Tips to start your school days off well

A morning routine for me can make or break my day. If I start it off right, I feel ready and energized to tackle my day. But, if I start it off wrong, I feel sluggish and unprepared for my day.
I tend to be pretty intentional about staying organized, but when it comes to our school days, I struggle a bit more. Because of that, I have to have a schedule for all of us, particularly a morning schedule. I know that we rarely stick to it perfectly, but it does serve as a guideline and backbone to our daily structure. As my children get older, I like to offer a bit of freedom for them to begin setting their own morning routine. All of us work differently, and I recognize that in my children. While some things in the morning such as breakfast, are at a set time, anything before that can happen in the order they prefer.

Here are two routines that I’ve used for our mornings:

(Our oldest was in public school for a few years, so I will be sharing how our mornings would look like during that season of life too.)
Morning Routine (when children go to school outside of the home):

Starts off the night before-
• Ensure that bedrooms are picked up, toys are in their place, and clothes are picked out. I can’t tell you how much picking out clothes the night before helped make for an easier morning.
• Bed time was firm – 8:00pm. Bath time was at 7:15 and teeth were brushed.
• Homework and anything that needed to return to school the next day was placed in the back pack and put by the front door.

The morning-
• Go potty
• Brush teeth
• Wash face
• Comb hair
• Get dressed, including shoes
• Make bed ( put pj’s under pillow)
• Eat breakfast,(when done rinse off plate and put dishes in sink)
• Grab their back pack and off to school!
Morning Routine (when children are homeschooled):
Again, it starts the night before.

• Pick up toys, and tidy up room.
• Bed time for us is 8:30/9:00

The morning:
• Go potty
• Brush teeth
• Wash face
• Put on day clothes
• Comb hair
• Beds don’t always have to be made, but all stuffies and blankets need to be put back on the bed in some sort of orderly fashion. Pj’s go under pillow.
• Eat breakfast
• Rinse off dishes and put into dishwasher
• Morning chores
• Ready for school lessons!

Having a routine means our mornings flow smoother, thus our days do as well. Do you follow a morning routine? How do you ensure you start your school days off well?