Back to School Morning Routine
The holidays are over, and it's time to get back into the swing of things! Feeling a bit nervous about your back to school morning routine? Here are some of our favourite ways to conquer mornings and a couple of our social stepmom tips that will make your back to school morning routine a breeze!
Wake up Early
Waking up early is the most obvious step to making sure you and your kids get out of the house on time! We have all spent the past couple of weeks sleeping in, so start your back to school morning routine about 15-30 minutes earlier for the first few days until you get into the swing of things.
Waking up early is going to be your easiest key for success, and will undoubtedly set you up for a great morning.
SOCIAL STEPMOM TIP: Take this tip even further by getting up 15-30 minutes before your kids! Have a shower, make your coffee, get a head start on getting ready for the day before you wake up your little ones. Now you’re ready to go and can focus your time and energy on all the challenges ahead.
Plus, getting a head start on caffeine is always a good idea.
Prep it ALL the night before!
Save valuable time and a whole lot of stress by getting everything ready the night before.
Iron your clothes and set the kids clothes out for the next day, cook and pack all the snacks and lunches, make sure homework is completed and sign off on any necessary permission forms, get everything that needs to be in the backpack packed!
SOCIAL STEPMOM TIP: You are tired and your bed looks oh-so-cozy but it is extremely important to make sure you are prepped the night before. Getting ready the night before helps to avoid any critical issue that you might run into in the morning. Setting up your kids clothes might make you realize: there are no more clean undies! This is an issue that you can’t work around in the 10 minutes you have allowed yourself that morning because you did not prep the night before.
Getting ready the night before ensures that you are one step ahead of any challenge you might face!
Keep Breakfast Simple!
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, it is non-negotiable that we need to feed our babies before they head off to school so they can feed their brains. But a buffet of eggs, bacon, French toast, and pancakes is absolutely not possible or necessary on school days.
Think outside the box to think inside the box: if your children love choice, have an array of cereal ready for them to ‘choose’ between.
Giving them a choice between some of your favourite nutritious cereal options makes sure your kids are fed the way you like, and also gives them the autonomy they want!
SOCIAL STEPMOM TIP: If you loved our tip of prepping the night before, let’s get a little wild for a second and throw out the idea of prepping breakfast the night before. Sound too good to be true? Our incredible food contributor Michelle shared with us her incredibly nutritious, delicious, and quick vegan overnight chia oats recipe!
Be sure to check this recipe out so you can take one more step out of your routine in the morning and hit that snooze button one more time.
Make a Morning Routine Chart
A morning routine chart can help to teach your kids independence and responsibility. Customize this chart for each specific age.
If your child cant read, include images of socks, toothbrush, cereal bowl, backpack, etc. These visual cues will prompt your child to help you help them in the morning by doing whatever tasks they can independently!
SOCIAL STEPMOM TIP: As your children get older, this is a great place to include chores.
Make chores a part of their everyday routine. Not only is this going to help you out, but this will instill incredible habits that are going to set your child up for success in the future.
If at First you don’t Succeed, Try Again!
Stepmoms, let me be clear. There is never any judgment and failure is to be embraced!
If you have tried out your back to school morning routine for a couple of days and it is not working, do not get upset or frustrated. Take this opportunity to find out what specifically isn’t working for your unique family! This guide is only a blueprint, customize it and shake it up to suit your household! There’s never any competition or benefit to comparing your life to another person’s, so if you still find yourself running out the door 5 minutes late it is time to be honest with yourself and see what aspect you need to change.
No blog or influencer could ever come up with solutions better than you can, don't worry stepmoms-- you have got this!
SOCIAL STEPMOM TIP: Share your journey! If you're struggling with something, chances are other stepmoms are too.
Tag and DM us your experience with our back to school morning routine, and let us know what tips have been working great for you!
We love your feedback and have a very exciting community that is launching early 2019 for stepmom’s to collaborate, discuss, and help each other. Sign up now to find out more about our community COMING SOON.
