Set your kids up for success at school with an easy morning routine.
You know the scene well. First, your alarm goes off after a lousy night’s sleep. Then, before the sun is even up, you walk across the house to wake up the kids, who, unlike you, gratuitously give themselves 15 extra minutes of sleep despite your nagging.
When teeth are brushed, hair is fixed, breakfast and lunch are made, and backpacks loaded, 15 minutes has transformed into 30 minutes, and getting to school on time seems like a distant promise.
This is part of daily life unless your child is a natural early bird. As one school year closes and another approaches, we have some tips to make your mornings more enjoyable.
Take 20 the Night Before
Something about 8 p.m. is much friendlier than 8 a.m. Keep that in mind next year as you kick off the school year. Take 20 minutes the night before to do a few simple tasks:
- Get backpacks as ready as possible (except for homework still being completed).
- Prep as much of the lunchbox as you can, or make sure lunch money is in an envelope in your child’s backpack.
- Set the coffee maker for auto-drip.
- Ensure your child has their clothes picked out for the next day.
No need to do any more than this. Accomplishing these small but important tasks the night or evening before can make for a much smoother morning and save you valuable time.
Rethink Breakfast
Don’t buy into the illusion that any mom or dad out there cooks bacon, eggs, and pancakes every morning. Hot breakfasts and big spreads are a wonderful treat for children, but a healthy, filling breakfast can be accomplished through DIY tricks that will save you time and get your children feeding themselves.
PBS.org for parents suggests 10 Ideas for a Calming Morning Routine. Dr. McCoy suggests simple things you can do in the mornings to create a calming morning routine filled with connection and cooperation.
Leverage Light
Are your children ever not looking at a screen these days? The bombardment of light has made bedtime the only dark period in your child’s day, and those circadian rhythms are not what they used to be.
However, our bodies are still hardwired to wake up with the sun. Ensure your and your child’s bedroom allows natural light to work through when the sun rises. This will help you both feel more awake sooner and get your day off to a more positive, energetic start.
Check Please!
A checklist is the organizer’s secret weapon, and it’s one of Reader’s Digest’s 24 ways to brighten your morning. If you struggle to get a laundry list of tasks done in the morning while herding multiple kids out the door, spend time with your children creating a fun, dry-erase checklist that can help give everyone a sense of instant accomplishment in the morning. It’ll alleviate the anxiety and keep things moving along nicely.
Author Bio
Clay Boggess has been designing fundraising programs for schools and various nonprofit organizations throughout the US since 1999. He’s helped administrators, teachers, and outside support entities such as PTAs and PTOs raise millions of dollars. Clay is an owner and partner at Big Fundraising Ideas.