As I sit here writing I have five young girls having tons of fun in my house. It's a little bit crazy and a whole lot of fun! Do you remember when you were on Spring Break as a child? There is something magical about a whole week - during nice weather - that you get to break routine. I think I look forward to it as much as the girls. It's a week for me with no repeated directions, frustration, and clock watching. It's downright heavenly! I have tried to schedule very few things for us to do this week so the girls can just enjoy. If they want to wear PJ's all day they can, or they can make the rounds of all the different toys and art projects available. Tomorrow we'll head to Six Flags and put our Season Passes to work, and we'll probably go again Saturday when Charles can come too.
While I enjoy all this "free" time I find myself wondering how to keep the Spring Break calm going after the school rush starts up again. What are some things I can do to make our lives a little easier during the morning rush? We've tried a few things this year that have had some success, but I never have found that magical medley that ends in a peaceful, harmonious morning. I will share with you my successes and failures so that maybe you can add the good stuff to your routine and learn from my mistakes on the rest!
- Get the kids up a little earlier in the morning. We have found that just allowing an extra 15 minutes in the morning makes a huge difference, especially when you have children that don't get up easily. By getting them up just a little earlier they can take their time waking up and I don't lose my mind!
- Let them help pack their lunches. Anytime you can give your kids control over something they eat it up. As long as you set some ground rules - you have to pick a fruit or veggie, not just snacks - they can choose each day what they feel like eating. This has really helped us with waste. If the girls are choosing their lunch items, I know it's something they want to eat and lunch boxes come home with far fewer leftovers than before. If you find that this takes too much time in the morning you can incorporate it into your evening routine.
- Don't send more than one kid up to brush teeth, hair, etc. at a time. It took a wise woman to help me figure this one out (Thanks Aimee!). Every day after breakfast I would send the girls up to brush their teeth and hair and every day it was nothing but a problem. They would go up and do everything but brush teeth and comb hair. It made for a crazy Mommy every morning and needless rushing. Now I send one girl up at a time to do her stuff and it's amazing how quickly they get it done! Isn't it funny how, when there's no one there to goof off with, they can each go up and get their stuff done? Mind boggling, isn't it?
- Sign folders, agendas, etc. the night before if possible. I am having mixed success with this one. Each day when the girls get home they're supposed to bring me their folders so we can look at homework and I can sign them. Most days we do this pretty well, but we're still having some mornings with unsigned folders running around at the last minute. One of my goals for this next week is to get a better handle on this.
These are just a few things I have found to be successful and helpful. I know I'm missing a bunch more and look forward to figuring those things out as I go! I hope you have great success with your morning routine and a wonderful blessed Spring Break!
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