For me, there are many joys in the back-to-school season: new school supplies (bouquets of sharpened pencils, anyone?), cool fall air, and, especially, the return to structure and routine.
But some school-year routines, like getting ready in the morning or doing homework, can be a challenge for our children. Many mornings consist of struggles, shouting, and tears as we hurry our children along to get out the door on time.
What if those morning routines were different? If they’re not peaceful and quiet, can they at least not be stressful?
With a bit of planning, we can transform our back-to-school stressors. I used to think mindfulness meant I could only “live in the moment,” and therefore not plan ahead and structure my day (kind of like perpetually being a “Dory” fish instead of a “Marlen” fish).
I’ve since learned that mindfulness doesn’t mean “not planning for the future.” It simply means that when I plan, I just plan. I don’t also try to fold the laundry and mentally run through my grocery list. As we enter back-to-school season, I encourage you to set aside a bit of time to plan how you want your mornings and days and evenings to feel this year, and how you can organize your time and create routines to help that happen.
Today I’m sharing with you some of the things we have done in the last week to get a jump start on our back-to-school routines, and hopefully tame some of craziness! I think the start of a new school year is a perfect time for making resolutions!
A Good Morning Begins…
… with a good night! I know this is the most basic of advice, but seriously, early bedtimes, outfits picked out the night before, and backpack/permission slips/school necessities packed up by the door are “musts” for my mornings to go well!
Wake-up Routine
My morning meditation routine sometimes gets a little thrown off in the summer, but during the school year, I get up well before my children, and spend at least 20 minutes in meditation. I love that I start my day with something that is just for me — I can savor my coffee, enjoy the silence, and write in my journal. It is a sacred time that gets my day off to the right start.
Morning To-Do Lists
I am a huge fan of to-do lists and charts. Depending on your children’s ages, you can have them fill in a pre-made chart (Erin Condren has really cute customizable ones!), or you can make your own. When my kids were younger, I had them go through magazines and cut out pictures of the different things they need to do in the morning. They glued the pictures to their charts, and then hung the “AM To-Do” lists in our kitchen. They knew exactly what they needed to do without me nagging them!
Homework Routine
I love this post by Shawn (the Abundant Mama) about making homework fun by creating a special homework space for kids.
Below you can see the desk my daughter set up for herself a few years ago, with organizers and school supplies:
I can’t say it ended all homework battles, but she loved having her own space to work.
After School “Routine”
After a long day of learning, socializing, following rules, and paying attention, kids need a bit of time to wind down at the end of the day. Before homework and activities begin, take some time for a snack, for coloring, for a short nap, for outdoor play, for easy conversation… for just being a kid and being a family.
Bedtime Routine
Even as our kids get older, bedtime routines for winding down and preparing to rest are important. Encourage everyone to go “screen-free” for an hour before bed. Work with your kids to create meaningful evening rituals (like this one my daughter and I practice). And I strongly encourage you, if it works with your schedule, to consider an early bedtime — research tells us it really benefits our kids (and us!)
Sunday Routine
Reclaim your Sunday! Don’t let the ticking clock on 60 Minutes signal the time to panic about the upcoming week! Reserve a bit of time on Sunday to plan ahead. I sit down with my hourly planner (I love seeing my whole week laid out in one spread), and take note of the kids’ activities, my schedule, and my husband’s events, and then plan out our meals for the week.
One thing I have always done to make mornings less stressful is to prepare lunches ahead of time on Sundays. Each Sunday I make 6-8 salads for my husband and I to take to work during the week. I also prepare snacks for the kids’ lunches. It’s so much easier doing it all in one batch!
Having these little things taken care of before the morning {water bottles filled, lunches and snacks prepared} makes it so much easier to get out the door in time!
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I hope you have a wonderful back-to-school season!
Do you have tips to share for back-to-school routines or making the mornings less stressful?
- A Mindful Approach to New Year’s Resolutions - January 13, 2020
- Just This Next Step - December 16, 2019
- WAIT: A Mindfulness Practice for Waiting in Line - December 9, 2019
