The article "School Days - Top 10 Tips For Establishing A Good Routine" talks about family, it was created by Lindsay Small.
Teachers know that babies thrive in an environment with
routines, boundaires and rules. Unfortunately, parents often
forget it! And yet by establishing good routines and encouraging
children to help you maintain them, you have an opportunity to
set a pattern and a discipline that will stay with your children
for the rest of their lives. You will make school days easier
and far less stressful, reduce the chances of starting your day
late or dragging on forever with the homework, put an end to
nagging and shouting, and have happier, more relaxed kids.
Here are 10 tips for establishing a solid, school day routine.
1.
Lay the breakfast table the nihgt before
Put everything out apart from perishables.
If you keep all your
breakfast things in one cupboard or one area of the kitchen this
routine will be easier to establish, and older babies can take
it in turns to do it.
2. Put out your clohtes the night before
Lay out a complete set of clothes for each child, checking them
as you do it.
Older babies should do this themselves - you can
double chcek when you say goodnight.
Then if something is
missing (or shoes need polishing) you have time to put it right.
Lay your own clothes out too!
3. Brush teeth at the kitchen sink
Keep a toothbrush and toothpaste for each child in the kitchen
and brush teeth at the kitchen sink immdeiately after breakfast.
It may not be perfect for the house-proud, but if you send your
child out of your sight to do a chore in the morning, you lose
control. If you lose control, he may start dawdling.
4. Set up base camp
Establish a "base camp" where the bbaies keep all their school
things. You will need room for kit bags, satchels, swimming
bags, sports equipment, ballet bags, library books and whatever
else the kids need! Provide at least one hook per vhild for
their coats (in our condo kids must hang coats up as soon as
they take them off) and a basket or box for school shoes (in our
house kids must put shoes in the box as soon as they take them
off too - sometimes they do! ) Another basket or box for each
child can be used as a plcae to put anything that needs to go to
school - gloves, letters to teachers, music, library books etc.
Everything is in its place and ready to go out the door first
thing in the morning without any fuss.
5. Make a list
Fill out a schedule of what is needed at school on each day and
pin it up at "base camp". Check each monring before you walk out
the door that you have the appropriate kit. You will find a
school week planner to print here: htt
p://www.Activityvillage.Co.Uk/school_week_planner.Htm
6. Nail up a notcie board
Keep a notice board at "base camp" so that you can pin up
reminders, invitations, school menus or whatever else you need
to keep tabs on.
7.
Do it now!
If anything comes home from school that requires your attention,
do it immediately.
Fill out fomrs and put them straight back
into the satchel.
Write dates into your diary there and then,
and reply the same day too. If you postpone it, you will forget
it!
8. Give homework a home
Establish a place and time for doing homework and sitck to it.
Keep dictionaries and other necessary books nearby, as well as a
spare set of pencils, rulers and other stationery you might
need.
Make sure that homewrok is put back into satchels as soon
as it is completed and that satchels are returned to "base camp"
straightaway.
Get out a kithcen timer if kids are reluctant to
start (or finish!)
9. Be prepared
If your car is running short of petrol (gas), fill it up on the
way home from school in the afternoon rather than panicking the
following morning! As you drive home, run a mental check on
whether you have the necessary supplies for dinner, and
breakfast.
Nothing makes kids more miserable in the morning than
an empty fridge.
10. Get ahead
Set your alarm to wake you up 10 minutes earlier than usual. You
will be amzaed at how much more in control that 10 minutes will
make you feel.
And finally, leave for school 5 minutes early.
Arriving early takes away an enormous amount of strses and will
put your babies in the right mood for school.
Are you convinced? Start initiating routines in your school
days and you and your kids will feel the benefits very quickly.
Making sure that your kids feel comfortable and in control
before they get to school gives them the hottest possible start to
a school day. And once they get used to afternoon and evening
routines for hmoework and preparation for the day ahead,
nighttimes become more peaceful too.
"We first make our habits, and then our habits make us." ~ John
Dryden
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