If you’re not a morning person, you’ll want to read my tips on how to survive back to school, sponsored by Hyland’s Good Morning.
Starting next week, my alarm is going to be blaring at me early in the morning, telling me it’s time to get up and get my kids ready for school.
Unlike the lazy days of summer, back to school time means back to a set routine. That’s always interesting when you live in a house full of night owls.
I’m not going to tell you that the secret to surviving school mornings is to be sure you’re awake an hour or two before the rest of the family. The very thought of that makes me crabby since I like my bed way too much for that suggestion.
Instead, I’ll tell you how a night owl deals with early school mornings.
Super Scheming Sundays
I’m sure you’ve already heard to make sure you prepare the night before for the morning ahead. That saves us a lot around here. But weekday nights can be extremely busy and sometimes I just want to go lay down when we finally do get home. But, Sunday is usually our least busy day of the week, with no sports practices or other activities scheduled.
So, I use that time to scheme. To get as much done for the week as I possibly can. My boys have a hanging closet organizer with 5 shelves. I put (or have them put) an outfit onto each shelf for each day. That way, we can plan for PE days or spirit days or just make sure that everyone has enough clean, matching socks to get through the week. Then, in the mornings, they just grab their outfit for the day and go.
I make lunch sandwiches and freeze them so that packing lunch in the mornings is quick and easy. And while we sometimes go with cereal or other convenience breakfast foods, some Sundays, I will make a huge batch of pancakes or granola bars for the week. My youngest is on a baking kick and has found many mini muffin recipes he can make all on his own.
A Place for Everything
We have a bench in our entryway where backpacks, lunches, and shoes go. Whatever my boys need to get out the door should all be right there. Before we did this, backpacks were strewn all over the house and finding a lunchbox could take long enough to make us late for school.
Build a Buffer into Your Schedule
I know what time we have to leave the house in order for my kids to get to school on time. Though there’s a time range when they can get to school. I try to plan for them to get to school in about the middle of that timeframe: not the first kids there, but not the last ones, either. And if I carpool, I’m even more likely to stick to that schedule since I don’t want to be responsible for someone else’s child being late to school.
If I have to leave the house by 7:45 am in order to get the kids to school on time, I don’t plan to walk out the door right at 7:45. I plan for 5 or 10 minutes earlier. That way, if someone does forget something or is moving a little slower than usual, we can still get there on time.
Don’t Forget to Get Yourself Ready
I’m not saying that I haven’t ever left my house in the mornings still in my pajamas or without having eaten breakfast yet, but I much prefer to be dressed, fed, and feeling okay to start my day.
There are nights when I simply can’t go to sleep, no matter how late it gets because I can’t seem to turn off all those worried mom thoughts. Like about my oldest starting middle school next week.
And after those sorts of sleepless nights, I’m crabby and irritable. Mornings are worse around here if I’m in a bad mood. Plus, after the kids are off to school, I have work to do, so it’s not like I can go back to sleep, much as I might want to.
About now, you probably want to tell me to go drink a vat of coffee and get on with it. This might kick me out of the mom club, but I rarely drink coffee. It makes me jittery and doesn’t agree with my stomach, so I only occasionally indulge. But, I’ve tried a natural, caffeine-free alertness aid and found that’s a better fit for me.
Hyland’s Good Morning provides natural, safe, and effective relief from fatigue and drowsiness, irritability, and mental lethargy. It’s non-habit forming and safe to take with your coffee or energy drinks, too. You can find this homeopathic medication at Walgreens and use this coupon to get $1 off Hyland’s Good Morning.
It’s not magically turning me into a morning person, since I’d still rather sleep in, but Good Morning is helping me be ready to face the morning with a fresh, new outlook on the day ahead.
What tips do you have for an easy morning routine?
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Hyland’s Good Morning.