A massive storm is causing havoc not only for travelers in the US but also for working parents whose kids’ schools are once again closed for a snow day.
I reached out to colleagues across the newsroom here at Business Insider to see how everyone is coping with balancing work and keeping kids entertained at home.
From crafts in bathrooms to kids calling their friends on landlines, and from parents canceling non-essential meetings and being camera-off, this is how we do it.
A balance of outdoor time and crafts indoors.
My two kids, 6 and 8, are thrilled to have a snow day. They are currently outside with some of their neighborhood friends playing in a huge pile of snow that the plows deposited on the corner of our property. My husband was at his computer super early this morning, so he’s taking the first shift with the kids outside so I can work.
Later today, they’ll all be back inside, and I’m going to attempt to keep them occupied and off their screens for as long as possible. I impulsively bought some craft kits right before the storm, and they have had a great ROI. This Mondo Llama clay character kit from Target has been a big hit, keeping three kids occupied for more than an hour with very little supervision while the snow was still falling yesterday. Today, I’m going to tempt them with an opportunity to make jungle animals from another kit, and we might even get a head start on our Valentine’s Day gifts for their classmates.
Luckily, my kids are fairly self-sufficient once they are set up with a project, so I’m hoping I won’t have too many distractions. (Famous last words?)
Jennifer Beck Goldblatt, Senior Editor
A secondhand piano buys sometime before Netflix kicks in.
I’m currently drinking my third coffee of the day out of my “super mom” mug, which feels appropriate. Last night, my husband stayed a few towns over to care for his aunt, so I’m solo-parenting three boys (6, 9, and 12) and trying to work. The storm falling the day after a weekend helped; I was able to cook ahead — soup, cookies, mac and cheese, etc. — that we will eat on the fly today. Three boys eat a lot.
The huge saving grace is that I bought a lovely secondhand piano a few months ago. My kids all take lessons and really love it. My oldest has been downloading YouTube videos to learn new songs, which is actually quite beautiful to listen to while I try to participate in meetings and edit stories.
After lunch, I’ll try to kick everyone outside, but the snow is very deep here (north of Boston), and I’ll have to keep a close eye. After reading what my colleagues are up to, I may bust out the art projects and, of course, Netflix soon, too.
Debbie Strong, Deputy Executive Editor
A landline gives kids independence to set up playdates.
My kids have had three snow days since school started again three weeks ago. My kids are all still in elementary school, so they don’t get remote learning or homework. It’s up to my husband and me to keep them entertained and from fighting with each other.
Adding a Tin Can has been key because we have tons of kids on our street, and they have been mastering how to set up playdates without our help. The neighborhood kids go from one backyard to another, “helping” with shoveling snow from driveways, to sledding down tiny hills. We’ve also started doing lunch and a movie, or dinner and a movie, so we can have some quiet time to do whatever we need.
All my meetings when the kids are at home are camera-off because I either haven’t had time to shower or someone is sitting on my lap having a tiny meltdown.
Conz Preti, Deputy Editor
All non-essential meetings are canceled.
Snow days are a special kind of chaos in a New York City apartment. My 5-year-old is currently doing “science experiments” with food coloring in the shower, and my 7-year-old is thrilled for a bonus day of screens since he usually only gets iPad time on the weekend. My husband and I will take turns hiding in our bedroom to work. I’m canceling non-essential meetings and have warned my team I might be slow to reply.
Once we run out of patience for obstacle courses, art projects, and chess (probably by lunch!), then it’s Netflix time.
Julie Zeveloff, Director of Editorial Product Strategy
Snow days are for playing in the snow after virtual school is over.
As a work-from-home dad, I’m usually the default parent when school closes or someone’s sick. But today’s snow day is different — my wife’s charter school is fully closed, too. I’ve set up shop at my desk in our bedroom while she handles remote learning for our first grader in the living room, with our 2-year-old running laps around them both. So far, so good.
The highlight of the day? Our son’s summer camp — Ramah Nyack — is hosting a midday Zoom dance party. Since we missed the COVID-era remote school by a few years, virtual events like this still feel novel and exciting to our 6-year-old. The best part is that the virtual school day wraps up early, leaving plenty of afternoon daylight for what a snow day should be about: playing in the snow.
Reuben Ingber, Engineering Manager
Managing expectations at work is important.
My husband works in live TV, so he never gets “WFH” days, and when my kids (4 and 6) have snow days or get sick, it’s usually on me. I’ve found that activities like puzzles, crafting, building, and coloring only last so long before my kids ask me to join in. During long meetings in which I need to actively participate, screen time has no limits. This morning, Mrs. Frizzle babysat my kids.
Managing expectations is key, so I proactively communicated to my team and my manager that today is a snow day and that I’ll be less productive and responsive than usual.
Anne Porto, Managing Director
Some have to play Tetris with schedules.
My almost-2-year-old is usually at day care, so my partner and I had to do some calendar tetris to figure out how to make our day work. We rescheduled one-on-one meetings and reviewed our schedules to identify overlaps. We need to make sure that at least one of us is free to listen in with our toddler in the other room while the other is presenting during a meeting.
Our teams were also very understanding of the need to reschedule anything and of guest appearances from the toddler at the beginning or end of calls, as we do hand-offs between the two of us.
Starr Chen, Subscriptions Engineering Manager
Lots of outside time and hot cocoa after to warm up.
A snow day is a perfect opportunity to go outside, especially once the wintry winds have calmed. My kids love to play outside. We give them hot cocoa afterward and dry their jackets, snow pants, and gloves in the dryer.
Sam Fellman, Deputy Editor
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