School Days Morning Routine

 

We all have routines- whether they are intentional or not, we have them. I’ve had to work hard at making our routines to work for us, instead of against us.
Example:
Before I would wake up when I had to, often later than the kids. Scramble to get some food in them, run around finding shoes/gym clothes, backpacks and finally get them out the door running to make it to school before the bell rang. I did it the same every day- it wasn’t a planned routine, but that’s what I did- so it was the routine.
These days, after recognizing all that needs to happen in the morning and how to make it flow smoothly, I’ve learned to make what I do regularly help me. Mornings always go smoother if I wake up early enough to give myself a wide margin of time to work with. Because of this, I’m often able to sit and drink coffee and read devotionals before having to get the kids out the door. What a huge relief to not have to rush and stress about finding all the homework or shoes!

🌙 Night before:

✔️Make sure all lunch containers have been put in the dishwasher and dishwasher started. (This happens during my after-dinner routine.)
✔️Showers/baths for boys

🌤 Morning:

6:15 AM Daughter wakes/showers
6:30 AM Mom and Dad get up
6:30 AM boys wake/get dressed/make lunch.
✔️Make lunch
They make their own, the goal is to have it done and in backpacks before breakfast.
Lunch items: Veggies, fruit, beef sticks, cheese sticks, sandwiches, yogurt.
✔️Breakfast
We make large batches so we have leftovers for a couple of days- french toast, pancakes, baked oatmeal, rice pudding, etc. Other times we’ll have eggs, yogurt, granola & fruit.
The goal is to only cook breakfast 2-3 times a week, the rest of the days the kids eat leftovers.
My kids function better when they have eaten a hardy breakfast. Smoothies or cold cereal just don’t last long enough and all have a high metabolism, so hypoglycemia is an issue. Cold cereal is a treat we have on Sunday mornings.
7:45 AM everyone is out the door headed to school.

🚌 After school:

✔️Sort/sign papers. Put things back in the backpack. Hang backpack in their bedroom.
✔️Empty lunch bags put dirty containers in the sink and put lunch bags in the kitchen cupboard.
✔️Eat a snack, do homework, put it in the backpack.
I normally let the kids play for a couple of hours and then have them take the dogs for a walk. Then we have dinner and relax for the evening.
Want more? Read: What do I do with all the papers that come home from school??