• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
The Gracious Wife logo
  • Recipes
  • Family
    • Love & Marriage
    • Parenting
  • House & Home
    • Kitchen and Cooking Tips
    • Cleaning & Organization
    • Budget
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube

Home » Family Activities and Ideas

How to Make School Mornings Run Smooth

Jul 14, 2017 · Leave a Comment

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Yummly
  • Mix

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

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!

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! Parenting Tips 

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?

 

Did you like these 8 Ways to Make School Mornings Run Smooth? Find more on my Back to School and Parenting boards on Pinterest!

If you liked these 8 Ways to Make School Mornings Run Smooth, you might also like

How to Get and Keep Your Kids Organized this School Year - 6 Easy Tips! Jump into the school year the right way by getting and staying organized with these 6 tips for how to keep your kids organized this school year for a happier, healthier year! Just what we needed!

How to Keep Your Kids Organized This School Year

 

What to do when your kids think the day starts waaay before you do. My number one sanity-saving parenting tip for starting my day off right with kids. | parenting | kids | organization

Why You Should Wake Up Before Your Kids

 

8 Easy Ways to Bond with Your Kids Even When You're Busy - Being busy isn't an excuse for not spending time with your kids! You can still bond and connect even with a hectic schedule, just check out these 8 Easy Ways to Bond with Your Kids When You're Busy.

8 Easy Ways to Bond with Your Kids When You're Busy

 

25 Non-Sandwich School Lunch Ideas - Learn how to stay out of a lunchbox rut! Be inspired to get out and stay out of a lunchbox rut this school year with these 25 non-sandwich school lunch ideas that your kids will love! These are great ideas!

How to Stay Out of a Lunchbox Rut

Never Miss a Thing!

Join our newsletter to get new recipes, tips, tricks, and tutorials every week!

Success! Now check your email to confirm your subscription.


There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.




 

« 20 Non-Sandwich School Lunch Ideas
Chicken Nacho Bake »
  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Yummly
  • Mix

Back to School, Family Activities and Ideas, Parenting, Special Days Back to School, Family, Kids, Parenting, Parenting Tips

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

Picture of Michelle Medlin, The Gracious Wife

Hello! I'm Michelle!
I'm a comfort food lover and self-taught cook with five amazing kids and a firefighter husband, surviving mostly on coffee. I love to create easy and delicious family recipes, and share creative family tips I've learned along the way.
Welcome to The Gracious Wife!
MORE ABOUT ME>>

Spoon taking a bite out of curried carrot soup in a black matte bowl topped with a drizzle of cream, red pepper flakes, and fresh cilantro with a bunch of fresh cilantro and a linen napkin behind.

Curried Carrot Soup

Plate full of pan fried catfish next to lemon wedges next to a linen

Southern Pan Fried Catfish

A spoon taking a large scoop of turkey tetrazzini from a casserole dish

Turkey Tetrazzini

A red stuffed pepper topped with melted cheese and freshly chopped parsley with a bite taken out on a small white plate next to a fork.

Crock Pot Stuffed Peppers

Sloppy joe with a toasted bun sitting on a small plate in front of a Crock Pot

Crock Pot Sloppy Joes

Italian Beef Sandwich topped with provolone and giardiniera on a black plate with a second sandwich sitting behind.

Crock Pot Italian Beef Sandwiches

More Favorite Recipes

What's Trending Now:

  • A corner slice of chicken pot pie with golden crust on a small plate with a fork with a bite on it, on a rustic wood background with a striped linen The BEST Chicken Pot Pie
  • Biscuits stacked on a black matte plate on a white rustic wood background Southern Buttermilk Biscuits
  • Chicken Gnocchi Soup in a white bowl with a rustic wood background and breadsticks in a white and blue striped linen behind it. Copycat Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup
  • Egg salad sandwich cut diagonally with the halves stacked on top of each other on a plate on a rustic wood background. Classic Egg Salad
  • Homemade mayo in a mason jar with a butter knife scooping some out, with lemons and an immersion blender in the background Homemade Mayonnaise

Footer

  • About The Gracious Wife
  • Contact Us
  • Copyright Notice
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclosure

You can find me here too!

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Disclosure

The Gracious Wife is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. All our thoughts and opinions are our own and we are not paid for or mandated to provide a positive review.

2022© The Medlin Group
  • Blog
  • Contact Us
  • About Us

Copyright © 2023 The Gracious Wife ·

59 shares
59 shares