They play a little but if it’s hot we end up just laying in the shade and reading chapter books
10-12 they play with toys, then at noon we eat lunch
After lunch we do “school” where I do some basic reading/writing/math practice stuff with one and the other plays a semi-educational app on my phone. Then switch kids.
Around 2 we lay down together and listen to an audiobook for 30-45 minutes.
After that they each choose a “project” (peg board, pattern blocks, dominoes, anatomy felt board, etc.) and they play in different rooms for 15 minutes.
Around 3 they get swimsuits and water shoes on and run through the sprinklers for 20 minutes while I water the plants and vacuum the bottom of our inflatable 6’x10’ wading pool. Then they get in the pool and play for a while. Around 4:30 we go in and do baths, then dinner, stories and bedtime.
We do the exact same routine 4 days a week, but importantly, one day a week we shake it up and go on an adventure. Berry picking/baking pies, driving to a far-off hiking spot and hiking to a creek to play in the water, camping overnight, walking around the monuments downtown and cooling off at the WWII memorial, etc. I find that having that one day a week of something different makes all the other days manageable in their sameness.
Sounds great but when do they see their parents? Is it like Downton Abbey? From 5:30-6pm?
Sorry, formatting error.
Now that everyone is working from home they get a little time with parents here and there throughout the day but other wise it is 7-7:30pm right before bed. Then 9:30-2 on Saturday and 8:30-2 on Sunday.
NP but wow, you're working every day of the week? is this normal?
No, I work Monday-Friday and Saturday and Sunday mornings. They have a different sitter who comes in the afternoons on weekends so I do have a little bit of time off. I have been with them since the day the twins got home from the hospital, so I am their primary attachment figure and they prefer me to the parents anyway.
Woof is this real? Am I naive to hope this isn’t real? I don’t know any families remotely like this (I’m in Arlington). On the weekends are the parents at least around but they just like having the extra hands? Maybe I can see the very wealthy having that but man that is basically complete coverage of all waking time.
I'm a NP, and I hope this isn't common, even among the wealthy, but I definitely know it happens. A friend was a nanny in DC and it was exactly like this for her-- only she didn't live in, so she was "only" there 8-6 M-F, but the family had a weekend nanny too. She estimated the parents spent about 1-2 waking hours Mon-Sat with the kids*, and would go on a 3-4-hour outing with them on Sundays, but with the nanny in tow. That was it.
*Actually more like <1 hour on Fri/Sat d/t date nights.
I don't see a reason to be judgey about these people. They do what works for them. The rest of us do what works for us.
We don't know enough about this nanny's family. Maybe they're 2 doctors who work 80 hours a week at the hospital. Maybe they're lawyers that work similarly crazy hours. Maybe they're a rich trust fund couple that spends all their time socializing at the country club. Not our business and their nanny seems happy enough to have worked for them for 5 years...
Anonymous
07/20/2020 07:58
Subject: Surviving Summer — share what’s working
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Here’s our routine (nanny to 5yo twin boys):
They wake about 6:30 and get themselves dressed and brush their teeth then come wake me up and they play while I get dressed, unload DW, make breakfast, pack snacks, etc.
About 8-10 we go for a walk to a park near the house with a big empty field and some shade trees. They play a little but if it’s hot we end up just laying in the shade and reading chapter books
10-12 they play with toys, then at noon we eat lunch
After lunch we do “school” where I do some basic reading/writing/math practice stuff with one and the other plays a semi-educational app on my phone. Then switch kids.
Around 2 we lay down together and listen to an audiobook for 30-45 minutes.
After that they each choose a “project” (peg board, pattern blocks, dominoes, anatomy felt board, etc.) and they play in different rooms for 15 minutes.
Around 3 they get swimsuits and water shoes on and run through the sprinklers for 20 minutes while I water the plants and vacuum the bottom of our inflatable 6’x10’ wading pool. Then they get in the pool and play for a while. Around 4:30 we go in and do baths, then dinner, stories and bedtime.
