Good routines in the morning and evening can make a huge difference. I used to hear the word routines and think. "I HATE this. I am not a routine kind of mom" Well, that all changed when my third child needed predictable routines to calm his anxiety about school. I needed to find a way to have some organization that helped him (and my other children) while not stressing out my "go with the flow" personality. I want to emphasize that it has to work in your family culture or you won't stay with it.
You may ask? How do I know what will work for us? Well, only you can figure that out with a little trial and error. It will be easier to know what won't work. That will narrow your choices. Here are a few ways I put structure in our home.
I got up first and got ready. It was worth a little less sleep but I knew I would have a hot shower! When my children were younger, I would give them a 5 minute warning before they had to be out of bed. My son did evening showers so he could have a little more sleep in the morning. My husband usually had early morning meetings so he was gone before everyone was getting ready. I actually liked this because those meetings enabled him to be home in the evenings. I developed my own routines with the children in the mornings and it worked well.
I found my mornings went better if everything that could be done the night before was done. That meant clothes were laid out. Lunches were packed. Backpacks were packed and laid at the backdoor with coats. This included anything my children needed (picture money, signed permission slips etc,). They were completed and placed in the proper place before bed. Breakfast was packed in a ziplock bag and it could be eaten on the way to school in the morning.
This was a structure that worked for the unstructured girl that I am. I hope this gives you to find a morning and evening family's system that is sustainable over the school year.
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