School Morning Hacks That Prevent Stress

School Morning Hacks That Prevent Stress

Don’t you hate a school morning where everyone is scrambling and then – once everyone is at school – you get a call that one of your children forgot an important project or paper at home. Ugh! It’s enough to drive a mom crazy! Let’s stop that madness. This year, let’s have more stress-free school mornings. How? Check out these awesome hacks!

Setup a Backpack Station

One of the best things you can do is setup a backpack station. You’ll need some hooks where your children can hang their backpacks, along with a calendar to write down important dates and reminders, and a hanging file holder where kids can put papers that need to be signed. At the end of the night, check to make sure your kids have put everything at the station, that you’ve signed any papers, and check the calendar to make sure there’s nothing you missed. This prevents kids from running around trying to stuff everything in their backpack. Another great tip is to make your kids put their shoes at the backpack station so everything is ready to go.

Let Kids Pack Their Own Lunch the Night Before

Another great area you can setup for your kids is a lunch station. In this station, create containers that hold different food groups. For example, one might hold dairy, another hold protein, another hold fruits and vegetables, etc. You can attach a note that reminds kids how many to choose from each group. You’ll have containers in the fridge and pantry. Each night let kids pack their lunch with whatever they want as long as they get something from each group. This gives you more time to relax and means that you don’t have to get up and pack the lunches for them.

Make and Freeze Breakfast Options

If you want your kids to have a homemade breakfast, but don’t have a lot of time to cook in the mornings, start meal planning and make freezer meals. You can make and freeze breakfast egg muffins, sandwiches, pancakes, waffles, and more. Search Pinterest and you’ll find tons of options for foods that can quickly be popped in the microwave.

Create Outfits for the Week Ahead

If you have younger kids, let them pick out their outfits for the week, but do so on a Sunday afternoon. This allows them to take their time and pick exactly what they want to wear. Once the outfits are picked out, you can hang each outfit together and designate an outfit for each day of the week. This will prevent the morning mess of looking for the perfect outfit.

Get Yourself Together First

Before the kids get up, spend time getting yourself ready. It’s much easier to get up an hour or so earlier and spend time taking a shower, getting dressed, and enjoying a cup of coffee before getting the kids up. You may hate getting up earlier at first, but you’ll soon come to treasure that bit of time to yourself.

Promise Play Time

Last, but not least, if you want your children to get ready quickly, promise to let them play or watch TV before heading off to school. You’ll be amazed at how quickly your children will move when they know they can play or watch their favorite show.

School mornings do not have to be stressful. There are many little hacks you can use to get kids out the door without turning your house into an absolute mess. It may take a bit of time in the evenings or on the weekends, but it will make a huge difference!