Yesterday Kara at Simple Kids shared some ideas from real moms on routines they’ve created at home to help things run smoothly. Along those lines, here are five ways I try to save time during the morning rush.
- Prepare as much as possible the night before. I know I’ve stressed this before, but it bears repeating. I pack as much of the lunches as possible right after supper while our daughters lay out their clothes and accessories for the next day when cleaning up before bedtime. If I’m really on top of things, I’ll even set the table and put non-perishable breakfast ingredients out on the counter.
- Allow enough “down-time” for your children to get themselves going. I used to plan out our morning so that our daughters went straight from getting dressed to the breakfast table to the bathroom to brush their teeth. I finally learned that having them wake up five to ten minutes earlier helped them not to feel as rushed and gave them a few minutes to just relax.
- Follow the same order of events each day. For example, every morning our girls make their beds, get dressed, then eat breakfast. In their often half-awake state, they know the routine and it helps them keep going from one thing to the next.
- Limit distractions. While I do have music playing most mornings, there is no television or other electronic device that could cause them to stop moving in the desired direction.
- Make things light and bright. While the girls start their day with just the lamp on in their room, I try to open up the blinds and turn lights on in the rest of the house to help get everyone awake and motivated.
These are a few ideas that work for us – most mornings anyway! And if you have a sweet husband (like mine) who often helps with breakfast clean-up, that’s a bonus! Do you have suggestions for starting the day well? Let us know what they are!Read Works for Me Wednesday hosted by We Are THAT Family for more tips and advice.
photo courtesy public domain pictures
Now if I can find a better way to get my kids moving then we'll be ok. LOL! 😀
Great tips! I definitely stress number 4. Growing up, my mom would let my little brother watch a little tv in the school mornings. It was awful trying to get him going and motivated through that. Distractions are a no-go! lol 🙂
Wonderful post! I really like #5, the idea of opening up blinds and making the house light and bright. I'll bet that really helps get everyone going and in a good frame of mind. When my kids were younger, one thing we did to make our mornings less stressful was I made a little chart of all the things they needed to remember: brush teeth, eat breakfast, bring trumpet, bring soccer clothes. That way instead of me feeling like a broken record and reminding them over and over of the same things each day, I could just direct them to the chart to make sure they were getting everything done.
Lynn,
I really like the idea of using a chart!! Anything that saves me from having to say the same thing day after day is great!
Great ideas! I'm going to have to take these ideas to heart next year when I have to get Julia out the door for kindergarten.
More great tips! I agree that you can't stress #1 enough. I'm also a big believer in #2 and #3. It's great to have a routine so that kids will know what to expect each day, and I think you always have to allow for a litte extra time each morning, because you never know when someone may be slow to wake or when other issues may come up.