Peaceful (School) Mornings…
Did you read the title of this and chuckle to yourself thinking…
“Yeah, right. She’s probably writing this from a beach chair in Tahiti.” (I wish!!!)
“She should try living in my house. We live in the real world.”
She probably doesn’t even have school-age children.” (I do 1 of them. And 3 dogs. And a husband. And a full-time job. But I digress…)
Your kiddos have likely been in school for about a month. If morning in your house are anything but peaceful, hang on!! There is help and there is hope. Let’s reclaim peace – even on school mornings.
I like lists, so I’m going to give you a handy dandy, practical list of tips get your (school) day off to a great start.
Understand that “leave time” and “load time” are two entirely different times. Read that again and really think about it. It differs for each family depending on the age/stage of each child, but typically “load time” is 507 minutes earlier than “leave time.” Give this a shot – it’s a game changer, I promise!
Eliminate morning clothing drama. This applies to uniform and non-uniform wearing children. The night before school, work with your child to lay out everything he/she will need for the next day. This includes all clothing, accessories, special sports/band equipment, shoes, etc. that they will need the next day. A plastic tub at the foot of the bed or in the closet works well for storing all of the morning necessities. And…the golden rule: NO mind-changing the next day!
Think about food. Have your child decide what he/she will eat for breakfast the next day. Set out the dishes, cereal, etc. Have the milk/juice poured in cups in the fridge. Have lunch boxes pre-packed the night before with perishables ready to add from the fridge in the morning.
Get backpacks loaded and ready to go the night before. Check with each child to be sure that all homework is finished and in the proper place in the binder. Check for any notes or forms that need to be signed and returned, locate library books and any “special” items that need to go to school the next day…you know, “special” things like four items that begin with the letter Q and fit into a brown paper lunch bag, the class pet, show and tell items, the science project with jars of growing mold, etc.
Gather everything that will need to go into the car (backpacks, sports equipment/uniforms, gym bags, snacks, cell phone, purse, car keys, work bag, etc.) and put it in a central location (at my house this is usually on top of the kitchen table because a) it is big enough for all of our junk and b) the puppies havn’t figured out how to pull stuff off the table and eat it…yet!)
A few final tips and tricks to restore peace to your rushed mornings:
Stay off all electronics in the morning (parents too!)
Plan to arrive 5-10 minutes early and use the extra time to play a game of I Spy, listen to a favorite song, ask Siri some good question, etc. This sure beath shoving the kiddos out of the car and telling then to run to beat the tardy bell!
Remember that you are very likely dealing with “morning people” and “night owls” living in the same house. Be sensitive to personal preferences in the morning…and please don’t try to talk to me before I’ve even poured my first cup of coffee!
