Morning routines?

LilyDisney · 2017-06-27T10:21:07+00:00

It's going to be a bit of a shock to us all come September when we need to leave the house at 8:15am. (Reception starts at 8:30am) Currently our earliest leaving time is 9am on the days DD has preschool as it starts at 9:15. I'd love to hear your morning routines please for all members of your family.

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

HeyMicky · 27/06/2017 11:28

We leave at 7.15, will do the same when DD1 starts school in September

Clothes chosen the night before and laid out so the kids can reach them; nursery bag packed. My bag also sorted and lunch made

6am I get up and shower
6.15-6.30 kids and DH get up
DH showers, we get dressed and help DC out as required, I do hair and makeup as we go
Everyone dressed, hair done, and teeth cleaned before we go downstairs at about 7.55
DC have fruit and yogurt (cereal and toast available at nursery and breakfast club) while DH and I get lunches out, feed cat, tidy kitchen, hang washing etc
Coats and shoes on 7.10
Leave at 7.15

You need to do as much as possible the night before. Uniforms help as it removes choice - make sure she can mostly dress herself.

shamoffour · 27/06/2017 11:37

I have four dcs with 3 different drop offs. I leave at 8. I second what heymickey says do as much as possible the night before. Don't try and do anything else at first, leave the beds,dishwasher, tidying up...
I now have it down to a fine art and can leave the house tidy but in the early days no way!!
If your Dh/dp is around get him to help out. My dp does breakfast while I shower and get ready.

bettycat81 · 27/06/2017 11:41

My DS wakes up around 6-6.30 naturally but we have an alarm set for 7am. Breakfast at 7, get dressed at 7.30 and then homework and quick morning chores (teeth brushing etc) from 7.45. We often have 10 minutes of downtime before leaving at 8.15. School starts at 8.45. If you walk to school (as we do) I find leaving plenty of time to get there great. It means DS can stop to look at that interesting slug or I can deal with a grazed knee without panicking etc.

I am a wahm during the week so leave things like washing up for return from school run.

MusicToMyEars800 · 27/06/2017 11:45

I get up at 7:30am
get myself dressed and teeth brushed (I shower or bath when I get home from the school)
get the kids breakfast on the table
7:45am get the kids up, they normally finish their breakfast at 8:00am
they get themselves dressed
brush their teeth
I do their hair
Do a quick check to make sure we have everything
Leave the house at 8:35-8:40am
Get them to school and I am back home by 9:00am
I do get most stuff sorted the night before, an sort all uniform for the week at the weekend.

Blankscreen · 27/06/2017 11:51

We leave at 8:10.

I get up at 6:20 shower and get myself dressed and ready and empty dishwasher.

Wake the children at 7 they eventually come.down at 7:15. Have breakfast and then get ready.

Whilst they eat i do snacks etc.

I layout all cothes out the night before on the sofa in the kitchen then they get ready once they have finished.

Brush teeth hair etc is all.done down stairs.

I often have 10 minutes to.scoot round and tidy up as I hate walking back in to a tip.

School bags and any note etc needed are all.done the night before as are snacks pots all washed up ready for the morning.
Shoes our also laid out ready so that you don't need to hunt round for them.

noramum · 27/06/2017 12:20

One DD but I also work on some days so the usual routine is:

6am - alarm goes
6.15am - DH goes into the shower and I have breakfast
6.30am - I shower, DH goes into his study (works from home)
6.50am - DD's alarm goes, I am virtually ready, just putting on make up
7am - DD gets dressed, I am downstairs making breakfast and sort out packed lunch, fruit for morning break and feed the rabbits
7.30am - DD is all finished, food, teeth brushed, shoes so I do her hair
7.40 am - DD and I are out of the house, I drop her off at the childminder and run to the station.

DH eats with her breakfast but is otherwise invisible unless disaster struck or I need to take an earlier train.

On my days off it is virtually the same, moved by 20 minutes and if DD has time she does spellings, reads or plays on the ipad for 10 minutes.

Uniform is all ready in the evening. All school stuff like letters, money, reply slips are done as soon as the notification comes in and is put into DD's bag immediately.

RatherBemused · 27/06/2017 13:25

Start now in encouraging DD (and other children if you have them) to do as much independently as possible. This is obviously a continuous process based on their individual abilities.

e.g. washing, dressing, making own breakfast.
Moving on to laying out own uniform before bed, packing own bag once she starts school. You'll have to do these things together at first.

