How To Create A Stress-Free School Morning Routine
Learn how to create an efficient morning routine for your family that WORKS.
Mornings can be the WORST! Not only do you have to make yourself presentable to the world, but also round up children that are tired and too resentful to listen and get dressed in a timely manner..and then you’re always late anyway! This is where a daily family routine comes in super handy.
Is morning a crazy hot mess, where you are just trying to get out of the house on time from the moment you wake up to the moment the door closes behind you and then end up being late anyway?
Well, it doesn’t have to be this way. I haven’t always been a stay-at-home mom, in fact when writing this blog post the first time around, I was working full time. I had to nail down a morning routine and to-do list so we can have an efficient happy morning every day. I was able to simplify our lives and wasn’t such a grumpy yelling mess first thing in the day.
A messy morning can leave me frustrated at work before I even started working, and honestly, don’t do well for the self-esteem of my kids either. How can they be confident in themselves when I just spent the entire morning yelling to get stuff done?
I also noticed that my kids were more likely to complete their tasks when I was speaking to them in a nice calm voice and laid out all the expectations in a clear manner the night before.
You don’t need to a hot mess morning, even if you have kids. Follow my tips, maybe you can start to have beautiful mornings from now on too!
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Starting Your Morning…The Night Before
Hands down, the best way to get a simple morning routine off the ground is to hone in your nighttime routine/habits. If you can plan your morning ahead in the evening, you can save many minutes in the morning and make your morning more productive. the evenings can save you from being behind all day the next day.
Get All Clothing Ready
It’s important to layout your clothing the night before. This includes underwear, socks, and accessories if you need them. Make sure the kids pick out their clothing too! If you have your closets organized like mine, your kids should be able to keep their drawers neat when picking out clothing.
For your own clothing momma, you can even pick out your outfits for the whole week on Sundays to save time each evening. I tried this method for the kids but was unsuccessful. Things got messy and I ended up with more laundry than I needed.
Since the clothing is all picked out, they know what they are going to wear and there will be no fighting about Superman or Batman shirts before anyone is even awake enough to comprehend the problem.
Pack Up Food
Just like picking out clothes the night before, I make sure everyone’s backpacks, daycare bags and mommas purse are all packed up for the next day. This includes lunches and snacks for everyone.
To make this process super simple, I have snack bins in the fridge and pantry and I let the kids pack their own lunch boxes. I initiated this process when my Kindergartener was coming home complaining every day that I didn’t put the right things into his lunchbox. Sorry kiddo, I didn’t realize you wanted an apple instead of a banana and your day was ruined….am I right?
Put All To Go Items By The Door
There is nothing worse than having kids who are ready to go and you can’t find your bloody keys.
KEYS, they always go missing at my house. Even with a little key bowl that’s too high for the kids to reach, the keys never make it in there…what gives?
So to make life easier, I always make sure to have my keys readily available for me to grab in the morning.
With backpacks packed up and purses ready to do, all that needs to happen in the morning is get dressed, eat breakfast and put lunches into bags. Then we can go!
The Actual Morning Routine Before School
I understand that with kids, every school morning can be a little different. Somedays the kids are super tired and drag their little butts, and others they are up and ready before I even get MY butt out of bed.
It’ll take you a few days to really figure out what takes a long time in the mornings and if there are tasks you can eliminate from your routine.
My best morning start like this:
- Wake up 15 minutes before the kids and get dressed and ready
- Wake kids up and help them dress with positive affirmations and no rushing
- Make some simple breakfast and put lunches into bags
- Warm up the car (we need run the car for about 20 minutes on -30 days!)
- After breakfast and brushed teeth, help the kids get their “gear on” (Winter coats, snow pants, hats, gloves, boots) or in the summer, sneakers. (I love summer, I’m writing this post in January is its CCOOLLLDD outside )
- Pile into the car and leave the house. I set an alarm for the time I need to leave my house so when the kids hear it and we are still at home, they know they need to hurry up.
If you noticed, I didn’t write down “Play on the phone” or “Check Facebook” on my productive morning.
If we have extra time while we wait for the car to warm up or the kids simply got dressed and ready to go 15 minutes before we had to leave, then I’ll pop onto the computer or play on my phone. Other than that, I have a strict no phone, no TV, no computer rules in the morning.
I do however allow time to dance in the mornings.
That’s right, we groove to children’s music (usually Blippy Firetrucks) I won’t link to it, in case you have children nearby…because once they hear it, they will keep requesting it. But you can youtube it when you’re in the safe zone. Music gets my kids energized and ready to take on any adventure in the morning. And plus it’s a good way for mommy to wake up a little more too.
Getting The Kids Onboard With The Routine
Sometimes it can be difficult to get the kids to cooperate with the routine I set out. It took me a long time to put this together, but once I did, our whole morning (and evening) routine changed.
Easy Breezy Morning Routine
I hope this article was able to help you figure out some sort of a routine for your own household. I know that not everyone can follow the same routine as I have because we all happen to be different human beings. Thank goodness for that, otherwise, life would be so boring.
If you have anything that you do to keep your morning chaos free, tell me about it!
More Routine Articles To Read
- Things Productive And Happy Moms Do In The Morning
- Best Sleep Clocks for Toddlers
- Weekly Kids Chore Chart Template (Free Download)
- The School Night Ritual That Will ensure Your Kids Are Well Rested
- 1 year Old Schedule Daily To Make Life Simple
- The Importance Of Quiet Time For Kids
- Tips To Create A Bedtime Routine For Toddlers
- After School Routine For Kids To Manage Meltdowns
- How To Create A Stress-Free School Morning Routine
- Brilliant Ideas To Get Kids Excited About chores
What You Should Do Next:
1. Subscribe To My Parenting Newsletter
Sign Up For My Parenting Newsletter for tips on creating a happier home and becoming a more positive parent. As a bonus when you subscribe you’ll get a copy of my FREE Growth Mindset Printout For Kids which is the KEY to raising resilient kids with a growth mindset.2. Register For A Pretty Awesome FREE 60-Minute Class:
Register for a free class called GET KIDS TO LISTEN THE RIGHT WAY; an exclusive FREE class from nationally recognized parenting coach, Amy McCready.3. Sign Up For A 7 Step Positive Parenting Course
Enroll now in the most in-depth parenting class. After discovering these common sense, easy-to-implement, research-based tools you can learn how to:- Easily get kids to listen – the FIRST time. No yelling or reminding…not even once!
- Put an end to daily power struggles. Bedtime became a breeze, and all the dawdling, chore wars, sibling rivalry, and mealtime meltdowns disappeared.
- Reduce backtalk by HALF! It’s simple once you know the secrets of these two ‘buckets.’
- Say goodbye to punishments that DON’T work. There’s a 5-step formula that works WAYYY better than time-outs.
- Feel amazing, confident, and empowered as a parent, every day. I NEVER go to bed feeling guilty anymore! (Okay, well maybe sometimes…’ mom guilt’ is still a thing.)
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- 7.Becker DR, McClelland MM, Loprinzi P, Trost SG. Physical Activity, Self-Regulation, and Early Academic Achievement in Preschool Children. Early Education and Development. December 2013:56-70. doi:10.1080/10409289.2013.780505
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I think the key is being organized and prepared for a successful school morning routine
Our school mornings are complete chaos. I’ll be taking your stress free school morning routine tips into high consideration
Great tips on how to create a school morning routine