Now here I am, back on the blog, doing something SO DIFFERENT. WE'VE GOT A MOM BLOG YA'LL, NO HAIR TODAY!
Now here I am, back on the blog, doing something SO DIFFERENT. WE'VE GOT A MOM BLOG Y'ALL, NO HAIR TODAY!
And by a minute I mean 9 months. Woah, I have been one busy bee.
I was planning my Instagram content (PS I now have an ebook all about crafting captions, click here to snag it) and I made a "personal post" all about Skyler going back to school and my latest mom hack.
I posted a picture of Skyler's school day routine chart to my IG stories and I got SO many responses.
I realized it's not just me, I have a lot of busy working moms that follow me and this chart makes everyone's life so much easier. So I am practicing what I preach, and I am providing value, simply for the sake of providing value.
I LOVE fresh starts. You know, January first, Mondays, the first day of school, the first day of summer, the first of the month, the first of the season, any excuse for a "fresh start" I shine.
Kindergarten went great, however some mornings were chaotic. Our mornings used to look like me getting up and getting ready, letting my kids watch TV while they eat breakfast and then boom I look at the clock its time to go and I'm yelling and rushing them to get moving. My fault, completely.
Something weird happens when your kids go off to school, it's like you recognize how little time you get with them during the school week and you realize, I don't wanna yell and fight during those times. I want them peaceful and flowing smoothly. But my 3 year old and a 6 year old don't seem to have those same priorities.
Their priorities look more like this:
turn on TV
fight over which show goes on
fight over french toast sticks
tattle to mom
become best friends again
build a fort out of throw pillows and blankets
fight over show again
kick sister
tattle to mom
besties again
race down hall way
put on dance leotard from 3 years ago
knock down fort
fight over knocked down fort
tattle to mom
By this time I have half my makeup done and we need to leave in 9 minutes and neither of the kids are ready and neither am I. Ensue chaos.
Judge me all you want if this isn't your mornings, but it was mine probably 80% of mornings last school year.
Not to mention we then got used to summer mornings, where no alarms are set and we wake up slow and I have all the time I need to curl my hair and do my makeup.
Working mom life is tough guys. You need to be so strategic and planned ahead or those little gremlins will sense your weakness and take over the house.
But not this year, nope, I have a fresh start and you best believe I am going to own it.
I am laughing at this long ass post all for a hanging chart on a door. But THESE THINGS MATTER GUYS! I know the fellow mamas understand.
So, to avoid distraction which ultimately leads to chaotic mornings, I found a solution. (laughing but very serious, were on day 3 of school and this shit is working) it is Skyler's School Day Routine.
It started with a Pinterest-y downloaded chart but it was ugly and too colorful and not chic enough for my aesthetic. When my IG story got all that attention from these moms I was going to share the chart, but then I figured I would do you all a favor and make it much cuter and make it downloadable for you all. I removed the name so you can hang it on your little girls door as well.
I love this because it gives her a sense of independence and there are no surprises. Also, I swear because it is coming from a piece of paper and not my mouth, she just listens better. (P.S. Alexa also tells her to do her chores every night at 7pm, not me. She listens to our digital slave living in that little black disk but doesn't listen to her mom that gave her life.... *sigh*
As you can see, the chart consists of this:
AM
Bathroom:
-potty
-wash hands & face
-brush teeth
-comb hair
Sunscreen
Get dressed
Put dirty pj's in hamper
Make bed
Eat breakfast
Take vitamins
Off to school
PM
Pick up toys & tidy room
Pack backpack
Tub Time
Put dirty clothes in hamper
Put on pj's
Brush teeth
Read for 15 minutes
Lights out!
Kids feel comfortable when they know what's going on each day. It builds their confidence when they can independently follow a routine chart without a parent nagging them to pick up toys of get dressed into pajamas for bed.
There is a noticeable difference in their behavior when the get off a well planned routine. Children thrive from the consistency of a routine.
I hope this helps any fellow mama out there trying to slay the school year and start and end their days right. Not sure if this will be the first of many mommy blogs or if it stops here, but if I ever have value to add, you can bet I will go out of my way to share it with you all.
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