I agree with others that it's good to get as much as possible done the night before so in the morning you literally need to have breakfast, wash, dress and go (hence if your DC can do a lot of this yourself it makes it easier on you!). We used TV as an incentive (i.e. they could watch TV once totally ready including shoes and socks) but others ban it entirely in the morning.
Remember to factor in at least a 5-10 minute window in case i.e. you should be aiming to arrive BEFORE school starts, not AS school starts. Arriving late is more of a big deal at school than pre-school.

HeyMicky · 27/06/2017 13:56

Oh yes, and be realistic about what "leaving" means. I have to go at 7.15 - that means backing the car down the drive. So before then we need to put on coats and hats, take bags off the peg, get out to the car and buckle in two children. 10 mins, easily, especially when DD2 wants to do everything herself.

DH is always late because he only starts the process of getting out the door at 7.15

Mamabear12 · 27/06/2017 14:41

At the worst of heatwave, my kids were not sleeping until 10pm, which meant they slept until 8am. To make it to school on time we need to leave 8:15am. This meant quick toilet, put uniform on, yogurt and toast for breakfast, brush teeth and hair and zoom out the door. Obviously, I don't recommend this 😀 But it can be done in 15 mins in a rush if you must.

MiaowTheCat · 27/06/2017 16:59

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Message withdrawn at poster's request.

SomedayMyPrinceWillCome · 27/06/2017 17:10

DS is in reception now:

7.15 - up & porridge on. Do reading while porridge cooks (he's sometime too tired after school)
7.30 - eat
7.50 - me through shower & get dressed
8.15 - prompt DS to get dressed (I lay clothes out & he dresses himself)
8.25 - both clean teeth
8.30 - shoes / coat
8.35 - out the door

isittheholidaysyet · 28/06/2017 18:13

We need to leave at 8.15am. (We'll actually 8.25am, but don't tell the kids)

Uniforms laid out the night before, bags packed, packed lunch ready/in fridge)

First alarm 7am, 2nd alarm 7.10am.
Wake everyone. Me in shower. DH assists with dressing, then starts on breakfast with kids.
I dress and join them.
Teeth, hair, shoes coats make sure we have everything, get in the car.
8.15am drive out. it's never 8.15am
DH gets showered and ready and goes to work.

We have a strict 'No playing, no toys, no screens' rule in the morning.

We also have breakfast after getting dressed, which is risky, but I work on the principle that you can go to school without breakfast, or eat toast in the car, but you can't go to school naked. (And we do own aprons if someone chooses yoghurt for breakfast.)

FiveGoMadInDorset · 28/06/2017 18:16

If I am not working actually even if I am, up at 6.30, I have breakfast, make packed lunches if needed, feed lambs, get children up at 7.15, give them breakfast and then throw clothes at them at about 7.45, leave at 8.25. If I am working DH will take over with the shouting to get them ready and some kind soul will come and pick them up

bugaboo218 · 28/06/2017 19:15

Our morning routine is my alarm goes off at 5.45. I head straight for shower and dress. 6.00 downstairs have coffee/porridge and fruit. 6.10 put laundry on, drying out on line/tumble dryer, sort dishwasher. 6.25 check younger children's school bags and put by front door, ditto coats, my bag with house and car keys on top. I should add DH is also up at 5.45 he usually hoovers, sorts bins/recycling, dog and cat and irons his shirt, puts clean laundry away and then showers between 06.15 @ 06.30.

06.30 I wake younger children up and call the teenager.

06.30_07.00 youngest two have their breakfast. Teen showers.

07.00_07.30 Teen has breakfast, faffs about with her hair and make up and has breakfast. Younger two shower or have a strip wash, do their teeth and get dressed.

07.30_07.45 teen faffs some more, does her teeth sorts her school stuff out. Youngest two play on I pad. I write lists, do make up if I can be bothered, check I have all I need and sometimes chuck dinner in slow cooker.

07 .45 I hand over to our Nanny. DH leaves with DD1 @ l Ieave for work.

I get as much as I can organised the night before_packed lunches,prep veg for next days dinner, put work clothes, uniform out, sort out bags.

I think the key to a smooth morning is,getting as much done as you can the night before.

On my days off when I do school run I like to arrive at school before the start of school and not as the bell is ringing.

You have to also factor in getting younger kids in the car, traffic and finding somewhere not too far away from school to park. So still leave at 8am when I take the kids to school this way we can get there reasonably calmly.