Tuesday's Time Saving {School Morning} Tips

This is the first guest post on my blog! And who better to write it than one of my oldest friends, DutchMac. She is an American girl who married a British guy and currently lives in Holland with their bilingual 4 year old son who likely has a ridiculously mixed up accent.

Our son recently had his fourth birthday, and here in Holland, that means the beginning of school. Although he had been at a playgroup three various times a week for a little over a year, these past few weeks have been our first foray into five mornings in a row, strict time constraints, and a real need for routine to ease into this scary time of life for him. Make no mistake, no matter how much 'socialization' opportunities your kid has, starting school is a big step. I realized very quickly that I wouldn't be helping him make the transition as smooth as possible if I was panicked and running late each morning, so I tried to come up with ways to be as ahead of the game as possible. And believe it or not, mornings are actually pretty chilled in our house. Here are some things that help make that possible:

1. Get a child-friendly alarm clock, and make it 'special' for school days.

Our son has a soccer-ball shaped clock that I (do my very best to) have set only for Mondays-Fridays. We've convinced him that the 'beep beep beep' at 7am is the clock's way of saying 'Hey buddy, it's time to get up! You need to have breakfast, brush your teeth, get dressed, and then go to school. It's going to be so much fun! Come on, get going!' Hey, it's all in how to pitch and sell it to them. He fell for it.

Why does this help you save time, you ask? If you play your cards right, you can convince your child that he/she is not allowed out of their room until the clock goes off. So if you're up before them, you can finish getting ready yourself (or helping darling husband find his tie/briefcase/lunch/car keys/brain/etc). It can also let your child know to get him/herself up and to the bathroom while you finish up 2 minutes of something else.

2. Have your child cross off a calendar each night before bed.

Although we do this at night, it helps out each morning. Things are much smoother here when everyone has the same expectations, so if your child wakes up in the morning and expects it to be a weekend, there can be some strong resistance to getting ready happily. And let's be honest, the concept of certain days of the week isn't something 4-year-olds have in their systems innately. WE know what 'Tuesday' or 'Saturday' means, but to them, nothing.

So we have a calendar printed for each month, and I grey out all the days that are NOT school days (weekends and public holidays). Each night before bed, he crosses off the day just finished, and we briefly talk about what will happen tomorrow. Knowing what to expect from the morning makes things soooooo much easier. It's also fun to let them see when events are coming up, like birthdays and special trips.

3. Take care of snacks/lunches the DAY before.

I know, I know, this seems obvious. But it can be done to a larger extent than you may think. Our son only goes to school half-days, so I don't need to fix a full-out lunch yet (just a snack), but the principles are the same. Every day when he gets home, I empty out his snack box and put tomorrow's snack in there. I'm already in the kitchen with the box in my hand to empty it ..... why would I put it down, only to have to pick it up and re-fill it later? Might as well do it then and there, ready for the next day.

'But won't it spoil?' Not if you treat it right. How many things do you have in your cupboard or on the kitchen counter already? Bags of pretzels, mini popcorn cakes, whole pieces of fruit, all forms of drink boxes (our local grocery store even does plain water in drink boxes....woo hoo!), can all be left in a backpack overnight. Throw them in and be done with it. It also helps to have a big stash of these on hand, already portioned out. Ok, it sounds like I'm doing a lot here, but what difference does it make if I spend 5 minutes at once portioning everything out for 2 weeks, or 30 seconds each day? It's the same amount of time, I'm just choosing to spend the vast majority of that time when it's more convenient; NOT in the mornings when we're trying to leave.

When I want to feel like a responsible mom but still let my kid have some street cred with his peers, I spend an afternoon making treats from Deceptively Delicious (banana bread, brownies, ginger cake, and carrot cake). I either bake them all as cupcakes, or bake and then cut into single-serving size. I individually wrap about half the items in foil or plastic wrap, and then throw everything in the freezer. Grab one of those out of the freezer, dump in the lunch box. It will thaw itself in a few hours, and still be fresh enough for the next day.

If you absolutely must serve something 'cold', then pack the box and store it in the fridge. Just bear in mind the next morning, you run the risk of forgetting something that isn't already in the backpack. There are plenty of things that can be frozen and pulled out in the morning, thawing by lunchtime. Peanut butter sandwiches, ham/turkey/chicken/roast beef and/or cheese sandwiches, stir-fried rice with or without meat, grilled chicken strips, baked potatoes cut in half .... use your imagination. You'll be surprised how many things do absolutely fine in the freezer. (I know, food safety people would come after me for advocating allowing meat to thaw at room temperature. Use your own judgment and do what you're comfortable with.)

4. Set aside your child's clothes for the entire WEEK.

On Sundays, I put together and set aside five complete outfits for the week, all matched up together on 5 separate hangers. This started out of necessity when we had barely enough 'respectable' pairs of shorts/jeans to last five full days. I needed to make sure they were set aside so that we didn't find ourselves down to the ripped jeans and 2-sizes-too-small sweatpants on a school morning. I put everything that may need to go with each outfit (some need belts, anything special for 'gym days' at school, etc) and have them hanging on the upper rod in the closet where our son can't reach them. If I don't get around to enough laundry in the week, he can suffer without boxers while at home in comfy PJs, and I know there will be plenty to get us through school days.

'But my kid likes to pick out her own clothes!' Yes, I know. I'm not being a complete Clothing Nazi here. On school mornings, I give him a choice between two outfits, and the clothes part is done. The rest of the week, he has free reign to delve into his closet and dress himself in whatever horrendous fashion he sees fit. This way, we know 'acceptable' clothes are set aside for school, and he gets to regulate and have control over his choices the rest of the time. Win-win.

(and yes, I'm fully aware many of my girlies are rolling their eyes in disbelief and disgust at my Type A personality right now .... I love you all, but zip it 'cause this really works!)

5. Get your child dressed VERY LAST, only as you're walking out the door.

This may seem to fly in the face of logic, since it appears to be smarter to make it a rule that clothes happen before you even come to the breakfast table. But remember how much work you put into setting aside clothes for the week? What if it's Friday, you're on your last set of clothes that won't make you cower in shame when you walk your child into school ...... and the bowl of Cheerios goes flying and drenches the whole outfit. Or the toothpaste drips a lovely trail down the navy blue t-shirt (and we know toothpaste drips never really come out with a wet cloth). Now you're freaking out because all you have left to send Precious Darling to school in are the red-and-white striped pirate leggings from his Captain Hook costume and the purple 'Number One Superstar' wool sweater knitted by your half-blind Great Aunt Mavis last Christmas. Stress, stress, stress.

Trust me. Let the Cheerios and toothpaste decorate the PJs. You can deal with those later.