It’s not easy to transition from summer to supermom. But busy mornings are expected when school season begins. Backpacks, lunch, snacks, bottles, books, assignments, hobby classes and more – mom/ dad, you can tackle it all from Homebase!
Create a bedtime routine checklist
A consistent sleep routine, results in an easy morning school run as kids are not tired. If you don’t want to nag and yet ensure that your kids get things done, then create a night routine checklist – here’s a sample:
-Take a bath
-Brush teeth
-Soiled clothes in laundry
-Put away toys
-Read a book
-Have a drink
-Hit the bed!
Lay out the clothes
Most kids take a while to decide what to wear. And then there are specific days at school with specific clothing like blue day, red day etc. So, it’s only best to apply your mind and plan out your morning wear each night. (And that goes for the mom’s/ dad’s clothes too!)
Meal prep each night
Or better still just pack all the lunch boxes and fridge it. It’s a lot easier in the morning to just pop them off and into their backpacks. Of course you’ll do that between serving breakfast and getting them all into their clothes. Meal prepping is just one big chunk of tasks and stress off the list in the mornings.
Wake up a few mins early
Yes, parents – a few mins early means a few mins to get the coffee into your system resulting in a calmer morning. And the early, is for parents as kids already stick to a routine! So, resist hitting that snooze button and get the wheels on your heels.
Create a get-out list and a get-out bin
A get-out list is a list of things you need to do or take along with you each morning – like car keys, house keys, phone, phone charger for car, COFFEE, scrunchie for mom’s hair, wallet etc. If these things are always in the get-out bin its easier in the morning. The phone is usually all over the place, but if you can get it to the get-out bin as soon as you wake up, life’s a breeze! And that scrunchie, I have rushed back into the house a zillion times to find something to hold my hair after waking up with my hair all over the place. Things like check the stove, switch off lights in the bathroom, don’t miss the bottle, lock the backyard are great for the get-out list. I stick my get out list on the inside of my door to the garage and the bin is right next to it.
Plan for the next day immediately
Plan the next day’s morning routine and lunches as soon as you get back home from school drops. You still have the morning run momentum and the listing and planning gets done quick. I’ve often found that meal planning after school pick up when the kids are home, is usually more stressful! And the day seems longer.