We do the exact same routine 4 days a week, but importantly, one day a week we shake it up and go on an adventure. Berry picking/baking pies, driving to a far-off hiking spot and hiking to a creek to play in the water, camping overnight, walking around the monuments downtown and cooling off at the WWII memorial, etc. I find that having that one day a week of something different makes all the other days manageable in their sameness.
Sounds great but when do they see their parents? Is it like Downton Abbey? From 5:30-6pm?
Sorry, formatting error.
Now that everyone is working from home they get a little time with parents here and there throughout the day but other wise it is 7-7:30pm right before bed. Then 9:30-2 on Saturday and 8:30-2 on Sunday.
NP but wow, you're working every day of the week? is this normal?
No, I work Monday-Friday and Saturday and Sunday mornings. They have a different sitter who comes in the afternoons on weekends so I do have a little bit of time off. I have been with them since the day the twins got home from the hospital, so I am their primary attachment figure and they prefer me to the parents anyway.
Woof is this real? Am I naive to hope this isn’t real? I don’t know any families remotely like this (I’m in Arlington). On the weekends are the parents at least around but they just like having the extra hands? Maybe I can see the very wealthy having that but man that is basically complete coverage of all waking time.
I'm a NP, and I hope this isn't common, even among the wealthy, but I definitely know it happens. A friend was a nanny in DC and it was exactly like this for her-- only she didn't live in, so she was "only" there 8-6 M-F, but the family had a weekend nanny too. She estimated the parents spent about 1-2 waking hours Mon-Sat with the kids*, and would go on a 3-4-hour outing with them on Sundays, but with the nanny in tow. That was it.
*Actually more like <1 hour on Fri/Sat d/t date nights.
Anonymous
07/20/2020 04:19
Subject: Surviving Summer — share what’s working
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Strategic art projects (i work FT but specifically take off a few hours on Fridays for a special, more involved craft)
Water guns, slip and slide, sprinkler
Podding with a neighborhood family (have done so since march)
Garden (kids love to help weed and harvest)
Lots of new books
Pop up tent to shade the whole patio
DH and I both have VERY UNDERSTANDING bosses who have no issue with our current “alternative) schedules. More than anything, this might be what’s keeping us all sane
Would love to hear some of your craft ideas, PP.
We have a garden that has been great also.
Considering pop up patio... do you like yours?
OP here. The pop up tent has been amazing, we are basically planning to leave it up all summer now. We just got it off amazon. I can work under it while the kids play and we’ve even stayed out while it’s raining.
Crafts we have done: soap making (kit), painted rocks (just from the backyard), painted picture frames that we are sending to the gparents, pinwheels (kit), i have smithsonian kits to make a catapult and a bombard (figure they will be fun outside).
Need to keep an eye on our recycling, i want to make these: https://www.printablesfairy.com/black-glue-bugs-suncatchers/
“Art walk” best when it’s not 1,000 degrees out - we each take a sketchpad or small notebook and a few pens, pencils, etc on a walk. The rule is we stop whenever someone wants to, and draw what we see. It was fun for me to only stop when the kids stopped, and try to do something in the attention span of my 5YO!
I have some air dry clay that i want to do leaf/bark/grass imprints of, and then find a way to mount them on a backing so we can put them on the wall. I think we’llnhave enough to make/send christmas ornaments to everyone too.
Forgot to mention we also got an actual camping tent for backyard camping. Depending on conditions etc i want to try some hipcamp spots in the fall. But the kids love chasing fireflies and sleeping outside!
My kids are 5 and 9.
Anonymous
07/20/2020 02:02
Subject: Surviving Summer — share what’s working
Anonymous wrote:Strategic art projects (i work FT but specifically take off a few hours on Fridays for a special, more involved craft)
Water guns, slip and slide, sprinkler
Podding with a neighborhood family (have done so since march)
Garden (kids love to help weed and harvest)
Lots of new books
Pop up tent to shade the whole patio
DH and I both have VERY UNDERSTANDING bosses who have no issue with our current “alternative) schedules. More than anything, this might be what’s keeping us all sane
Would love to hear some of your craft ideas, PP.
