Who else is in the midst of creating a morning routine for school kids?
Creating a Morning Routine for School
It’s back. Back to school is HERE and the mornings are EARLY. I don’t know about you, but no matter how many kids you are juggling – school mornings, especially at the first of the school year ARE HELL.
Today I’m sharing tips that have helped us create a morning routine for school that doesn’t have us crying – well at least not everyday.
But first, let’s pause and have some real talk.
Stubborn Kids
I found this post from forevers ago. Let’s talk stubborn kids, y’all.
Yes, we do have a morning routine – I really should print this out and use it again, it did work. But also – holy hell these kids are stubborn in the morning.
I have NO idea where they got this morning stubborness from. CERTAINLY NOT THEIR MOTHER. 🙂
Any who – fast forward, we are in 2018. And this. Yes to morning routine check lists – but NO to morning chore charts. And ALL OF THE YESes to dry shampoo and febreze because life y’all.
Anyways, back to the post written a few years ago – that I had to resurface to include the meme above.
School Morning Routine Tips
Here are tips from veteran parents on how to best establish a school morning routine so you aren’t poking your eyeballs out and screaming like a maniac.
And if you have to febreeze your kids and dry shampoo them – no judgement here. Just *fist bumps*
1. Wake Up Before the Kids
This may seem like a no brainer, but wake up 20 minutes before your kids wake up. Make coffee and make breakfast.
We have a Ninja Coffee Maker that we pre-program so that coffee is ready in the morning so I don’t have to waste brain cells on making it.
As the kids get older I also have worked hard to train them to wake up on their own using a kids alarm clock. This helps save me time in the mornings and helps equip them for their future lives as an adult.
Let’s be real, if given no schedule (hello SUMMER) – 11 am is my wake-up time. Anything you can do ahead of time, do it. Especially if weren’t blessed with the morning person gene.
2. Keep Positive – Put on a Happy Face
This is the hardest, but essential. Kids react to their surrounding and are empathetic to attitudes. Keep it cheery, put on a happy face – they will be out of the house in no time.
This fake it until you make it will help their day start well and will put a positive aspect on the start of your day.
3. Prepare the Night Ahead of Time
Showers are done the night before. Keep shoes, socks and backpacks near the front door (or whichever door they leave thru.) It’s amazing how a missing shoe can cause a tardy!
4. Weekly Clothes Prep
Have you seen how we prep clothes for the week? As a family of people who HATE LAUNDRY – this has become essential.
Check out our favorite morning routine tip – organizing clothes for school.
5. Weekly Lunch Prep
If your kids buy their lunch at school, just make sure there is lunch money in their account. If you pack lunches, consider doing a weekly meal lunch prep. This is something your kids can help do – more on how to do this in a future post.
6. Breakfast Meal Plan
Just as you may do dinner meal planning, setup a breakfast meal plan. Don’t get too fancy, just know what you have.
If you need to keep it simple, don’t worry – kids just need to eat a breakfast. While a nice healthy hot breakfast is ideal, this is real life. A box of cinnamon rolls from the store bakery works just as well.
Cereal works well and if you insist on a “hot meal” – make instant oatmeal.
Self care is important for parents. Buying pre-made breakfast, lunch or dinner items is TOTALLY FINE. The name of the game is survival.
You do whatever it takes to make it. Sometimes that means pop tarts, other times that means dirty socks. No judgement here. We have 4 kids, TOTALLY GET IT.
School Morning Checklist PDF
I made this morning checklist PDF for one kid in particular. He is a bit forgetful in the morning, in regards to what we need him to do to get ready.
I put it on the mirror in the bathroom. He doesn’t have to physically carry it around, but this serves as a great reminder of what he needs to do to get ready.
Click below to save and print the morning checklist. Have them use each morning when they wake up so there is no excuses on not knowing what to do. You can put on the mirror or print out several. Whatever works best. You DO YOU.
7. Set Alarms for Everything
With a device like a Amazon Echo or even your smart phone – you can easily set multiple alarms.
Don’t only set a wake-up alarm, setup an alarm for when you need to leave or when the kids need to be out the door for the bus. Check out our favorite kids alarm clocks or if you have toddler – toddler alarm clocks.
These extra alarms serve as good audio reminders and cues to help keep your school morning routine going and on track.
What tips do you have to create an AWESOME morning routine for school? Febreeze? Dry Shampoo? DO TELL. Share in the comments.