What is your school morning routine?

[Ladybug]

I hear you Tara, and I've been reluctant to put the kabosh on the longer breakfast routines because I know it comes from his heart . It really sucks for me though. He's cooks it while the kids are asleep and then leaves them a hot breakfast for when they wake up and usually says good by to them while walking out the door. I end up being the stressed out parent that's nagging, endlessly repeating myself, rushing them, cleaning up the breakfast aftermath and everything Jude threw on the floor. Our mornings are really stressful and I end up screaming at kids more than I care to admit. So I'm considering asking him to help in a different way that might be less "fun" but willl make our mornings more efficient and peaceful. If we can spend less time preparing breakfast then I can get more help with dressing/redirecting/refereeing. I think we'll try waking them up 30 minutes earlier and both of us working together to dress/pack everyone before breakfast and simplify weekday breakfast until they are better at dressing themselves.

We'll have to continue tweeking it. I just don't want all their memories to be of me yelling in the mornings either.

[DCJenn]

Mornings in our house are essentially me screeching like a harpy from the kitchen. Rick is long gone by the time we're up. We wake up at 6:50. Dude gets dressed and comes to the table. Breakfast options are cereal, eggos and sometimes eggs/toast. (eggs are one of his sole sources of protein these days so I'm OK with it) I make his lunch and my lunch while I'm making breakfast. If I have a morning meeting (usually start at 8:30) we have to be out the door no later than 7:45. School starts at 8:10 and we're about two blocks away. I walk him to school and take the dogs with me. Depending on my work schedule the dogs and I have three routes- short, medium and long. Petey actually knows which way to go when we have to decide- long walk is to the left, medium is straight ahead and short is to the right. It's pretty funny. I work-out at night and therefore shower at night. I have a duplicate set of make-up at work so unless I have an early morning meeting, I don't get the make-up until sometime mid-morning. (I have my own bathroom in my office) We also do the double batches of pancakes/waffles on the weekend and throw them in the freezer. Actually, a few weeks ago I found a recipe for ham and cheese waffles in one of my cooking light cookbooks so I made those and Rick has been throwing one of them in the toaster and eating it on his way to work. He REALLY likes them.

J.

[peggyfromwastate]

I'm surprised so many dads are part of the morning routine at all...

Dh leaves usually between 4:30 and 5-- when he's an attending he will still need to be in by 7 at the latest (clinic starts 7:30) or earlier on OR days.

It doesn't matter though bc I'm not a morning person and I will get in a fight with dh if I see him in the morning. He likes to play inspirational music in the morning. Shudder. He likes rap at other times of the day. Go figure.

Anyway, dh is long gone, but unloads the dishwasher before he leaves.

I get up at 6:20, go downstairs and make coffee, make sure dd15 catches her bus (she needs to be out the front door by 640)-- I don't nag her about anything (breakfast or lunch she's on her own to get that stuff together). 645 or so until 7 I eat, get the kitchen cleaned and ready for The Morning Rush. Then I either take a shower or get workout clothes on depending on the day. I get the kids up at 740. Dd10 and ds10 are patrols so they need to hustle. They get dressed and downstairs. They should be eating by 750. They get their own cereal and pour their own milk. I put the cereal boxes, bowls, and cups out for them. in the meantime, I'm taking dd3 potty, and helping her get dressed. We go downstairs by 750, and I stop by the boys room to wake up ds7 again. I get dd3 cereal, and make the kids lunches. Ds7 stumbles down at about 705, then he eats as the twins get their teeth brushed, ds10 takes his insulin, and they are out the door by 820. Ds7 finishes breakfast at 825, dies his teeth brushing, shoes on, eyc. Dd3 and I are out the door with ds7 by 835 to either walk to school or drive, depending on if we are headed to prek or somewhere else by about 9...

My entire day goes to crsp if one of these things don't happen. And when dd15 misses the bus? Holy hell. It's a VERY bad day.

