I've been doing some reflecting on school mornings, and the drama that can sometimes ensue in getting everyone organised and out the door on time.
I'm certainly enjoying the slower mornings during the summer holidays!
I thought I'd share my thoughts on how we can minimise school run drama ahead of the schools going back, so that you can think about any changes you'd like to make in advance.
As a single mum, I've not only to get myself showered, dressed and ready... but I also have two kids to organize (oh, and there's the dog too!). It's gotten easier as they're getting older, and I'm now working from home which also helps massively too, but I can still vividly recall the morning madness as I tried to get two toddlers ready for nursery on my own whilst simultaneously getting myself organised to go into the office!
There are some hacks that you can try however to get your mornings from chaos to calm:
- Plan your week on Sunday evening. I like to take an hour to look ahead at the calendar for the week on a Sunday evening. It allows me to address any conflicts before they become issues. This way you can also make sure that you've got time to make any arrangements for the kids if there are particular events at school (last minute World Book Day costume perhaps!).
- Get up before the kids. This is something I've only been doing in the last couple of years. I used to be a prolific snoozer, and would sometimes hit snooze 6 or 7 times before actually getting up and would typically only get out of bed after the kids woke me! Whereas it's so helpful for my mental wellbeing and readiness to get some time just for me to fill my cup. You can read more about my morning ritual here.
- Lay out clothes the night before, including choosing what you're going to wear. If there is ironing to be done, ensure it's done in advance so you don't have to deal with it in the morning... that always used to catch me out!
- Are there ways that you can use automation? I'm not talking robots, but for instance, I get my milk delivered from a local dairy on a subscription... so I know that I'll always have milk for breakfast. I had seen me in the past frantically texting friends to see if they could drop me off milk at night, or even popping to a neighbor to ask them to fill a jug for me in the morning!
- Wake the kids before they actually need to get out of bed. I've found that rousing the kids around 15-20 minutes before they need to wake is helpful. I go into their rooms, open their curtains to let some light in, and let them know what time it is.
- Put the clock forward. The wall clock in my kitchen has been set 10 minutes ahead of time. It helps keep us on track! The digital clock on the microwave is at the correct time... just to be sure!!
- Have everything you need by the door. I used to have two dedicated hooks by the door for each of the kids school bags, and we've a bench by the door that stores their shoes. We've also got an apothecary set of drawers in the hallway, and each of us has a drawer for our hats, gloves, scarves etc. In one of the drawers I even have a hairbrush with a few hair bobbles wrapped around the handle. This is for any last minute drama from my daughter if she needs to put her hair up! Thankfully it seems we will no longer need the drawer that houses all of our Covid face masks! I've got a dedicated dish where I keep my car & house keys too, so they're always to hand.
- Think about where items are stored in your kitchen. I've got plastic cups for the kids in a cupboard at their height, as well as plastic bowls and the cereal is in a cupboard they can reach. This way they can be taught to make their own breakfast.
- Have a planner/calendar on the wall. For kids that can read, I've found that having a daily planner and/or calendar on the wall that they can consult is helpful. I've got my color coded time blocked Google calendar, but they obviously don't have access to that. I sometimes forget that unless I put something on the wall they won't know what I've got planned. It's particular useful if there are any changes to the schedule - such as school trips or whatever that might impact the morning routine. My free digital planning templates are available here to download. I use a meal planner (included in my templates), and in the morning I'll consult what we're having for dinner that night and take anything out of the freezer if needed.
I did also ask my nearly 13 year old son if he had anything else to add to the list. This was what he came up with...
- To wake up sleepy pre-teens, you could perhaps suggest that they have a quick shower in the morning. This has been super helpful for my son, and he loves his morning shower with some of his favorite music playing too.
- Stick to a routine. If you follow the same routine every morning, everyone will be used to the order of events and this will also help things go smoothly.