Morning VS Night Back to School Readiness Week 4

Updated 6/24/2020: Back to school readiness launched in the summer of 2019. Since the 2019-2020 school year, many things have changed but the prep is still the same with some minor adjustments!

Welcome back to the Back to School Readiness Series. Hopefully, you are moving right along, and everything is coming together smoothly.

If you are new to the series here is a break down of what has been covered so far.

• The introduction includes the free printable checklist
  Week 1: Plan it out includes free printable planner and important date reminders
  Week 2: Get Organized the basics included free printable shopping list templates
• Week 3: Organized to the extreme included printable meal plan and chore list and much more

Now we move forward to week 5 and week 6 are all about getting your home ready this week we talk about morning and nighttime routines.

Habit #1: Create and Establish a Morning Routine

Start with you:

If you are up and ready to go and do not struggle with this just skip down to see tips for getting kids out the door.

For most people the morning is the time to hit snooze on the alarms named “Wake up,” then one that says “Get up,” then another that says “5 more minutes,” then one that says “Time is up Get up Now,” and finally you jump out of bed for the alarm that says “You Better Be Up and Getting the Kids Ready!” 

Yes, that used to be me.  Then one day I realized I was the cause of my own chaos and stress.  To be honest is caused too much yelling in the morning mainly from this mom and I knew I could be/do better for my kids.

We are in control of more than we think in life.  We can’t complain because we had a hectic morning if we stay up watching our favorite show, then slept through our alarms, we did it to ourselves.  So take this time to think of ways you can have a smoother morning.

Make a list of things that you can change up.  Some examples are:

• Make school lunches in advance
• Going to bed early
• Waking up on time (the first alarm)
• Get clothes ready ahead of time
• Buy a coffee maker that can be prepped and preset to make your coffee
• Prep on the go breakfast to save you time
• Try minimal makeup
• Even adjust your nightly routine so YOU get to bed earlier

Really this is about you and what your comfortable with! If there is anything you do that works that I have not mentioned I would love to hear your ideas so please comment below!

Let’s Talk Kids

There once was a mother who struggles every morning to get her kids out the door on time, not because she overslept or she forgot to pack lunch or she couldn’t find that one clean uniform shirt and skirt her child loved but because she was cursed with the case of the one missing shoe. 

Yes this was also me.

For a 3 month stent a few years ago, every time we would leave for school we could not find one shoe.  Didn’t matter the pair of shoes there was always one that we could not find. 

My fix after multiple breakdowns (me not the kids) is before bed every night all shoes had to be accounted for and laid out. There was no changing her mind on what shoes to wear after that.

Then as she got older and more responsible she was able to get herself ready in the morning, but I got a lot of what next mom or I forgot I was supposed to do that.

You know the age where they think they are big and responsible but they really have no idea what to do without directions, but you give directions and they get upset and are like, “I know mom, you don’t have to tell me every time.” Yeah isn’t being a parent great!!

That is when I made a picture flow chart for the morning.  I don’t have to get yelled at because I reminded them of something they forgot about but they will claim they didn’t forget about ( I hope that made sense), and they don’t have to deal with a nagging parent. Win-Win

Kids love structure.  Kids also like to be independent.  That is why I love this alarm clock.  It not only wakes her up but it also tells her the day, lights up, and has relaxing noises to fall asleep too. The only thing I don’t like is it runs off batteries, but that is just a small detail.

Make a list of things that you can change up.  Some examples are:

• Pick full week of clothes every Sunday socks undergarments shoes and hair accessories  included
• After kids brush their teeth at night lay out their toothbrush and toothpaste so it is ready to go in the morning.
• Designate a special place for the hairbrush
• If your kids take meds pre-measure and place in a pill box
• Have grab and go breakfasts ready to go in the freezer
• Have lunches pre-packed
• Have a separate water bottle for school filled and ready to go the night before
• Go through and get backpacks ready the night before (have a special coat hook for backpacks and coats)
• Make sure all documents from the teacher are signed and ready to go the night before (I place a special folder in the backpack where I place my signed documents so they don’t end up smooshed at the bottom of the backpack and forgotten about)
• Have special totes for classroom snacks so if it is your week to bring them they are ready to go, and save a grocery trip and try to get them during your weekly run.
• The best advice I was ever given was from a dear friend with kids.  She said 2 weeks before school starts get your kids started on the back to school routine. That includes both bedtime and morning routines.  This will help eliminate the shock and lag on the first day of school.  It really does make all the difference!

Habit #2. Good-Night Better Morning

Night time routine is just as important as morning routines.  The way the night went the day before will determine how your morning will go.  Create a night time routine that not only helps those kiddos unwind but also helps prepare for the following day is key to a smooth morning.

Just like during the morning routine I have a night time routine chart for the little ones.  Therefore I can get done what I need to and they know what I expect of them.

