On school days, we need to be out of the house every morning by 7.25 to get the children to breakfast club by 7.30 and then me to work by 8.00. If we’re late leaving then I’m late for work and I can’t afford to be late because I need to leave dead on 2.30 in time to get back to the school by 3.00 to pick them back up again.
This means that we can’t afford any delays or last minute traumas so our mornings have to go perfectly like a military style operation and the preparation for that starts straight after school the day before….
- Straight after school uniforms are taken off and laid over the back of a chair in the dining room.
- School shoes and coats are put away.
- Book bags and packed lunch boxes have their own places too and they are brought in from the car and the kids are expected to put them straight there.
- On a night just before we go to bed, Mr Frugal makes the packed lunches and puts them in the fridge ready for in the morning and I check the school uniforms are OK to be worn another day. If they’re not, I have enough shirts etc that I can just get a clean one and add the dirty one to the wash where uniform is washed once a week at the weekend.
- I also do a book bag check (see below).
- I get up first and have a quick shower.
- I choose my clothes and then go downstairs to dry my hair and put some make up on. On the way downstairs, I wake everyone up and by the time I’m done drying my hair they’re downstairs all washed and brushed.
- The kids get dressed and bring their book bags and packed lunch bags in to the living room.
- By this point I’m ready so I do Miss Frugal’s hair and we’re just about ready to go.
- I check book bags on a night for any school forms, party invites or anything I need to know about.
- Any important dates on school letters are added to my diary / kitchen calendar.
- Any forms that need filling in are filled in straight away and put straight back in the book bag.
- Any party invites are taken out and stuck on the front of the fridge until the next day when we reply either way and add the dates to the diary and calendar.
- I hate when people don’t reply to party invites or when they say they’ll come and don’t so I make sure that I never do that.
- As I mentioned above, the invites are taken out of book bags and stuck on the front of the fridge. I make sure that we’re free and that the kids want to go before replying.
- I then add the details of the party into my diary and calendar and note the contact number (if there is one) in case anything happens that means we can’t go closer to the time.
- I buy presents whenever I see something on sale and keep them until we need them – I have about three ready to go right now! I also have a couple of cards and wrapping paper ready to use.
- I check homework on the day it’s issued and although we have a week to do it, we usually start it that night and if we don’t get it finished, we’ll finish it on Sunday night before baths.
- I try to make homework more interesting and we usually do more than is necessary. For example, when Miss Frugal was doing about a certain subject last year, we used Youtube to watch a video of the event to bring it alive a bit more. We watched news reels from the news reports from that time and interviews with the people involved. We didn’t really do much more as far as the homework itself was concerned but we learned more ourselves and it brought the subject to life a bit more.
- Reading is done before bed every night and a couple of times a week, one of them reads to me while I’m cooking tea but if they don’t want to read or don’t feel like it then I don’t do it as I feel very strongly that children should enjoy reading because they want to read and not because they’re told to.
So that’s what works for me, it might work for you too or you might have your own ideas but the main thing about being organised is having a bit of a routine so you know who’s doing what and when 😉
Do you have any tips to share with me?
<div align="center"><a href="http://www.catsyellowdays.com" title="Yellow Days" target="_blank"><img src="https://jbmumofone.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Parenting-Pin-It-Party-Badge.jpg" alt="http://www.catsyellowdays.com" style="border:none;" /></a></div>
You are the opposite to me- my schedule is a little more chaotic! http://mymumdom.com/when-alarm-clocks-fail/
I am fine with the youngest, but oldest has just started high school and we're having to find a balance between him being responsible for getting himself ready (making sure he has his PE kit on the right days and that he's got his phone/pencil case/etc) and him being absolutely useless in the morning. Every school night I ask "have you got your stuff ready for tomorrow?" and even though he answers "yes", there's always something he's forgotten about!
Lots of great tips. Thanks for joining in the Parenting Pin it Party
Brilliant tips! I totally agree with going through the book bags. Everything goes on the calendar and if its on the calendar – it happens!!
Great tips, this makes me feel it can be smooth if you are organised! Esp like the tip about actually writing down party invites in the diary – enough said! I am hoping mine might get a bit more independent this year about organising their stuff. For little ones I am told getting them to make a list of tasks and pictures can help them stay on track and reduce nagging.
You're good. I need to be more insistent about the after school prep aspect of the routine. We do ok, and GG does 10 minutes piano practice before we leave too, but there is often a shouting match at 8.30 when we discover someone's forgotten something!
You basically described my life but without the nagging to eat breakfast and instead you get a shower – looking forward to that one.
Also meal planning can help a great deal – especially if I need to take something out of the freezer. But guess that is more to do with my afterschool activities than school itself.
Sounds like your routine is pretty similar to mine. I can't think of anything else to add. Mich x
Blimey that's an impressive routine. I start the year pretty organised but it all tends to go pear shaped as I get tired through the term.
So impressed! Our school it literally across the road, yet I'm always running around like a headless chicken in the morning. And I've only got one child!
Brilliant post. We're starting year 1 this year so a few more 'chores' will be thrown into the mix as time passes so we can work our way up to responsible kids.
Love your tips
You really are super organised!! Sophie starts pre-school this week and although we won't have to leave early you have given me some great ideas for starting our own routine 🙂
Can you please come to stay and show me how it's done?? I am so utterly useless in the mornings. Poor teachers (and my children obv!) ! 😀
For me it's all about going to bed half and hour earlier at night and up half an hour earlier in the mornings – I hate the feeling of being rushed!