Tips for A Stress-Free Morning:
The summer is winding down, even as parent’s gear up their kid’s school supplies.
Have you noticed how things can get a bit crazy?
Some parents–and kids–bemoan how summer just flew by while others are really glad to get back into the school (and kids out of the house) routine.
But the end of summer doesn’t need to mean the beginning of stress. With just a little pre-planning you can actually start the school year hassle free!
School Shopping:
Most class orientation starts mid-week. If you can shop on Monday and Tuesday, the stores won’t be as crowded as on the weekend. Then use the weekend–the earlier in the day the less crowded–to pick up any last-minute items you discover post orientation.
Food:
For healthier lunches, brown bag it. In fact, the family can all benefit by bringing homemade lunches. The trick? Make it a fun evening activity that you all do together the night before each school day. After dinner, and before clean-up, get the production line going in which each family member has a job making sandwiches or spooning up leftovers into containers.
Kids will learn how to make healthier choices, and learn how to plan ahead, and
this can be a great time to share spontaneous conversation about school, work, and whatever else comes up. Kids really enjoy working as a family. It helps them feel important and significant (esteemed) to be a contributing member of the family team.
Morning Routines:
Most families will agree that the most stressful time of the day is morning time when everyone is trying to wake up, get ready, and out the door on time. But what if mornings were FUN?! What if the entire family started the day stress-free? Add a few new habits and it’s entirely possible, and no one in the family will want to revert back to the “old way”.
During the weekend before school starts, decide on the morning routines throughout the week, with the whole family participating so that everyone’s on the same page. A good time to do this is over dinner on Sunday, or after kitchen clean-up and lunches are made. Kids like to know what’s going to happen, and it helps them feel important to join in on family plans, while it teaches them how to do this for themselves. Just imagine…everyone out the door and off to school and work without hassle and stress first thing in the morning!
Preparing the Night Before:
Lastly, have the daily wardrobe, and as much preparation for the next day, ready the night before. Yep…that means laying out the clothing for tomorrow, going through the schoolbags and homework, etc.,
Okay, so this does take a little bit of extra planning, but, if you try it for a week, you will be amazed at how much more time and less chaos is created for everyone in the family. So in the mornings, everyone only has a few things to do, and there’s now actually extra time to eat, and enjoy a few minutes together before everyone goes their separate ways for the day.
These are our tips…please share yours! What do you do during the school year to make sure everything runs smooth and stress free?