[migirl]

I was thinking the same thing, Peggy, about how many dads are around to help in the mornings. DH is usually gone before my kids are up so I don't know whether to be jealous of the help or whether I should feel grateful that my kiddos sleep late(r)!

Clothes are laid out the night before, lunches (mostly) packed. I'm usually up at 4:00am every day (I'm way more productive in the morning). I feed the baby (half the time she's already awake, half the time I wake her up), and put her back to sleep. Run a couple of miles on the treadmill, make DH's coffee, eat my breakfast, pack DH's and DS's lunches, do dinner prep, shower. By this time it's about 6:00am or so, DH gets up and showers and dresses and goes to work. He's usually out the door by 7:00am, before any of the kids are awake.

Kids are up at 7:30am, breakfast for the boys is cold cereal or frozen waffles. I get the baby up and nurse her again while the boys eat breakfast, boys are upstairs and dressing/brushing teeth by 8:00am. Boys play while I dress the baby and feed her some oatmeal or something, then we're out the door by 8:30am.

It's a tight schedule and not much room for error, but we've got a good rhythm down despite the fact that mine are still pretty little (5, 3, and 1) and still need a lot of help in the mornings.

[Deebs]

I put clothes out the night before.
DS gets up around 6:30, and DH is gone by then (unless his morning is not going well or he's on nights).
DD#1 is up by 7:30, and DD #2 by 8. While I'm getting breakfast ready, I also make DD #1's lunch.
We are so lucky - DD #1 starts school at 8:35, and her bus doesn't pick her up until 8:25. We get out the door by 8:15 to make it to the bus stop on time (the two year old is a little slow in her winter gear, but insists on walking).
DS is in afternoon preschool, so we have a while to really get going, if needed.
I will say that if I don't get the kids' clothes out the night before, things fall apart because they don't go up to their rooms, pick something out, and get dressed. It has to be sitting there for them. I also sometimes use TV to bribe DD#1. If she comes down dressed, with her hair and teeth brushed, I will turn on the TV in the morning. Otherwise, she's out of luck.
Now if I can just get up the energy to get my own butt out of bed by 6am so I can work out, things would be nearly seamless...

[Thirteen]

ETA: Their rooms must be presentable in the mornings. Clutter at least organized. I go around and confiscate any toys [and sheets] left out of their place, like the floor, after I return from pick up.

I really like this idea. Thank you!


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[mommax3]

My youngest (10) is up at 6:15 and his bus comes at 7. Middle son (13) gets up at 6:45 and leaves when I do (his school = my workplace), sometime between 7:30 and 8:00. The oldest drives now, so he takes care of himself....soooo nice. I get up between 6 and 6:30, depending on if I have a mtg before school or if DS #2 has a before-school activity. The boys do their own breakfasts and pack their own lunch if they aren't eating school lunch (but they usually eat school lunch). Honestly, DS#2 makes my breakfast many mornings and brings it to me while I get ready, and often packs my lunch for me, too. He's a good boy. DH is usually out the door by 6:45 or 7:00, so he says hi to the youngest in the morning and that's about it. The boys have to take care of the dog in the morning and make sure the lights are off/doors locked/breakfast stuff is put away. When they were younger, our rules were that they couldn't come to the table until they had showered and dressed, absolutely no tv in the morning, and no signing of permission slips/homework/etc. I always dealt with paperwork the night before, and laid out their clothes, too. I am NOT a morning person at all and trained the boys from an early age to be as self-sufficient as possible in the mornings. They set their alarms and get up on their own every day. I check on them if I don't hear or see them by the usual time, but I don't wake them up.

[Phoebe]

Our routine is a little rushed because it is hard to get DD2 going. DD1 has always been independent and gets up and ready on her own. Ideally, they get up at 7am. DD2 is often awakened by me at 7:20 because I don't always get up on time. The bus comes at 7:47am which our driveway is the stop. Breakfast is usually a granola bar scarfed down by DD2 because she is all over the place and runs out of time. Sometimes I make lunches the night before and other times I am throwing things in the lunchbox as they walk out to the bus because they don't want hot lunch. DD3 doesn't leave until 9am so things run smoother with her. DH sometimes helps corral the girls and sometimes they get a hot breakfast. Most of the time, I can get them to take their dishes to the sink before they walk out the door.

