Routines
I have to admit I'm one of those moms who likes everything in order. I'm sure you know with a 6 and 3 year old that nothing is ever as it should be and the word "order" is the equivalent of a myth. None the less I do try to have some balance in my life. The ones I try to focus the most on is sleeping and waking.
Why you may ask?
I feel that both are super important. How you start and finish your day can determine everything.
If my little guys gets to bed too late he is tired and doesn't do good in school. Or if we are rushing in the morning I forget his lunch, coat or hat ect...
Bedtime Routines have always been a big part of my little guys life.
Our Routine consist of:
Bath
brushing teeth
PJ's
book
laying down
As soon as I say bath time my little guys knows what follows.
Now this year was my oldest first year of school and I was in for a bit of shock.
I thought school mornings would go easy....
I forgot I was not a morning person and having my alarm go off at 6am is not something I was use to. My little guys bus comes at 6:50 if you are wondering why we are up so early.
So for the first time in years I was the one who needed a routine.
It took awhile, but I finally got something down.
I get up at 6 am and start breakfast and make his lunch
Next I lay out all the things he will need
Coat
Hat/gloves
book bag
lunch bag
I do this all before he gets up, because once he is up the morning gets out of control.
It takes me around 5 minutes to get him out of bed. He goes to bed at 8pm every night. At 6:15 he already has around 10 hours of sleep.... So I'm not sure why he is always so tired in the morning.
After that we go eat breakfast.
Again I give lots of time for this since he complains and whines he doesn't want to eat. My oldest is a picky eater, normally I can deal with it... Not this early.
(Remember I'm NOT a morning person lol)
Breakfast is always horrible and it takes him about 20 minutes to eat.
We now have 15 minutes to finish up!!
After breakfast he brushes his teeth, washes his face and w/e else he needs to do in the bathroom.
As he does this I lay out his clothing so he can start getting dressed.
When he does this I get my youngest in his coat. He normally sleeps through this, which is fine with me I'm not ready for him to be up yet.
Once he is dressed we go to the counter where I laid out the rest of his stuff.
Since its laid out I never forget his hat, lunch or anything else :)
We drive to the bus stop since its down the road. Its still kinda darkish and PA mornings are COLD!!
After so many trial and errors and running things into school he forgot I think we finally got our routine down.
Oh and yes after the bus picks him up I take my youngest back home and we go to sleep for at least another hour or 2!
So if you find yourself struggling and constantly feelings rushed try setting out a routine. It may take a few days to adjust and you maybe even have to change it a few times, but I promise once you figure it out life gets just a little bit easier.
Next I want to get an after school routine. He doesn't have much homework now, but in the next couple of years I know he will have much more.