Morning Routine Hacks to help moms outÂ
As I may have mentioned I hate the school run! It is not so much the act of getting to school that irks me it is the whole morning routine. I am sure that many of you have it down pat, but in our house the clock almost certainly moves faster between 8:00 am and 8:30 am and the children certainly move slower!!
It is that old adage of more haste less speed…Â
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One of the major things I hate about school mornings is getting cross with my littles before they go to school. It is not good for me and I am sure it is not good for them either so to ease the tension I have come up with a few morning routine hacks that have helped our mornings to go more smoothly, reduced stress and meant we are on time.
9 Morning Routine Hacks that have worked for us
- Give the children responsibility for their things – we had cupboards installed under our stairs to maximise the usability of this space, but also to ensure that everyone has their own drawer. In this drawer they keep everything they need to leave the house; shoes, coats, caps and school bags. That way when I say put your shoes on there is no hunting around. They know where to go. It took them a few days to get used to always putting their things in their drawer, but they do it.Â
If you don’t have a staircase something you could instead use a shelving unit with storage boxes and have one for each child. Ideally you would want to place this in the hallway or as near to the front door as possible.
The point is simply to encourage your children to be responsible for their own things. There is no relying on mummy to gather everything together. Good life lessons here as well as time saving in this morning routine hack
- Prepare in advance – I get everything ready to go before I go to bed including asking the children to lay out their uniform ready to go and putting all the cereal and bowls on the table. This means there are no excuses about ‘I can’t find my socks’ etc…Â It also means that one child can start having their breakfast whilst I am perhaps getting dressed myself or helping their sibling.
- I don’t put out full boxes of cereal as then any knocking over accidents can result in a huge mess. Instead I use cereal storage boxes which I refill as needed. I also use a milk jug for the same reason. A 5 litre milk carton can really travel if knocked over..
- I am also a big fan of a breakfast smoothie as they can be made in bulk and in advance plus they are a great way of getting some valuable nutrients into my kids first thing without them even noticing as they taste so yummy! Serenity Kids have some great ideas for kid friendly smoothies
- Have a visual reminder of the things you need to be prepared for that day. I have a chalk board in the kitchen with each day and what the kids have on that day so I can quickly remind myself of whether I need to bring the PE kits in or not
You can make any surface into a chalk board with self adhes
ive chalk board paper. I have them in my kitchen for the activity planner and for the shopping lists. Click on the image to get yours:
- Once the littles come downstairs don’t let them go back upstairs again. They will disappear and get distracted or both!
- Dangle that carrot – if you are ready early you will be able to…. For us the best offer there is is to be allowed to go across the common on the way. It is longer so can only happen if we are on time, but they like to look for rats!
- Use technology to your advantage. If your kids can’t tell the time yet and you are happy for the TV to go on in the morning (I don’t mind as we don’t have it on after school very much and it helps to prevent them from getting distracted by toys…) then put the same channel on every day and make sure the kids know which programme means they must get ready. This basically works like a clock for those that can’t yet tell the time.
- If you don’t end up having time to have breakfast yourself try making a smoothie the night before.  That way it is ready to go, but you can also have it on the move
- If you have a front garden invest in a garden bike shed so that you can keep scooters and helmets outside. This was a game changer for us as it meant they had to go outside to get on the scooters – one step closer to school. Before that they were in the hallway and were just something else to play with instead of putting on their shoes.
- Finally if you find that they aren’t coming to the door when you tell them you need to go then show them that you are ready. I get my shoes on, get the girls in the buggy and go outside. I then knock on the front door and when they come to see what the knocking is about I say I am leaving now are you coming? Watch them move then when they think I am off without them…
Now I am not into showing an instagram perfect life (although if it were actually like some of the instaperfect lives I see then I wouldn’t complain) so I will be honest and say that this house is chaos and the morning routine is no exception.Â
These ideas have helped certainly, but there is no holy grail (unfortunately). Some mornings go like clockwork and I think ‘Wow, I have cracked it this time’ and then the next day it is as if I hadn’t introduced any fab morning routine hacks at all. Little people are just like us; sometimes they wake up happy and compliant and other days they wake up in a bad mood determined to be difficult. So we also need to give ourselves a break as moms and know that it isn’t always our fault if the morning routine doesn’t exactly go off without a hitch.
As parents getting children ready for school and managing the morning routine I guess we just have to roll with it and see whether we get nice or demonic kids each day, but by implementing these morning routine hacks you can at least give yourself a fighting chance of making the mornings go smoothly.
Great tips here, i used to dread school mornings especially when my daughter decided she wanted a fancy new style to put her hair up x
as a parent to 2 young kids i totally understand how difficult it is to get them ready in the morning. there are days which i totally struggle so these life hacks are a life saver.