[JDAZ11]

Wow - this post totally scares me!! I have no idea how you all do all of this!

I never remember having a hot breakfast as a child... sounds lovely! Maybe I wouldn't have overslept as often as I did if I knew that was waiting for me

[PrincessFiona]

Now that I don't have to drive all over creation in the mornings, my mornings are awesome.

I get up at 6:45 or 6:50 and go downstairs to make coffee....Then I go up and start waking Andrew, Alex and Aidan. While they are getting dressed (in clothes they laid out), I go down and make scrambled eggs, bacon, toast and set the table. I also now let Andrew have a small cup of iced coffee ... which ... I make for him believe it or not. I get them out to carpool and off to the bus, enjoy a leisurely cup of coffee/read the paper/catch up on news and then I wake up Amanda and we get to homeschooling.

Zoe gets up a little bit later for afternoon kindergarten. I let her sleep in until she wakes up on her own .... 9am or so. She likes cereal and so it's pretty leisurely.

My mornings are pretty awesome now.

ETA: I have mittens/boots simplified. All of my kids' gloves are attached to their coats(even the teens)...boots and coats are by the front door. We have a drawer full of hats to choose from. I never have to worry about not finding that stuff in the am.

Kris

[Chrisada]

We get up whenever, about 9:00. We are night owls. Yes, I am in for a rude awakening when Kindergarten starts next year. I always imagined just getting them to a bus stop, but our community is so small that we have no buses. Crap.

[ladymoreta]

Wow - this post totally scares me!! I have no idea how you all do all of this!

Me too!!!

[Auspicious]

Mornings are pretty easy for now. Hazel gets me up between 6:30 and 7:00, we shamble downstairs where she gets a sippy of milk and a snack trap of crackers and I get tea and toast and some lame TV (Duggars et. al.). I need to get myself ready before 8, but four days a week that just means putting on gym clothes and pulling my hair back. On Wednesdays I shower and do my hair because Hazel and I go to the mommy-and-me thing during Cora's preschool.

Cora usually wakes up right about 8, but if she doesn't I wake her then and she decides if we should do breakfast first or clothes first. Dressing and hair are pretty easy with both of them right now. Breakfast is usually a banana, toast, and a cheese stick, with maybe some minor substitutions (raisins, toaster waffle, etc.)

Out the door for preschool dropoff at 8:45 and then straight to the gym. If it's not a preschool day then Cora goes with us to the gym (and we maybe leave a little later).

[Ladybug]

Today went a million times better. Everyone got up earlier and DH was able to help get the girls moving, focused and dressed. I think dressing first is key. He still made the hot breakfast, only earlier so he could help with the dressing circus. I'm sure everyone will be cranky and tired this afternoon, but hopefully they will go to bed earlier and slide our sleep routine up on both ends. Fingers crossed.

[BonBon]

I'm late to the party. Glad to hear today went better!

We do a lot of prep the night before because none of us are morning people. Each kid has a "tomorrow drawer" in their nightstand. We pick out the outfits down to the socks and shoes and set it in the drawer. First thing when they wake up, they are required to pee, because we've had too many episodes of needing to pee as the bus was coming down the street. No one is allowed to come downstairs until they are dressed and hair done. (total assembly line on the hair...they literally come into my bathroom and stand in line ) Lunches/snacks are done the night before, as are bookbags. I don't serve grains so we have some form of meat/eggs/small amount of fruit every morning. It's 45 minutes from wake time to bus stop. Not too shabby...they dillydally a lot getting dressed but it's gotten better.

ETA: I'm envious of those of you whose husbands can help in the morning! Mine is usually long gone.