It’s back to school time! I know all my fellow parents are secretly (or blatantly) jumping for joy about the kid’s heading back to school. For us, school starts in a couple of weeks and I am anxiously awaiting the first day of school. Even though I am ready for the back to school hustle, I am not ready for the busy back to school mornings. These mornings generally consist of tears, threats and bribery just to get the school aged children out of the house on time.
If you haven’t check out my Back to School Essentials post check it out now to prepare for the back to school rush.
Tips for Busy Back to School Mornings
Prepare the night before
Prepare everything the night before. Pick out clothes, make lunches, and pack the backpack to be fully ready to head out the door in the morning. Since Hayden also does soccer in the fall, on practice days, I make sure that I have his gear ready to go after school as well.
Wake up earlier
This one for me is easy. Generally, I am heading into work and need to get myself ready before I get the kids up and moving. Plus, I also like to drink my cup of coffee in relative peace. This also works because I am all ready to go myself and have time to focus on getting the kids ready afterwards.
Earlier Bed Time at Night
This should be obvious. The earlier the bed time, the longer the child sleeps. This should lead to happier, easier morning routines right? Not always. Try to establish a bedtime routine, even in the later years, to help children get to sleep faster. For Hayden that means shower, brush teeth and he is allowed time to read. He usually doesn’t last long into reading before he is sound asleep.
Plan Breakfast
Have easy to grab breakfasts prepared ahead of time. The majority of the time, Hayden likes to have cereal, toast and yogurt in the morning. Other times, he prefers pancakes. Make a large batch of pancakes over the weekend and freeze the leftovers. That way, your kids can grab and pop in the toaster to make themselves on busy mornings.
Tip: to keep the pancakes from sticking together during freezing, lay them out in a single layer on a cookie sheet and place in freezer for a couple of hours. Then either individually wrap in plastic bags or place in layers on wax paper in a tupper ware container.
Prepare your Child
Sometimes, I need to prepare Hayden the night before about what to expect the next morning. I go over the time we need to get up, what time we need to leave the house, and even what the options are for breakfast, our morning goes much more smoothly.
Hopefully some of these tips help others take on their busy back to school morning routines. How do you keep your kids going on those early school mornings?
It’s so true. School mornings are always busy but I am enjoying it everytime.
These are all great tips on how to be more efficient in the morning, when you have a child who goes to school. Preparing breakfast ahead of time definitely helps with the time management.
Great tips! I really agree that preparing your child for the day ahead mentally is key. I always talk to my 3 year old about what he’ll be doing, where he’ll be going or who he’ll be with the next day. He then knows and nothing is a surprise and also gets him excited and looking forward to the next day. Thank you for sharing.
Glad I have passed my school days 😀 I’m not an early bird, tese tips are useful.
Great tips for parents who don’t want to scramble their way in the morning
All of us parents could agree that will help us. After enjoying a short summer and not ready for back to school. Your post does come at the right time.
I agree to these tips, as they are real saviour. Have tried them and the results are better time management and highly productive. Thanks for sharing.
planning breakfasts is awesome! helps me immensely!
Wonderful tips for parents for the first month of back to school!
Great tips. It’s always tough getting back into the school year routine, and this is really helpful advice.