Is your school morning routine getting you down? Are you fed up of rushing around, desperately trying to shove everyone out of the door to get to school and work on time? Then it’s time to take a step back and create a brand new school morning routine that works for the whole family. Here are our 5 Ways to start making your mornings worth waking up for again.
Read our school morning routine story here.
5 Things to Do to Change Your School Morning Routine
1. How Much Time Do You Need?
Let’s be realistic here. Time is a fickle thing and always runs quicker when you are in a rush. So take a moment to work out how much time you actually need to get ready for the day. Break it into the following categories:
Waking up – the time you need to fully wake up and start functioning properly
Adult transformation – the time it takes you to transform from a bedtime caterpillar to a daytime butterfly.
Breakfast – How long does it take to feed everyone?
Day Preparation – What do you need for day? Lunches, school bags, PE kits, homework?
Kid transformation – Depending on their ages, will depend on how much time you are involved in this process? But even if they are older, how long are we talking here?
Leaving the house – Don’t underestimate how long it takes children to find one pair of shoes.
2. How Much Can You Do Ahead of Time?
If at the end of step 1, you’ve realised that you now need to get up at 3am every school morning, don’t panic. That is not what I’m suggesting you do.
Simply ask yourself, what can be done the night before? Here is a list of a few things that can easily be incorporated into your evening routine that will save you major stress in the morning.
Pack school bags ready for the next day
Make everyone’s lunch and store in the fridge overnight (if safe to do so)
Place school shoes, coats and bags by the front door
Plan and lay out everyone’s outfit for the next day
Agree with everyone what time everyone needs to leave the home the next morning
Highlight to other family members any pressure points that may affect you the next day– like early work meetings, school activities or other appointments.
3. Who Is Able to Help?
As your children get older, it’s a group effort to get everyone out of the door on time. Lives become busier and more complicated. So, we need to be sharing the visible and invisible load of the school morning routine.
By spreading out some of the work to the night before may mean that there is a extra pair of hands who can help with the gathering of uniforms, homework and bags.
Get your children involved as well. Teach them to take responsibility for their own school possessions and getting their things ready themselves. Talk to them about the time you all need to leave and what needs to be done before that time.
You could even give everyone a small task to do before departure time that will ultimately save the whole family time and energy – like unloading the dishwasher, opening or closing curtains, filling water bottles etc.
4. How Can We Make It Fun?
Children work better when they are able to play. Heading off to school may already be a stressful or unhappy event so finding ways to help them laugh in their school morning routine will bring everyone’s stress levels down.
How can you incorporate movement and constructive play into their morning routine? Here are a few games you can think about playing to lighten up your morning routine.
Morning cuddles – try and find a moment each morning to hug your child and say good morning properly. For some children this may lead to some safe rough-and-tumble play and that is good too.
Getting Dressed Jumps – For younger children it can be boring to get dressed in clothes that they haven’t chosen themselves. Between each item of clothing, get them to jump up and down or strike a funny pose. Join in if you can as movement is great way to help everyone regulate for the day ahead.
Balancing Teeth – Can you balance on one foot while you/they brush their teeth? Just remember to get their teeth cleaned as well.
If competition is not going to cause meltdowns or distress, then races are not a bad way to help focus the mind on achieving things like getting shoes on or finding coats and bags.
Who can laugh the loudest? – Can you laugh the loudest as you head out of the door? A little bit of laughter at the start of the day can give everyone a boost from the start.
5. Share Your Story
The school morning routine comes with a range of challenges, depending on the needs of your family. And as each family is unique, so your morning routine needs to be tailored to your needs. But that doesn’t mean sharing your story won’t be helpful. Mums, dads, grandparents all have their own morning routines and will have a wealth of ideas to share that may or may not work for your family.
You can also contact your child’s school if you are struggling with getting them to school on time and see what family support they offer.
School Morning Routine to Get You On Time Every Time
For some more help on getting out of the door on time, click here.
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