We have a garden that has been great also.
Considering pop up patio... do you like yours?
Anonymous
07/20/2020 00:16
Subject: Re:Surviving Summer — share what’s working
The hose.
We are an UMC family with video games, VR, pool membership, access to golf and tennis, etc. But the most attractive thing all summer has been the hose, storage bins, and old Tupperware. I am sure that my neighbors are not thrilled to see my kids acting like a bunch of hillbillies out on out front lawn, but whatever.
Oh, and the other thing is chores. My kids have a boatload of chores now that they never used to have. But they need something constructive to do, and I need my house to not be trashed at the end of the day every day.
Kids are 6, 8, 10, & 12.
We are an UMC family with video games, VR, pool membership, access to golf and tennis, etc. But the most attractive thing all summer has been the hose, storage bins, and old Tupperware. I am sure that my neighbors are not thrilled to see my kids acting like a bunch of hillbillies out on out front lawn, but whatever.
Oh, and the other thing is chores. My kids have a boatload of chores now that they never used to have. But they need something constructive to do, and I need my house to not be trashed at the end of the day every day.
Kids are 6, 8, 10, & 12.
Anonymous
07/19/2020 22:53
Subject: Re:Surviving Summer — share what’s working
We go to the pool every afternoon now. We have a 2 hour reserved block. In the mornings I homeschool both kids. Ages 7 and 10.
Anonymous
07/19/2020 21:30
Subject: Surviving Summer — share what’s working
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Here’s our routine (nanny to 5yo twin boys):
They wake about 6:30 and get themselves dressed and brush their teeth then come wake me up and they play while I get dressed, unload DW, make breakfast, pack snacks, etc.
About 8-10 we go for a walk to a park near the house with a big empty field and some shade trees. They play a little but if it’s hot we end up just laying in the shade and reading chapter books
10-12 they play with toys, then at noon we eat lunch
After lunch we do “school” where I do some basic reading/writing/math practice stuff with one and the other plays a semi-educational app on my phone. Then switch kids.
Around 2 we lay down together and listen to an audiobook for 30-45 minutes.
After that they each choose a “project” (peg board, pattern blocks, dominoes, anatomy felt board, etc.) and they play in different rooms for 15 minutes.
Around 3 they get swimsuits and water shoes on and run through the sprinklers for 20 minutes while I water the plants and vacuum the bottom of our inflatable 6’x10’ wading pool. Then they get in the pool and play for a while. Around 4:30 we go in and do baths, then dinner, stories and bedtime.
We do the exact same routine 4 days a week, but importantly, one day a week we shake it up and go on an adventure. Berry picking/baking pies, driving to a far-off hiking spot and hiking to a creek to play in the water, camping overnight, walking around the monuments downtown and cooling off at the WWII memorial, etc. I find that having that one day a week of something different makes all the other days manageable in their sameness.
Sounds great but when do they see their parents? Is it like Downton Abbey? From 5:30-6pm?
Sorry, formatting error.
Now that everyone is working from home they get a little time with parents here and there throughout the day but other wise it is 7-7:30pm right before bed. Then 9:30-2 on Saturday and 8:30-2 on Sunday.
NP but wow, you're working every day of the week? is this normal?
No, I work Monday-Friday and Saturday and Sunday mornings. They have a different sitter who comes in the afternoons on weekends so I do have a little bit of time off. I have been with them since the day the twins got home from the hospital, so I am their primary attachment figure and they prefer me to the parents anyway.
Woof is this real? Am I naive to hope this isn’t real? I don’t know any families remotely like this (I’m in Arlington). On the weekends are the parents at least around but they just like having the extra hands? Maybe I can see the very wealthy having that but man that is basically complete coverage of all waking time.