Successful School Mornings in 5 Simple Steps

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As a new school year begins, so does the scheduling and so do the inevitable school mornings. Getting our lives organized is essential to getting to school on time and with all necessary items. And this my friends is no easy task!  I wish I had some amazing words of wisdom or even just some hope for you, but alas, all I have is commiseration and humor.

So here are the steps we follow in our house. Maybe your house looks the same?

School Mornings North Phoenix Moms BlogStep 1: Wake Up Children

If your house is anything like my house, then your kids sleep like angels until 7am on school mornings and are up at 5:45am on weekends. So how do you get those little sweeties up and at ’em? I prefer a gentle approach that quickly escalates. Open the door a crack. Open the door some more. Gently sweep hair off of faces and whisper “good morning.” Quietly open blinds. Stomp out of the room. Turn on light. Warn in a not-so-quiet tone that we’re going to be late. Commence physically removing rag doll children from beds. Threaten them with naps if they don’t get up right freaking now. Put palm to forehead when they ask why you yell so much. Inform children that they haven’t even seen your best yelling yet.

Step 2: Breakfast

You know what I love? Those amazing Pinterest posts about creative, delicious and nutritious breakfasts for kids. So step 2 is a snap; go to Pinterest, the grocery store and then wake up extra early to create said Pinterest breakfast and then spend 20 minutes force feeding it to your kids.

Step 3: Get Dressed

I have found that giving your kids a sweet printable checklist  or adorably decorated magnets with pictures of the activities they need to complete on school mornings is an excellent way to throw your money down the toilet AND it gives you another thing to scream about. Now not only can we repeatedly ask if they have their socks and shoes, but we can incorporate the checklist too! “Did you check item #3 off?” “I think there’s still a magnet on the ‘to do’ side of the board!” It’s an awesome way to add a layer of difficulty to the morning.

Step 4: Gather All the Stuff

Backpack – check. Lunch – check. Water bottle -check. Different water bottle – check. Uniform sweatshirt – check. Non uniform sweatshirt so we can fight about it – check. Teacher appreciation gift: roses in a vase that are sure to spill all over the front seat and my lap – check. Ridiculous art project involving items from the recycling bin that smells funny – check. Yet another fundraiser check – check. Then actually get all of these items – and your kids –  into the car.

Step 5: Transport

After all of the stuff is loaded, begin the process of strapping children into the car. Do the willing ones first, that way when they change their minds and decide that they too need to find and obscure toy that might possibly be under the seat in front of their sibling, it’s too late because they’re already hog tied.

Once everyone is secure, put on what you want to listen to. They will fight about what is on the radio, even if it’s the Frozen soundtrack anyway, so might as well have a few minutes of peace.

After the extraction from the car is complete and your little angels are safely into the hands of their unsuspecting teachers, sprint out of there. I prefer to do an arabesque on my way out the school gate. I find that it gives other parents hope that the misery that is School Morning is close to being over.

Happy new school year!

2 COMMENTS

  1. Hi Sarah! I found it on Amazon – it’s a Melissa and Doug: https://www.amazon.com/Melissa-Doug-Magnetic-Responsibility-Magnets/dp/B000NTZL7U/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1503348039&sr=8-5&keywords=chore+chart

    My kids will still use it – but sometimes the chart itself is a little more exciting than the chores 😉 Also not sure how old your kids are – mine are 8 and 4.5. The 4 year old was miserable at getting himself dressed last school year – and they wear uniforms! Something clicked over the summer and now it’s a snap. So if you’re people are struggling, it might just take a little time! Good luck!!

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