First, I'm so excited to be blogging with my lovely sister-in-law. We are like two peas in a pod. Learning to be amazing young moms. I'm 27 years old and mother to a beautiful, smart and sassy 7-year old. I've been a stay at home mom, working parent and college student. We have had one amazing ride thus far. I'm married to the man of my dreams. He could sometimes be my polar opposite but you know what they say....
Well enough about me. I'm super psyched because SCHOOL IS BACK IN SESSION. I get so excited for the start of school. School shopping, freshly sharpened pencils, adorably packed lunch boxes, little yellow school buses full of happy children. I just LOVE it.
Now that my daughter is 7 and going to second grade, I have learned a thing or two.
Here's what has worked WONDERS for us: Structure. Structure. Structure. The single most important tool for staying sane has been setting a routine. Our first year, when she went to Kindergarten was DEFINITELY a learning experience. It was totally hit and miss. Some days she would wake up like an angel... but most were full of morning battles, tangled hair, mis-matched socks and the occasional piece of dry toast while running out the door just barely making it on time. Not every day was like that buuuut... way more then I'd like to admit. I'm happy to report that is no longer the case. We have got this down.
I was looking to end the morning madness. I scoured Pintrest for ideas, and found some great routine charts from IheartOgranizing.com. (LOVE her website). We've tweaked the schedule to fit our needs and our mornings are amazing. Everyone knows their role and what to expect, its been a total transformation. Not to say that there isn't the occasional bout of whining, but its a far cry from the morning nightmares of years past. We timed the routine, and it takes about an hour each. We can now relax in the morning knowing we have enough time to happily complete our routines and get out the door, fed, well dressed with time to spare!
This is the little command station on her wall. Its got her AM routine, PM routine, calendar and checklist of cleaning chores.
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 The cleaning checklist every night insures that her room doesn't get out of hand. I included things I would normally have to nag about like "pick up your shoes by the door." These little chores are usually done within 10-15 minutes and make such a difference. No more looking for lost sneakers while rushing to school. |
I hope this helps! Being proactive is the best defense against morning meltdowns!
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