Stress-Free ways to get your kids out the door to school in the morning.

It dawned on me one day, that every morning was a rush. Kids running everywhere, (because I was yelling at them), rushed lunches being made and messes left behind. Then I would discover the lone child still in the bedroom not yet dressed for school. Yikes! This had to stop! How is it that I can run a company relatively smoothly, but “running” my kids was like herding cats? So I did what I like to do and broke it down, ‘Why it was not working, and what might make it work? Not working: Everything! . . Ok. . . .. That was easy. What could work? Taking care of the morning things the night before. Could this possibly bring some peace and harmony to my and the kids’ mornings? So here’s what we changed. 1) Homework was to be done immediately after school (if there was a hard part, that part could wait for me or my husband) but everything else had to be done. 2) Lunches (made by the kids, not me) would now be made right after dinner (or before dinner) so cleaning up the mess was a combined effort of dinner and lunches. 3) Backpacks will be packed with all “school” and “after school” activities for the next day, like swimming or basketball clothes, after homework was complete. 4) Any homework or school documents need to be signed by 8pm. It is amazing how many things I need to sign, homework, fieldtrips, etc. 5) School clothes chosen the before heading off to bed. We began the new changes. I established the rules and the kids know what to do, in theory any way. We have been working on the new way of getting things done for a few weeks now with out much morning stress. It has been working remarkably well. I still need to do to a lot of reminding and some cajoling, but overall the mornings are soooooooo much better!!!!! I have not yelled once. Well, except at the one child who continues to not get dressed in any kind of timely manner, but she then makes me smile anyway, because I know she is not really a morning person and she tells me she love me. I guess I can be bought with simple words of affection!