My 7 year olds daughter's alarm goes off at 7.30am. This is a new introduction greatly helping with her tell the time lessons in school. We don't need to leave until 9.50am, so I don't let her get up before 7am. If she is awake she can read a book or watch a video on the ipad which she gets from my room. It's harder to get my 4 year old to do the same, especially when he hears his dad leaving at 6am, but I'm getting there. My alarm goes off at 6.35am and that gives me the best part of an hour to shower, dress, do my make up and have a coffee. (When it goes according to plan, not like this morning when my son stayed up at 6am!) I just need to dry my hair when they get moving. When her alarm goes off at 7.30am everyone goes downstairs.
There are 5 tasks to be done before any tv or toys.
Task 1) Breakfast - is in the kitchen, I leave the bowls, spoons and cups laid out the night before.
Task 2) Get dressed - at the moment I iron their clothes to make them warm. We don't have any radiators to put them on and its always more tempting to put on warm clothes. It takes 30 secs per item to heat through their polo tops, trousers and sweatshirts and they get dressed fast!
Task 3) Pack the schoolbag - usually this involved popping her snack in her bag and leaving her water bottle at the sink for me to fill. I keep snacks in a floor level cupboard she can reach. Homework etc is already in from the night before. Nursery bag is always packed.
Task 4) Hair Brushing - this is much easier now that she is better at brushing her own hair. Key to this has been finding the right brush. I use the WetBrush whcih I got from Amazon. We had some horrendous battles over hair brushing. I comb my son's with a little bit of water as it tend to be sticking up everywhere usually while she is packing her bag.
Task 5) Teeth brushing. This has come on in leaps and bounds. My son spent the 2 years between 2-4 battling me about teethbrushing. I had him clatter his head on the stairs once with such force I thought he might have a concussion - he was having such tantrums about teethbrushing. Again finding the right brush has helped. I splurged and got an electronic one with a smiley face and stars when he does it properly. My daughter also likes getting the responsibility and praise for changing the heads on the toothbrush.
That's it, they can do what they like now, and I give them a 5 minute warning before they have to put away what they are using and get ready to go.
We can, on a good morning, have these things all done by 8.15am, (it's 10 minutes a task and putting crisps in a bag isn't a 10 minute job!) definately by 8.30am.
We are in the hall putting on shoes and jackets at 8.45am, 8.40am if we need snow suits etc, and out the door for 8.50am.
I always try to make a thing of wasn't it a good morning, its nice to have time to play, does it make you happier when mummy isn't shouting at you to get this or that done etc. do you think we can do it again tomorrow - I'd like that, wouldn't you? when we are on the way to school as well. Kind of positive reinforcement.
Can you create yourself and kids a task list - get her to think of what it is she needs to do and make little stick men people for each of you getting ready and draw little hairrdyers, toothbrushes, cereal bowls along the top and tick them off as you complete them in the morning. Try and make it fun for everyone. No-one wants those battles in the morning, it sets you all up for a bad day. I'm sure other folk have other ways but that's mine, and for the moment it's working. But I've been there, and it is hell on earth. I am a scream/shouty type of mum so its not pleasant if it gets to that stage as I end up feeling guilty - it's not their fault, they are only young etc etc.