How to Make School Mornings Run Smooth

Make sure your school mornings are quick, easy, and stress-free, with these 8 simple tips for how to make school mornings run smooth!

How to Make School Mornings Run Smooth

Can you believe that a brand new school year is looming ahead of us? For some of us this means rushed mornings while the kids scarf down frozen waffles, spend 20 minutes looking for their left shoe, and a whole lot of yelling. But, the good news is that school mornings don’t need to be hectic and filled with chaos or disorder. Mornings can be one of the bright spots of your day and a great time to enjoy the kids before you send them off for the day. Making School Mornings Run Smooth can happen if you keep some things in mind…

8 Ways to Make School Mornings Run Smooth

1. Get a good nights sleep

Instead of staying up late to catch the news, watch an earlier newscast or turn it on while you get ready in the morning. Save the Netflix binges for the weekend, and put the book down, too! And make sure the kids do the same. A great night of sleep is vital to a good morning!

2. Get up 15-30 minutes earlier

While pounding the snooze button a few times sounds like a great idea in the moment it will lead to chaos later...Get a head start on the day before you wake up the little ones to get yourself in the right frame of mind. Enjoy your coffee, read your emails, spend some quiet time, pray, or whatever you need to start the day on the right foot. This will help set the tone for the rest of the day and get everyone moving in the right direction.

3. Pre-make breakfast

Make up as much as you can ahead of time because getting a good breakfast is one of the things that makes getting ready in the mornings so hectic! On Sunday evening make pancake mix and store it for the week, precook bacon in the oven and reheat in the microwave, proportion individual bags of cereal, and cut up fruit. Keep healthy breakfast bars, muffins, and other grab and go items on hand for those really rushed mornings.

4. Create a command center

If you have the space create a landing spot for shoes, backpacks, and other school gear. A bench in the hall, a shelving unit in the dining room, racks in the mudroom, etc… Give the kids a spot to keep things they need before walking out the door in the morning, this will save you from morning scavenger hunts searching for a tennis shoe lost in the bedroom or finished science projects. After homework is done send the kids to hang backpacks up here for the morning.

5. Define your expectations

Make sure everyone is on the same page and knows what you expect of them (the kids and your spouse). Create checklists to keep everyone on task- have breakfast make lunch, brush teeth, get dressed, feed dog, etc...

My best piece of advice for making school mornings run smooth?

Do as much as you can the night before…

6. Check backpacks

Have everyone empty their backpacks right after school. A good time to do this is before everyone starts homework. Leaving this task until the morning (or on Sunday nights) leads to missed permission slips, progress reports, and rotten banana peels. Keeping ahead of the schedule will definitely keep the frantic out of your mornings (and the rest of your day) in the long run.

7. Pack lunches

I like to keep a lot of ready to go items in the freezer for making lunches easy. Pre-make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, meat and cheese kabobs, soup in individual containers, and other items. Get the kids to help put their own lunches together. If you have pre-made and store bought packaged items the kids can grab themselves, it makes it easier for them. Let them fill their thermos, choose a fruit, etc...

8. Lay out clothes

Check the weather report and the calendar first. If your child is able, allow them to pick out clothes for the next day, down to the the shoes. If the school has uniforms this will be an even easier task. No tearing apart dressers and closets deciding what to wear for the day 15 minutes before it's time to leave. For young children you could invest in a 5 drawer organizer or hanging shelf to choose outfits for the whole week.
What is your best tip for making mornings run smooth?

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