Back to School Evening Routine to Make Your Mornings Stress-Free

New school year is right around the corner. Many schools have already started. We have another two weeks to go before our kids are back at school. It is not easy to get them back into the groove of things, and get back into our daily routines. Getting up in the morning is a struggle. In order to make my life easier, our morning calmer and attempting to be overall a bit more organized, we follow the same evening routine every day. Here are a few things that make our mornings easier.

Back to School Evening Routine

School Work Before Play Time

The first part of our back to school evening routine actually starts right after school. We have a checklist on our fridge that lists all of my kids homework and activities. Before they are allowed to turn on the TV or video game, all of the work written on the checklist has to be completed. Some of the things on the checklist include simple stuff, like bringing their lunchboxes from their school bags to the kitchen, or putting their agendas on the kitchen table to be signed. But then, come the important things like going over all homework assignment and deciding which one to complete first. Getting to work and completing the task before moving on to the next subject or assignment. The bottom line – all the work has to be done before the kids are allowed any typo of free time to read or play.

back to school evening routine to make your mornings stress free

Making Lunches the Night Before

Another part of our evening routine is making lunches for the next day. My kids are very picky eaters, therefore I make sure to involve them into making their lunches. They get to choose their fruit and vegetables, what goes on their sandwiches, and whether they prefer a salad or some leftovers from dinner. Having them involved in making lunches, make them appreciate the effort that goes into putting them together, and most of the time, makes them eat their lunches in full.

back to school evening routine to make your mornings stress free

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Packing Their Backpack and Placing Them by the Door

Another thing we do the night before as a part of back to school evening routine is pack up the kids backpacks. Things like assignments, notebooks, permission slips, agendas, and any other work that needs to be brought to school the next day is all packed up and ready to go before the children go to change into their pajamas and go to sleep. All we have to do in the morning, is put their lunchboxes into the backpack, their water bottles into the side pockets and they’re ready to go.

Laying Out the Clothes for the Next Day

The last thing we do as a part of our evening routine, in order to make our mornings much easier and relaxed, is set the children’s clothes out on their chairs for the next day. We look at the Weather Network first, to see what the weather will be like in the morning. Then my kids go to their closets and pick out their outfits for the next day. That way there is no struggle in the morning and no indecisiveness as to what to wear. Whatever they have chosen to wear the night before they will be wearing to school that day. No changing their minds, no going through the closets, no fuss.

Stress-Free Mornings…

We have been following these four rules since our children started preschool. Right now they have become a routine, and my kids do them without thinking twice about them. September is always the hardest. After two months off, even I have a hard time getting back into the swing of things. But by mid October, this routine is once again engraved in us all and we love it! We don’t run around in the morning figuring out what we are going to wear, what we’re going to take for lunch, or where are those papers that we signed (or even worse – didn’t sign) the night before. All of that has been done the previous evening. We all make an effort to ensure that all of these things are checked off. It’s not easy. And the kids need reminders quiet often, but in the end it is all worth it.

What About You?

Do you have a back to school evening routine that makes your household run smoothly in the morning and helps your life less stressful? I’m always on the lookout to improve my life, so I’d love to hear from you in the comments.

back to school evening routine to make your mornings stress free

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30 thoughts on “Back to School Evening Routine to Make Your Mornings Stress-Free”

    • I found getting them involved in making their own lunches very effective. Mind you, at first it took me a little longer than normal, but in the end, it was constructive / quality time spent with my kids 🙂

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  1. I really think the key to making mornings less stressful is laying out clothes the night before and packing lunch lol. I totally agree. Sometimes its best to pack up the bookbag before bed and put in the car too. That way nothing is forgotton including the bag.

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  2. It’s funny how important routine is. Us adults need it just as much as kids do to make everything run more smoothly. My daughter isn’t in school yet but we have our own systems in place just to keep some sanity around our house.

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    • I couldn’t agree more. We too, had routines with our kids since they were babies. The routines change a bit as they get older, but I find that we all like the consistency and predictability of a routine. It makes our lives so much easier 🙂

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  3. I have two going to school and they have different times which helps and hurts. One is self sufficient so I don’t have to worry about her but my little one I need to stay on top of. We do pick out clothes the night before and alternate shower’s between mornings or at night. Last year she left before lunch so since she has lunch there we will see what works best for when we make it. She is very excited so that makes it very manageable because she will remind me of what I forget. She only forgets to brush her teeth or hair while we are waiting on the bus, lol.

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    • Sounds like you have everything well under control 🙂 Your little one sounds like a responsible little girl. As for teeth brushing… I know exactly what you mean… My kids are great with it in the evening, but mornings are a totally different story, lol

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    • My little one is a very picky eater and I find that when I involve him in making his lunch, he is much better at actually eating everything we packed for him.

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