You want to be organized and wake up in time, but somehow the mornings
always seem chaotic. If you have trouble getting your family out the door
in the morning, there are ways for you to reduce the stress and have a
calmer start to your day. Creating a stress-free morning environment will
help everyone to focus and will result in fewer forgotten items, and a
happier star to the day for everyone.
Organization is the key to success and establishing routines and specific
places for everything is a great way to get your ducks in a row.
1. Have an established place for book bags, shoes, coats, keys and other
items your students routinely misplace. Get them to place items in the
correct areas by rewarding them when they do so. For younger students,
you can create games to help them remember to place items in the correct
areas. For example, place a bicycle bell next to their coat and backpack
hook. When they hang their coat and backpacks on their hooks, they get
to ring the bell.
2. Delegate tasks – Students enjoy being trusted with new responsibilities
and learning to cope with mornings is a valuable life lesson to learn.
Each semester, they should get one more task to do by themselves. You
can also get your students to take turns to make lunches for the family.
3. Plan lunches and set out clothes for the next day the evening before.
This will mean that you have all the gear you need for sports or other
extra mural activities and there isn’t a panic in the morning when
you can’t find anything to wear. It’s essential to at least
sort out backpacks so that all books, homework and stationary are located
and assembled for the morning rush.
4. Get enough sleep! This is the best way to ensure a stress-free morning.
Your students must have a bedtime that ensures that they get all the sleep
they need. Also time exactly how long it takes each of your students to
do their morning routine. If one of them is regularly late, consider waking
them up earlier or assigning them tasks the night before rather than early
in the morning.
5. Star the morning with a positive thought. Give each of your students
a positive start to the day by saying something positive. This may set
the tone for the morning rush and put everyone in a better mood.
6. Put reminders on the back of the door. This is a great place to put
your calendar or a white board where you can write reminder for yourself
and your students. It’s the last chance you have before you leave
the house. In addition to the usual keys, lunch, backpack, coat and gym
gear, you can add things for specific days or remind your students of
upcoming events.
