If you're anything like me, adapting to the new school routine has been a bit of a challenge and there has often been mornings where we are all rushing out of the door at the last minute, as I shout and the children run half dressed to the car. However with a bit of practice I feel we've got the routine down a little better so I thought I'd share how I made sure the morning routine ran a little more smoothly and we were all a bit less fraught.
Get Things Ready The Night Before
If your children have packed lunches, try and get as much of them ready the night before as possible. I also get the children's clothes out ready and try and get my own out too. This saves time rushing around trying to find a missing sock or pull clothes out of the washing pile. Also, make sure you have a look through the school bag as often there are letters that need returning and homework to have a look through.
Ensure Everyone Is Well Rested
Try and make sure the children are in bed and asleep to give them enough rest for the day ahead. Children of my two's age should average 12 hours sleep a night, so if they are up by 7.30 they need to be in bed and going to sleep by 7.30pm. Whilst bedtime can sometimes be a battle (a video on this coming soon!), for the most past the children have their lights out and are hopefully settling down to sleep by this time most nights.
Work Out Your Times
I know we need to be out of the door by half eight every morning to ensure Miss H is at the school gates in plenty of time. So with that in mind I then worked backwards figuring out how long each part of the routine will take to help ensure we are ready in time. It goes a little something like this:
Leave house at 8.30
Getting shoes and coats on and grabbing bags - 8.25
Brushing teeth & Miss H's hair - 8.15
Getting dressed - 8.00
Having breakfast - 7.45
Make sure children are awake and downstairs - 7.30
So having worked backwards, I need to make sure we are all waking up by 7.30am in order to give us enough time to be ready to leave without a mass panic at 8.25!
Try and relax
No matter how much prep you do, when you have children things happen that you don't expect. This morning my daughter cried her eyes out at having to get dressed, and other days my son can throw his breakfast all over giving me more work to clear it up. Getting shoes on can take forever and we often have coat battles about whether one is required. When you have a deadline of the school bell, it is easy to get anxious and start shouting, but at the end of the day five minutes won't make a huge difference. Making the morning routine more relaxed and fun will help your children start their day on the right foot.
What are your best tips for the school morning? I'd love to hear what works well for you!
