Thank you all for your ideas and general support for my disorganization issues last week. Well, I told you to send me your own organization issues and I had requests for help in one area over and over again – morning routines. I received requests for ideas for making school day mornings more organized and less tense.
Mornings have traditionally been something that we have really struggled with. Sarah and I are definitely NOT morning people and when the two of us both get in our grumpy morning moods, it can be ugly. Last year, Sarah started school at 9:00 and I think we made it to school on time about 6 times. This year, we have to leave the house at 7:40, so I was very worried all summer about how it would go. About 4 weeks before school started I sat down and figured out a new morning schedule for our family, and by the grace of God it has worked out beautifully.
After you all gave me such wonderful tips last week, it's time for me to share some. When I say "by the grace of God" our mornings are working out. I literally mean it. This summer I started getting up before the girls to spend a half an hour reading the Bible and praying. Now with school in session, I get up at 5:50 and spend 30-40 minutes each morning reading Scripture and praying. Through feeding my soul before I wake the girls, I am equipped to wake them with patience and a smile. It has made all the difference in the world (thank you Joanne and Cindy!) There are a few things that I do the night before that helps our morning run smoothly as well.
- Clean out the backpacks: Every afternoon I clean out the girls backpacks, put in whatever needs to go back to school the next day, and set them by the door.
- Pack the lunches: I pack everyone's lunches before I even make dinner. I normally do it while the girls are having their afternoon snack. I find that if I put it off until after dinner, it just doesn't seem to get done.
- Lay out the clothes: I lay out my clothes as well as the girls before we go to bed. The girls know that the first thing they need to do when they wake up is put on the clothes that are at the end of their beds.
- Fifteen extra minutes: When I figured out our new morning routine, I added 15 minutes to give us a little cushion each day.
Everyone had such great ideas last week, I can't wait to hear how you get your families out the door each morning. Keep the ideas coming. They are great!
11 comments:
I am totally with you on your ideas. Next entry needs to be what you pack for lunch because unless I do chicken nuggets(yes I do) I think everything is nasty if I pack it the night before.
I can accomplish all things after my nice hot shower. It kind of helps that I have two little boogers who wake up early and are happy about it.
I also:
*make the coffee the night before so I only have to push a button.
*set the breakfast table the night before.
*read to the girls at breakfast. No fighting or complaining or moaning that it's early because they are too engrossed in whatever book we're reading.
Joanne
great ideas.
When do you get a shower?
As a mother, grandmother, and an educator I agree 100% with your ideas of getting ready for school. As an educator we told parents many, many times to get ready the evening before and have the backpack by the front door. Another important "idea" is to have your "organized" morning arranged so that you will get to school "on time". Thank you.
we're grappling for the first time with two different schedules. this morning eric took grace to preschool and i hung around with jackson until it was time to go to the bus. simple divide and conquer attitude but it makes ALL the difference. don't think it's something i can get to happen every day. usually i have to judge the time frame and either drag jackson to drop off grace which makes that twice as long or we have to wait and i'll take grace after the bus comes which just sets back my day 1/2 hr.
but i have no secrets for making the morning more "organized" except for having an EXTREMELY early riser. there's no sleeping in in this house. oh, that, and buying lunch in kindergarten! i'm still adjusting our dinners since we know don't need leftovers to feed all 4 of us. buying lunch was nicer than expected (and my cafeteria director MIL is pleased too!)
Our morning routines run pretty smoothly, thank goodness. I had to do some tweeking, but we're pretty set already. Every afternoon before I pick up Sophie from school I pack her lunch and morning snack. If I have time before bed, about twice a week I will prepare either Farina like my MIL does or Bob's RedMill Oatbran. These two hot breakfasts can take about 15 minutes each, so if I wait until the morning, I start stressing. I put them into containers and in the a.m. I warm them in the microwave. I know at least a couple of times a week they get a warm breakfast. After we arrive home from school each day, one of Sophie's responsibilities is to choose her chothing for the following day, all the way down to her shoes. She has a sock and panty drawer, a shoe drawer and in her closet on the bottom rung, is all of the clothing which is acceptable school attire. She knows that she can mix and match anything on that row to complete an outfit for the following day. I also choose Lucas' clothing and put everything in my room. Why, because they sleep with me! 8-) Anyway, I digress. I awake in the a.m., take the dog out, get myself together, wake up Sophie and Lukie and the TV doesn't go on until for Sophie until she's in movement. So far this year, we haven't been late once and we have about a half hour drive which with construction can be very unpredictable. So far so good, but would love to see others' tips.
I'm with Manya, we've had a week of PB&J, thank goodness her school allows peanut butter. What else do you pack?! I shouldn't worry too much, I think my little chatterbox talks her way through lunch, because 80% of what I pack comes home in the lunch box ;)
For lunches I will cut up cheese and send with TLC crackers and carrots....a ham and cheese sandwich with carrots and apples, mac'n cheese in a thermos, pbj or pbbj (peanut butter banana jelly), edamame, lettuce and carrots and a dressing for dipping, soup, nuggets, balogna sandwich. I rarely send chips or that sort of food, but if I do, I only send about 4 pieces. She'll eat instead of bread for sandwiches, we do tortilla roll ups. She'll eat cucumber and dip, broccoli, and sometimes I'll send the night before left overs. I'm drawing a blank as Lucas is screaming. Bye
Like you, I was worried all summer about getting ready for school and getting out the door on time too! We have managed to make it without stress most days. I am an on time person...I hate to be late! But that only feeds into my yelling at the kids to get out the door. Instead, we have been getting up earlier and having a little time before we HAVE to be out the door. Isn't life great when you wake up early and dig into God's Word first thing? Love it!
I am new to your blog...and love it already!
Kara (karapritchett@charter.net)
i really do see how getting up earlier and praying would be helpful but I just don't think I could do it. I can barely drag myself out of bed as it is. i'm trying to find a way to work morning prayer time into our routine... i'll let you know if i figure it out!
Post a Comment