As a teacher, I know what it is like when a child comes into the classroom upset. Whether it’s a student who is crying, one that is teary-eyed, or just plain upset. It is hard to get them focused, difficult to get them to interact with others, and almost impossible to teach them any new information. It takes a while, sometimes a long while, to get that upset child into the mode of learning.
As a parent, I know that some mornings it is a struggle to get everyone out the door on time, with all of their stuff, having eaten breakfast, and in a good mood. The struggle is real on occasion.
There, however, things you can do in order to try to make your mornings go smoother and get those sweet kiddos to school where they are ready to learn!
The keyword here: PREPARATION
You need to really do most all of these things the night before. I have found that the age of the child really does not matter either. High schoolers need to be prepared just as much as Kindergarteners.
1. Set clothes out the night before.
2. Know what they will eat for breakfast and have it ready the night before.
3. Have their hair brush and toothbrushes set out ready for use.
4. Pack a lunch the night before.
5. Have the backpack by the door, or in a designated spot.
6. Talk about your schedule just before going to bed.
7. Get in a routine.
Not only do the above suggestions make sense, they are things you can do tonight!
Something as simple as taking ten minutes tonight will make your morning tomorrow go much smoother. Having things set out and ready for the next day is a really small change to make in order to have a happy child that is ready to go to school tomorrow.
I have found it quite interesting that we tend to have diaper bags ready for any and all situations that may occur. We have extra bottles, snacks, clothes, and even toys. Something happens though, when we change from a diaper bag to a backpack. For some reason, we just forget to have things ready for the next day.
Odds are, you have thought of most of these already and even may be doing some of them already. One that may be overlooked is breakfast. Students need a good breakfast to get them going for the day. Knowing what that breakfast will be is key. Cereal and breakfast bars make it easy, but you can cook ahead of time and either freeze the breakfast or refrigerate it so that they can have a nice hot breakfast on those colder days.
One of the more important steps I think is talking to your child about the next morning: What time they will need to get up, what time you will be leaving for school, and what they need before walking out the door in the morning. Every age can benefit from this, as well as those who struggle with anxiety or changes. Those children, in particular, really need a routine.
Perhaps, the most difficult of all of the steps is simply getting in a routine. However, once you are in the mindset of doing these things on a regular basis you will actually miss not doing them. And, when you accidentally run out of time at night or forget, you will still be thinking ahead so that the next morning really is a bit easier than it would have been in the past.
Remember, you can make anything a “routine” if you simply commit to doing that one thing for one month. Doing the above seven things will make the rest of this school year go much smoother. And, if you start next school year with these in place from day one, then next year your mornings will hopefully be much less of a struggle.
Featured photo credit: kaboompics.com_Girl with backpack via Kaboompics.com
