It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year…love back-to-school routines

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For years now, I have happily sung ‘It’s the most wonderful time of the year…’ song to my kids.  I think it’s hilarious, them, not-so-much.  Why do I love this time of year? ROUTINE, ROUTINE, ROUTINE.  Honestly, I don’t realize how much I love back-to-school routines and how much my kids thrive on them until we are out of our routine. 

Don’t get me wrong we love the times this summer when we had nothing else to do but get up, eat, play, eat, watch TV and then go to bed. So this year, at the ‘last supper’ (as I called dinner tonight), we went over some of the changes that I thought would be helpful to establish (and re-visit) some family routines.

Back-to-school routines

(1)  Pre-packed lunches: no more grabbing ‘whatever’ + juice +  a sandwich in the morning. I am aiming to improve their nutritional intake and balance their meals. So I have asked the kids to pre-pack their lunch bags with the required dry snacks (cut up & packed fruits & veggies will remain in fridge until the morning), spoons/forks/knives and paper napkins.  The lunch bags will be on the counter ready to be filled as soon as they are finished breakfast in the morning.

(2)  School bags packed and at the door – shoes too: all the knapsacks must be packed the night before and shoes & jackets will be ready to go.  That means: get into the routine of putting your shoes away when you get home. 

(3)  Toothbrushes at the ready:  I am a ‘wake up and brush my teeth immediately’ sort of gal. My hubby prefers to brush after breakfast (gasp, I know…) so our kids are a mixed bag.  New routine this year: brush when you get up, go to the bathroom and get your toothbrush ready for when you are done breakfast. Once you finish eating – BRUSH YOUR TEETH.  I have a whole new appreciation for brushing when I had braces put on as an adult.  Now it has become a bit of an obsession.

(4)  Home Sweet Home: so when you get home at the end of the day, you will need to hang your coat, replace your shoes where you will find them the next morning and empty your lunch bag.  This was an already established rule routine, we just needed to review it…again. Take your lunch bag out of your knapsack and rinse out any sandwich containers, throw out any wrappers and give it a good wipe.  EVERYDAY… not just when I tell you or when I find all those containers in your bedroom – yes, I am talking to you, missy.

(5)  Rest & Relaxation:  Everyone needs to wind down so, everyone gets half an hour to do WHATEVER THEY WANT.  That means have a snack, take a nap, watch TV or play a video game.  Once that has happened, all homework will begin after that 1/2 hr.  Hopefully, all that homework will be completed before (a) it is time to go to -soccer, -karate or -dance; or (b) dinner is served.

(6) Homework: very simple – start, get it done as quickly as possible, ask for help if you need it.  Each child has a designated study area (my daughters are in their room, my son is the dining room – close to me as I make dinner or work from my office). I provide homework ‘basket’. It contains, pencils, sharpeners, highlighters, pens, erasers, a ruler, a calculator, some paper – blank & lined- and a dictionary.  Having all the right tools nearby helps them focus on the task and not getting distracted – or finding excuses for leaving the study area.

(7)  Cooking 101 or how I gave up being a chef at home:  if you know me, you know that I am not a great cook.  I am not a bad cook but I don’t really enjoy the whole cooking process.  I love the eating process but not the cooking.  So when my eldest was 10 or 11 yrs old, I had her making one meal a week. Something simple with little likelihood that something would burn the house down.  So the new routine is: if you don’t have an after-school activity (see choices above), then you have to help prep dinner, if not make it completely.  

We tried some meal planning last year and that eventually went by the way-side but I am willing to try it again – that is my routine commitment to my family.  If I don’t meal plan, this whole cooking routine will fail This year, my 10-year-old son will be responsible for one meal…yes, just one meal but he will have to do it (with help of course).

(8)  Early to Bed, Early to Rise: the last routine will be clothes prep.  The girls have already started to do their own laundry so that has helped mom an awful lot.  This does not happen consistently so I will be working on that too. Clothes prep mean that getting them to set out their clothes for the next day will save us all from what-is-the-weather-like? And what-should-I-wear drama in the morning.  Yes, I am talking to you, fashionista daughter #2.  I have one with uniforms (easy-peasy), one without – fashionista – and a son that will not have his sister’s coaxing him to ‘get dressed already’.

All these small tasks will, hopefully, become routines that will help me and the kids stay sane.  I firmly believe that children do well when they have a routine. Why not diminish their stress levels by helping them learn, understand and adhere to routines.  Because it is ‘The Most Wonderful Time of the Year…”