Make a list of things that you can change up to make your nighttime routine easier.  Some examples are:

• Regular bedtime
• Making lunches
• Making sure clothes and backpacks are ready
• Breakfast Ready (even if it is cereal setting it out on the counter with a bowl)
• Locating everything you will need (shoes, hairbrush, toothbrush)
• Prep Coffee
• Stories they will put them to sleep
• Restrictions from cell phones
• Sleeping lights
• Sound makers
• Oil defusers with nighttime calming oils
• Consistent bedtime routine
• For the little ones to keep the younger ones on track
• Documents signed for teacher

The small things really do add up so take the time to get those in order before bed and remember if your kid is in school they can help you out a bit so don’t be afraid to delegate the tasks.

How I made my graphic to-do list for Morning Vs Night

1.) First I made a list of tasks I needed her to complete every morning and every night.

Morning Ideas:

• Make Bed
• Brush Teeth
• Brush Hair
• Take Medication
• Eat Breakfast
• Morning Chores
• Feed Pets
• Get Dressed
• Go potty
• Shower

Night Ideas:

• Eat dinner
• Night Chores
• Get Back Pack Ready
• Show/bath
• Brush Teeth
• Story Time
• Homework
• Clean up
• Bed Time
• Take Meds

2.) I used Canva and created a horizontal layout of 8.5 X 11 (which is a standard letter size).

3.) Then I either use Canva to find clip art (their free option has a few free options), or I get online and look for free clip art. You can pay for some images too, just know if you do not pay for them you will have to keep the watermark on the image if it comes with one. If you do not this is considered copyright infringement and it is just not cool!

4.) Now drag the images to the order you like.

5.) Use the text option to add numbers, title, and descriptions (if you want).

6.) Print, then laminate and/or frame. Hang on the wall where they can see it. Now if they come up to you asking what they need to do all you have to see is look at your chart.

This years Routine Charts

All these small changes make a world of difference and can reduce your stress level each and every day.

If there is anything I have learned from changing up my routines is a bad night can throw off and set you up for failure the next day. Also, a bad start to a day sets you up mentally to have a rough day. So avoid these too things the best you can and your school year will be a heck of a lot smoother and less stressful.

Adjustments with Routine with Remote Learning

It is really easy to fall into the trap of we are home let’s sleep in and take it easy. Things will get done when they get done.

But! Let’s be honest by the end of the week you are stressed and panicking because that to-do list has just grown and grown. Every one in your house is overwhelmed and short fused.

I am not saying you have to have to same exact routine as when school was in full swing, because it just isn’t practical for most. However try to develop a new on.

For example we live 20 minutes from the kids school, the bus is here by 7 AM when school is in full swing. That means they are up by 5:45 AM. That is not practical if their remote learning online lesson isn’t until 10 AM. So we bumped their wake up call to 7:30 AM sometimes 8 AM and that gave them a chance to get ready for the day, eat breakfast, and get most of their work done even before their lessons.

Routine is key to staying on track and keeping stress levels down.

All Posts for Back to School Readiness

• Back to School Readiness: Introduction
  • Get your checklist
• Back to School Readiness Week #1: Plan it out
  • We talk about getting that calendar ready and organized for the year so you don’t overbook yourself or spread yourself too thin.
    • Calendar print out included
• Back to School Readiness Week #2: Basic Organizing
  • We talk about cleaning out the house of things you no longer need and ways to save money on school supplies and clothing
    • Detailed shopping list print out included
• Back to School Readiness Week #3: Extreme Organization
  • This week is optional. We talk about ways extra ways to get your life and house organized from building a command station in the house to meal planning even talking about getting your kids up and a week’s worth of clothing organized.
    • Meal Plan, Chore List, Design a Command Center print out included
• Back to School Readiness Week #4: Morning Vs Night
  • We talk about routines and things you can do to get your kids involved and organized.
    • A How to Create your own kid’s routine sheet step by step tutorial is included.
• Back to School Readiness Week #5: Home Ready
  • We talk about getting your home organized and ready. Whether it be for remote learning or homework there should always be a spot for school work and school supplies. Plus simple ways to make home-packed lunches easy.
    • Get some creative and delicious lunch recipes in this post
• Back to School Readiness Week #6: The Busy Cooks Guide
  • Who has time to cook!?! These one-pot one pan wonders are a mom’s dream come true.
    • Get all the simple delicious weeknight meal recipes in this post
• Back to School Readiness Week #7: School Ready
  • We talk final steps into the planning. Things you may have overlooked and missed.
    • Checklist printout included in this post
• Back to School Readiness: Conclusion
  • Here I share some tips and tricks to make the beginning and end of the school year special even if you can’t be there.
• SPECIAL BACK TO SCHOOL READINESS ARTICLE: The importance of staying on track with remote learning
  • This post is coming soon. I wanted to reach out to your parents on why even though remote learning is no walk in the park and our kids may be equally frustrated it is something WE HAVE TO DO.