I am always on the look out for hacks, especially to help me or save time! Totally agree on getting as much prepared the night before as possible!
I am all about getting as much ready as possible THE night Before! Our lot lay out their uniforms the NIGHT Before too.
Mornings used to be such a challenge and one of the things I love about home educating is we do not have that morning pressure any longer. Always good to have hacks and this post will helps loads of people I am sure. Popping over via Bloggers on thin ice
Some fab tiPs here hun i agree with dangling the carrot all the way through which is what i use he tv for lol!
Im terrible at beinG super organised! Some mornings im still ironing my work Clothes! Other mornings ive made sure everythings ready. So i could really use these tips ha Ha! I love the DraweRs and chalk board! #dreamteam
Oh gosh I am this same. This morning I followed by own advice and we were all ready by 7:30am but yesterday it was 8:30am and I wasn’t dressed thanks for joining the #DreamTeam
Outdoor stOrage is such a good idea for bikes and scooters! We’re def going to adopt tHis! #dreamTeam x
They are not cheap those sheds but I exaggerate not it has been a game changer. Thanks for joining the #DreamTeam
Back again via #DreamTeam – I thank goodness or used to they made those Weetabix drinks and the belvita biscuits for breakfast on the run
I thank goodness for travel coffee cups thanks for joining the #DreamTeam
Yes, I get it all ready the night before. Much EASIER that way #dreamteam
Having a routine is very important. #dreamteam
some great tips here. I do similar things now I’m trying to get the Tubblet off to secondary school on time. I’d like to tell you it gets easier but ..!
I can imagine that it’s harder – less enthusiasm more hormones! Thanks for joining the #DreamTeam
great tips. i am pinning this #DreamTeam
Thanks Claire
Oh the dreaded school run…..and im the teachEr! That was always the worse for me; trying to get my kids to breakfast club so i could get to work to prepare for othe peoples kiDs! We have to be out the door by 7.15am so it can be a challEnge. Great tips. #dreamteam
7:15am!!!! I would literally lose my mind. We can’t manage 8:35am thanks for joining the #DreamTeam
sOME GREAT IDEAS! i LOVE YOUR UNDER STAIRS DRAWERS – i NEED TO GET SOME OF THOSE. pUTTING THE CEREAL OUT IS A GOOD IDEA TOO. mY ELDEST OFTEN TRIES TO GET THEM OFF THE TOP SHELF, WHICH USUALLY JUST RESULTS IN OUR DOG EATING HALF OF THEM, AS THE PACKETS POUR THEIR CONTENTS ONTO THE FLOOR! #dREAMtEAM
They are awesome! Yes one of my daughters loves to pour cereal everywhere but in the bowl! Thanks for linking up with the #DreamTeam
Some great tips here, remember that planning isn’t just for tomorrow morning – you can plan for the weekend ahead, the one after that, your holiday activities and after school too. I’ve a similar post for dads on how to plan, and more on useful organising tips – just like the understairs boxes!
Thanks I will check it out
Oh I love the CHALKBOARd! I start this life in august… #DREAMTEAM
The chalkboard really does help. Thanks for joining the #DreamTeam this week
these are great ideas! even something simple like getting breakfast ready the night before. I could have used that one before becoming a parent
It’s great being otrganised: great tips!
(i don’t know why my keyboard is stuck in upper case: apologies!)
So many life hacks! Sometimes even though i know i’m prepared I can’t help but be all around the place in the morning because of the things that needed to prepare. Thanks for the hacks, Kirsty!
i love your tip about getting to the front door, then knocking on it. i might have to give it a go! that’s a surefire way of getting everyone moving. the bike shed at the front of the house is genius! thanks for being a brilliant host with us on the #dreamteam xx
THESE ARE SOME VERY GOOD HACKS, AND THANKFULLY, SOME WE ALREADY DO, MAKING LIFE IN OUR HOUSE SO MUCH BETTER. NOW IT’S THE CAMP RUN, NOT NEARLY AS BAD…. XOXO #DREAMTEAM
Thanks for joining us again this week #DreamTeam
Some great tips for the morning routine #dreamteam
Thanks for your comment and for joining the #DreamTeam this week
That breakfast prep is such a great idea. No more running around for spoons and bowls and fighting in the kitchen! #DreamTeam
Its like you have a camera in my kitchen as that is exactly what was happening
I’m dreading the morning school rush. I’m not keen on the early mornings being a bit of a night owl instead. #DreamTeam
There is nothing that motivates an early start like the scornful face of a headmistress #DreamTeam
We used to use the TV as a clock and it worked brilliantly but now they insist on their kindles. My older 2 are no problem but my youngest is such a slow eater that breakfast lasts an hour! #dreamteam
We have one at school & two at nursery but luckily the nursery drop OFF is flexible – it will be a different story when they’re all at school though! #DreamTeam
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