The Great 8: Actionable Ways To Get Your Kids To the Bus Without Losing Your Crackers

Ah, the fading memories of when you had to just worry about you getting ready for work in the morning…

Coffee and your news feed were all you needed to wake up.

But then your world was turned upside-down when your children were finally at that age you had been dreaming: off to school and a quieter house.

What could possibly go wrong?

No one said anything about the insanity of getting from Point A: The House to Point B: The Bus!

HOLY CANNOLIS!

“I need this..” “Where’s my…” “I don’t want breakfast.” “My toothbrush is in the toilet.” “Mommy, sign my permission slip — where IS my permission slip?”

…And on goes the dance of The Parental Head Spins…

When you actually DO get everyone semi-dressed and out of the house, the kitchen looks like a direct hit: Stove has more pancake batter on it than the pan ever saw, the dog is enjoying bits of toast and dripping syrup on the floor, and there’s that freakin’ permission slip — under the peanut butter jar, smeared with jelly.

Oh goodie. Now you can run that slip to school along with your oldest kid’s lunch which is still sitting on the counter. Really?

You look in the mirror. “Oh, no way, Jose. I am NOT going out of the house looking like this!”

You take a power shower, throw on a quick outfit, and ZOOM, ZOOM! Whip out the driveway to the two schools to deliver “the goods” on your way to work, even though the schools are the opposite way to your work.

After you finally get to work, you put your coffee on the photocopier, your documents in the fridge, and try to stuff your lunch in the microwave for one minute, 20 seconds. Oh geez, Louise!

Your work day has already started with you completely frazzled…again

Now that you have been doing this for a while are you ready for some good news?

YOUR MORNINGS DON’T HAVE TO BE LIKE THIS! Really, really.

I’m not guaranteeing “Brady Bunch morning” ready, but it sure as heck doesn’t have to be “Children of the Corn” mornings either.

Here are the Great 8 things you can implement tomorrow to take back your mornings…and your sanity.

UNO: Make a designated Launch Pad. Your mornings start the night before. The Launch Pad can be on a bench or floor near the door. On the launch pad area, each night after dinner & homework, each child puts their packed backpack, charged device, if appropriate, packed lunch if no need for refrigeration, & house keys.

DOS: Each kiddo has an evening checklist for which they are responsible. The night before, they are to pack their lunch, knowing that lunch includes a sandwich, drink box, fruit cup/veggies (like baby carrots). They lay out their clothes for the morning, brush their bucks, complete a chore, complete homework, set backpack & lunch on launchpad, & put away any clean clothes.

TRES: The morning checklist includes:make bed, shower/dress, brush hair, breakfast, brush their bucks, shoes/coat, grab lunch from fridge if not on backpack, grab backpack, yippee-skip to school.

That might sound like a lot, but if you grab my routine checklists below, it will seem very manageable for your family. And you too!

QUATRO: Have breakfast all set out. If your kids eat cereal, that’s a cinch. Place cereal, bowls, and spoons on table, and they just have to grab the milk in the morning.

I love eggs, so I like to cook up a dozen or so eggs, toss in some diced canned potatoes (because they’re already cooked) and an onion, and voila! Breakfast for a bunch. BONUS 1: put leftovers in bowls, and put them in the freezer. Easy to thaw or throw in the microwave for a minute. BONUS 2: Have any tortillas? Easily make this egg combo into breakfast burritos!

Overnight Oats are also a popular choice. In a jelly mason jar or bowl, let the kids put in 1/2 C instant oats, a T of honey and yogurt, and something fun like a few chocolate chips, peanut butter, raspberries, blueberries, cinnamon…

…bourbon…oh, WHOOPS! That’s just for daddy’s. Kidding-ish :-)

In the morning, add 1/2 C Hot milk or water, mix & eat. Yum-Fest!

CINCO: Check the weather forecast. If it’s supposed to be a rainy day, finding multiple raincoats and hats in the morning will definitely NOT make everyone sing, “Rain, Rain Go Away” or, “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head.”

It will be more like, “Singing in the Rain, ” but not cool Fred Astaire style — more like Freddie Kruger.

I also check the weather using the app, “Weather Underground, or the desktop version you can check out here.

SIES: I’ve been told this is cruel and unusual punishment, but the kids’ bedrooms are not allowed to have blackout curtains. Uh-uh, kiddos! Sun’s up, you’re up. (o.k., so that doesn’t work during our dark Michigan winters — Darn you, Ben Franklin for your stupid daylight savings time idea!) Also alarm clocks are set on desks, out of reach so they gotta get up to turn them off. Because my one morning kid is a zombie and I’m a bit on the sadistic side, so I put this propeller alarm clock in their room. Got it on the cheap from Staples. When the alarm goes off, the propeller flies off, setting off a fire drill-type alarm that’s only stopped by finding the propeller and putting it back on the alarm. Wanna see how loud this sucker is? Check out this 1-minute video.

SIETE: I love my checklists, so I made some for my darlin’ offspring too: one for the morning and one for the evening. They are posted on the family bulletin board above the launchpad and the kids each have a clipboard with a morning & evening copy. Some kids will just need to look at the list and do it while other kids like the satisfaction of checking things off their list. You will see below my checklists, and I would love for you to take copies below and try them with your family. (Find them at the bottom of this post. Take screenshots and put on a document on your computer.)

OCHO: And finally…one for the moms and dads: YOU set the tone for the mornings. If you are stressed, running around, barking orders, guess what the kids will be doing? Yup, the same thing and falling apart. Hey Wonder Woman and Superman, don’t go whole hog right off the bat! Just do one or two things at a time.

You’re armed with your tools. Your kids have their skills.

Let’s get this routine thing down.

Morning and Evening Checklists to help your family organise themselves! Just take a screenshot, add it to your doc and you’re good to go.

Be Blessed — James