Are you hoping to arm your family with the tools you need for a successful school year? Then this is for YOU!
Some of you have kids who have been back to school for a few weeks and some of you still have a few weeks of summer left. No matter where you are in the process, I hope these tips will make this your best year yet!
I've always prided myself on my relaxed personality and go-with-the-flow attitude, but a few years ago I realized that every morning I was losing my ever-lovin mind trying to get everyone ready for school and out the door.
And I'm embarrassed by the number of phone calls I've gotten from the school because one of my kids forgot their lunch.
Afternoons were pretty chill at our house, but the chaos would begin again for me when I tried to figure out how to get dinner on the table.
And don't even get me started on bed time. The kids threw a fit, stalled, were itchy, hot, etc every single night when it was time for bed.
My life looked and felt like a sitcom and I wondered how “normal” people managed to get their kids to school in the morning and to bed at night with their sanity intact.
After talking to lots of other moms who seemed to have it way more together than me, I came to the conclusion that we needed some systems and routines!
And while life is still occasionally chaotic at our house, we have found that these systems and routines were easy to implement and have reduced the stress level in our home exponentially!
Secrets To A Successful School Year
1. A Nightly Routine
The best days start the night before. Consider creating an evening routine that works for your family. This will vary by the age of your kids and the number of events you have going on. Here are some of the thing I recommend doing as part of your evening routine.
- Do your dishes and straighten the kitchen
- Lay out your clothes for the next day (Lay out your kids clothes too or have them lay them out)
- Check your kids homework, sign any papers that needed to be signed, and put backpacks by the front door or garage door
- Put jammies on, brush teeth, and wash faces
- Spend some time reading {Screens make it harder to fall asleep}
- Write a to-do list for the next day
- Get to bed at a decent time
2. A Morning Routine
With my nightly routine in place, mornings are a WHOLE LOT EASIER at our house. Here are some of the things to consider adding to your morning routine:
- Exercise
- Time in God's Word (or other reading)
- Make your bed
- Shower
- Get dressed
- Put on makeup
- Healthy Breakfast
- Take vitamins/supplements
- Head out the door
3. A Meal Plan
School days are busy days! Between shuttling the kids to and from multiple schools, attending after school events, getting homework done, and the rest of life, if I don't have a plan when it comes time for dinner, we end up eating out, eating junk, or eating way later than we want (which leads to grumpy hungry kids and a much later bedtime). It's not a good situation.
When I plan my meals for the week, we eat healthier, we save money, and we tend to get to bed on time! 🙂 If you struggle with knowing what recipes to fix, consider making a list of each member of your family's 5 favorite meals.
While you may have some overlap, there's a good chance that by compiling your list, you'll come up with at least 10 meals you can make. If you're looking for some new recipes, I've put together a list of some of the best cookbooks for back-to-school!
And if you'd like to know how to really up your menu planning and meal prep game, check out these Meal Prep Tips for Busy Moms!
If you need a step-by-step plan to help you create morning and evening routines that stick, Crystal Paine of Money Saving Mom has created 2 great courses…Make Over Your Mornings and Make Over Your Evenings. I've gone through both courses and they are phenomenal! They each take only 14 days to go through and they will literally revolutionize your day!
Click on the images below to learn more!
Pin These Tips For A Successful School Year!
This post was originally published in 2016. Since then, I've come to realize that our kids thrive when they have daily routines. And as I've done research and talked with other adoptive parents and trauma mamas, I've learned that their kids thrive on routines as well.
So if you're an adoptive parent, I HIGHLY recommend you try this. If your life has been anything like mine, you have enough chaos you can't control, so if you can get rid of some of the chaos you can control, it just might change your life!
