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Strollerderby
Back to School: How to Organize the School Morning Routine
Learn how to make back to school mornings easier!
Back to school time is fast approaching, and so is the realization that soon I will have to make sure I drag myself out of bed in time to get everyone up and dressed for school, pack those lunches, get the backpacks in order and arrive on time for the school day.
I’m already tired just thinking about it!
Abandoning my summer schedule of rising early-ish, but not too early, not having to get anyone ready for anything in particular, and schlepping to the pool to laze around for part of the day… well, it’s back to school is a tough sell.
I love getting back into the routine of things, but it’s also hard getting into that groove. Or, worse yet, we nail the routine the first week of school, only to have everything start to unravel in the subsequent weeks. Yes, I’m that mother running around in the morning looking for the missing sneaker or trying to help my daughter find just the perfect shirt to go with the perfect skirt.
We love The Stir’s list of five ways to simplify school mornings – there are some solid recommendations, especially the bathroom routine, since that’s where things get sticky in our morning routine.
Here’s my go-to list for making things run smoothly… feel free to add your tips and tricks for getting up and running for school every day.
Lay out clothes before bedtime – This is one practice we started last school year that quickly came undone, but having the kids pick out their clothes before bed eliminated the need to find certain items in the morning rush.
Prepare as much as possible the night before – Get the backpack contents in order and gather the food items that can be made ahead of time for the school lunches.
Check the weather – Be prepared ahead of time, rather than scrambling in the morning. Will the kids need rain boots or a coat? Just a sweater? A heat wave rolling in? Be ready.
Enlist help – Get the kids involved in making sure their homework folders are in their backpacks or get them to help out with packing their lunch. They get to make decisions about what goes in the lunch, plus you get a little help. Winning!
Have breakfast options ready – In our house, one of the bigger battles has been about what they’ll eat for breakfast. I like to tell them the night before what their breakfast options will be so there are no surprises.
For more tips for September, check out Babble’s back-to-school guide!
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1 Comment
mbaker commented on Aug 15 11 at 12:14 pmMy son has to wear a uniform 3 days a week so every Sunday when I do laundry I hang on a hanger a complete uniform including socks and underwear. That way all my son has to do is grab his clothes and get dressed.
Also, we have a 2 story house and my son’s bedroom is upstairs. I put a toothbrush and toothpaste in a downstairs bathroom so that he doesn’t get distracted going upstairs to brush his teeth.
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