Karwai Tang/WireImage Kate Middleton and Prince William

Kate Middleton and Prince William won't be out and about over the next few days.

The new Prince and Princess of Wales, both 40, are expected to take a break from public engagements this week as their three children are off from school. Prince George, 9, Princess Charlotte, 7, and Prince Louis, 4, are currently off from classes at Lambrook, where fall half term began last Friday. After the short break, the siblings and their schoolmates will return to the classroom on a favorite childhood holiday — Halloween.

Prince William and Princess Kate have previously scaled back their schedules during school vacations in order to spend more time with their kids. George, Charlotte and Louis enrolled as new pupils at Lambrook on Sept. 8, the same day their great-grandmother Queen Elizabeth died. Following the shock, the royal parents did all they could to support their grieving children and keep things as "normal" as possible.

Elaine Gee, 58, a teacher from Workingham, chatted with William during his walkabout with Kate, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle outside Windsor Castle on Sept. 10 about the difficulty she experienced in explaining the Queen's death to her primary school pupils.

JONATHAN BRADY/POOL/AFP via Getty Prince George, Kate Middleton, Prince Louis, Prince William and Princess Charlotte

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"I told him how I work at a school and how it's been a strange year celebrating the Jubilee and now it's all changed and we are talking about this," Gee told PEOPLE at the time. "He spoke about George, Charlotte and Louis, saying that they were trying to keep some sense of continuity for them at school and keep things as normal as possible."

Prince George and Princess Charlotte went on to attend the Queen's state funeral and committal service on Sept. 19. At age 4, little brother Prince Louis was likely deemed too young to attend.

Karwai Tang/WireImage Prince George and Princess Charlotte

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In the week before the funeral, PEOPLE understands that William and Kate carefully considered whether to include their eldest two children in the procession and service. With the eyes of the world on them, the royal couple kept in mind the fact that George and Charlotte were at Westminster Abbey for their great-grandfather Prince Philip's memorial service in March.

As William and Kate gracefully navigate a pivot from personal grieving to a new routine with a heavier workload as the Prince and Princess of Wales, they look forward to providing continued stability for their children at their new home in Windsor. At Adelaide Cottage, the family relishes the open parkland and countryside where Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis can freely play.

Karwai Tang/WireImage Prince George, Prince Louis and Princess Charlotte at Trooping the Colour on June 2.

"They love that the kids can go out on their bikes and cycle around the estate, and they are all really excited to meet everyone," a friend tells PEOPLE. "It's a real little community."

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With Lambrook a 15-minute drive from home, Prince William and Princess Kate try to do the school drop-off and pickup most days. And although insiders say they will eventually live in the nearby Windsor Castle, for now cottage life is much like it is at their beloved country retreat, Amner Hall in Norfolk, where the kids and their friends are in and out of the swimming pool. George will flop onto the sofa beside his father, while Charlotte makes a beeline for familiar guests.

Theirs is a life of a "modern royal family doing normal things," as one close family friend puts it.