She is READY!
As some of you may know, my daughter started first grade last week. Last year, it seemed like EVERY MORNING was a battle to get my daughter out of the house on time. Unfortunately, she usually left on a note that was NOT positive, to say the least. It got so bad, that I would have daddy wake her up and make sure she was ready to go. This year, I decided that was going to change. Our kids feed off of our energy. We teach them how to respond to situations by OUR ACTIONS. I don’t want my kids to assume screaming is the best way to get your point across. I don’t want them to think eating a pop-tart in the car every morning is how you prepare for work (it didn’t happen every day, but there were days like this in my house). So I changed ME in order to change my family’s morning routines. Here are the tweaks I made that has helped our family take on school mornings.
She was actually sick the first day. She finally went on Wednesday, Poor girl.
BEDTIMES APPLY TO EVERYONE
My kids have a bedtime so they have gotten enough sleep to take on the next day. I NEED ENOUGH SLEEP TO TAKE ON THE DAY TOO! Most of you may not need 7.5 hours like me, but you need to let your body recover by SLEEPING! This will help you with your physical energy levels and your EMOTIONAL levels. Decide how much sleep YOU need; here is a site that can assist you with that. Then GO TO BED!
The worst part is waking the Sleeping Beauty.
SLEEPING IN IS FOR THE WEEKENDS
Last year, I thought I had the perfect timing of when I had to pull my daughter out of bed, throw her clothes on, get her teeth and hair brushed, and stuff cereal down her throat (if there was time). This was such a bad idea, I’m embarrassed to tell you about it. What is this showing my kids? That’s it’s normal to RUSH your way through everything, and MAYBE eat some sugary food if there is time?? Not Acceptable.
Now I WAKE UP before my kids. My husband goes for a run, and I spend some time in my bible (or if you aren’t religious, maybe have a cup of coffee). This way, I have refresh my mind; then I wake my daughter up EARLIER!! She now has time to peacefully wake up. While she is getting dressed and brushing her teeth, I AM MAKING MY FAMILY BREAKFAST!!! Sometimes she asks to eat breakfast at school (She enjoys the French toast sticks, can’t say I blame her), but now my husband has eggs, cottage cheese, and toast to look forward to after his run. Don’t get me wrong, my kids still eat cereal too, but I make an effort to give them a hot breakfast option as well. WE ARE MOMS, WE ARE THE BACKBONES OF OUR FAMILIES! We need to show our kids how to start our days off right!
100th Day of school
CHOOSE HOW YOU WILL HANDLE EVERY SITUATION
I will be first to tell you, I am quick to raise my voice. This is a battle for me every hour of the day. I grew up with it, and now I have to break it. To not get flustered with my daughter soooo early in the day, I try to pump her up for the day. I talk to her about how well she is going to do. I remind her how to handle any “mean” kids. I say her hair looks so pretty. I ask her what she thinks will be the best part of the day. This question is answered with lunchtime, recess, and “Probably, when I get in the car to go home.” Then I TRY to redirect her thoughts with successful ones, but sometimes that doesn’t work… I now have the mindset that I WILL NOT take the easy way out by yelling. I have other options to make my mornings flow better. My goal for every morning is to send my family off to work and school unfrazzled, unstressed, and overall looking forward to take on the day.
Despite our chaos, she has my heart.
That being said, it’s only been a week! BUT it’s been a great week (in my eyes at least). Even in a week, I’ve fallen short. HOWEVER, I’m not perfect and I’ve accepted that. I know that I’m still better off this year than I was last year. I’m still striving to give my family the best, and that’s something to be proud of.
