School Morning Routine: Love Grows Wild
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Welcome to my Back to School Series! I’m glad you are here. I’m so excited for this series. For the next two weeks I have great guest posts that cover many Back to School topics. You will get a little bit of everything here…tips to manage a schedule, school organization techniques, cute crafts and much more!
We start this series off with Liz from Love Grows Wild!
Hi everyone!
My name is Liz, and I blog over at Love Grows Wild where I share crafts, decor, recipes, DIY projects, and organization tips. I’m a big city girly-girl turned accidental country girl once I met my sweet husband and became a mother of two rough and tough little boys. I never pictured myself living in the middle of a corn field in Indiana with three boys, but I’m living the dream I never knew I had. You can follow me on Facebook and Pinterest, and I’d love for you to stop by my blog and say hi. I’m always working on new projects, and I love making new friends!
I am SO excited to be a part of Kelly’s Back to School Series! This time of year is always so much fun for my kiddos… new school supplies, clothes, teachers, friends. But for me, back to school means back to routines.
During the summer we have the luxury of not having a routine. We do what we want, when we want. But once school is back in session, getting through the daily tasks of school, homework, sports practice, dinner, etc. can be stressful and chaotic. But by finding routines that work for your family, you can get through the school year without a hitch!
One routine that keeps our life stress free is our School Morning Routine. When my oldest was in Kindergarten last year it seemed like every morning was spent hollering, “Are you out of bed yet? You can’t wear those clothes to school! Where’s your book bag? Eat your breakfast faster or you’ll miss the bus!” It was definitely not the way I wanted to send my sweet boy off to school. So this year I created a School Morning Routine Chart to help us get ready for school peacefully and on time!
Our morning starts off by waking him up 1 hour before his bus comes. Once he’s awake I set a timer for 45 minutes for him to complete his “morning routine”. If he gets everything on his list done before the timer goes off, he gets 15 minutes to play before his bus comes. If he goes over the 45 minutes, we still have time to get everything finished without being late.
I used glass beads to make a magnet for each task. Once he completes a task he moves the magnet over from the X to the check mark.
I laminated the chart so that everyday he beats the timer, I draw a star on that day with a dry erase marker. If he gets stars all week I do something special for him like ice cream or a prize.
TIP TO HELP YOUR KIDS:
Pick out your child’s clothes out the night before. It sounds so simple, but it saves so much time and so many fights in the morning! I use a Command hook to hang up their clothes for the next day.
TIP TO HELP YOU:
Set an alarm for when your child needs to go out to the bus. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve been all ready for school and then get busy with something and almost miss the bus. I set an alarm on my iPhone so I don’t have to keep checking the clock all morning!
My son actually enjoys waking up and getting ready for school now. It’s like a game to him to see how fast he can get everything done! And my favorite part is how much responsibility he is learning. He sees what he needs to do on the chart and keeps track of how much time he has left on the timer. I no longer have to remind him constantly or yell. This routine has made for MUCH happier mornings!
A HUGE thank you to Kelly for letting me kick off her Back To School Series! I hope my routine has given you some good ideas to make your mornings a little happier.
Don’t forget to stop by Love Grows Wild sometime and say hi! I’d love to hear what routines you use at home! And make sure you stay tuned for all of Back To School Week… (hint hint) There may be a second School Morning Routine Chart waiting for someone : )
This is a really great idea, especially the timer both on the fridge and on the phone. I have 5 to get ready and the older ones (in high school) are worse than the babies!
I love the little chart! so very cute. And Mel is right, the high schoolers are worse than the small ones LOL They never want to get out of bed. My kindergartener is up first and dressed and ready to go before anyone else gets breakfast 🙂