Back to School Organizing: Establishing a Morning Schedule

Now that we have been back to school for a little over a week, we have started to establish a consistent morning routine.  However, since it's easy for the kiddos to get distracted, and because the Bedtime Routine printable was such a huge hit, I thought I would whip up a Morning Routine printable as well!  This printable will get popped right up on the fridge just like the Bedtime Routine did, so that we can stay consistent as a family.

I once read somewhere that it takes someone 27 times of doing the same thing over and over to have the routine embedded in them.  Who knows if that's entirely true or not, but I am a believer.  Especially with kids, mine thrive off of consistency and routine.  They love to know ahead of time what to expect, they must get that from their mama...

Setting up a good routine in the morning should help everyone get out of the house in a happy and timely manner, and set the little ones up for a great day at school!

Right now we have our schedule set to wake up the kids at 7:00 a.m. and have them out the door and to their bus stop at 7:45 a.m.  That gives us 45 minutes to get everything done on the morning routine list:

{click here to download your FREE copy}

When it comes to breakfast time, each Monday, Wednesday & Friday they have cereal with fresh fruit.

Tuesday and Thursday I try to plan something different, like french toast sticks, scrambled eggs and bagels with yogurt.  I always plan out the breakfasts when I do our weekly grocery shopping and meal planning and it helps tremendously in the mornings!

Another item that helps us immensely in the morning is taking an extra two minutes the night before to lay out their clothes for the next day {our bedtime routine printable has been updated accordingly}.

So far, we have had plenty of time in the mornings to get the kiddos out the door, but a lot of credit must be given to the time we invest at night by packing up their backpacks, laying out clothes, making lunches, etc... We figure that by doing things in the evening, it sets us up to start out the day more successfully!  And it seems like common sense, but let me tell you it took us a couple of years of having our kids in school to get this all figured out...

I get the question a lot about organizing mornings and routines, so please take a minute to share any additional tips and tricks you have that have made your mornings successful.  Is there any one thing that you have implemented that has been crucial in getting out the door with a smile?