Getting Off To a Good Start on School Days
As much as we try, some mornings are disorganized and hectic with lost items, accusations, flaring tempers, crying or yelling. What can we do to avoid the chaos so that we can send our children off to school in good moods and ready to learn?
Look at the calendar - well before bedtime, make sure that all extra curricular activities as well as school programs are on the radar screen and the children involved are prepared for the event.
After supper, plan breakfast – unless your family has a rotating breakfast menu for the week, you should decide what the family wants for breakfast in the morning, and set the table accordingly in advance.
Lunch options, decide and prepare -for those who take lunches prepare them the night before. If the choice is peanut butter and jelly or ham and cheese sandwich, these should be made the night before. To keep bread from getting soggy spread the peanut butter on both slices of bread, or lightly butter the bread for a ham and cheese first before spreading the mayo and mustard.
Pack the backpacks – the night before have the children reflect, gather and pack all needed items for the following day; library books, items from home that are required for an in class project, permission slips, homework and textbooks and have the backpacks near the exit door.
Lay out clothes before bedtime – allow your children to choose clothes for the following day from within the parameters set by Mom and Dad for appropriate school attire. Make sure that items are laundered and ready well in advance for special days such as DARE or School Spirit Days.
Set clocks 5 or 10 min. ahead…especially the bathroom wall clock -this little trick works for many families, but others might prefer to have the children set their individual alarm clocks to awaken 5 or 10 minutes ahead of time. It is amazing how smoothly and calmly the mornings can go when you have those 5 to 10 extra minutes to get ready!
There may still be mornings you would like to forget, but practicing these time and mood-saving techniques will enable your family to begin most days calmly prepared, relaxed and smiling!
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