April monthly organizing challenge is about determining a routine for you and your children. Everyone needs a routine in the morning. You know, those tasks you do to make your day start off more relaxed and less stressed. Though, setting up morning routines for you and your kids can be difficult especially if you never did it before. Lucky for you, I am going to help you with the process.
“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive; to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love." ~ Marcus Aurelius
Start by writing down the tasks you want to do in the morning. Below is a checklist you can use to help you write down the tasks you want to do in the morning. Divide it up by person. If you want, have your partner get involved too. It can be a family project.
Ask yourself these questions:
- What do you want the kids to do in the morning?
- What do you want to do in the morning?
- What do you want to get completed to start your day off on the right foot?
- At the end of the day, what would you regret not doing?
Now, it is the kids turn.
- Starting when the kids are five years old, works great because at this age, they want to be more independent and this is a way for them to do just that.
- Help your kids by putting the tasks in easy to follow order. Like if they are in the bedroom getting dressed, have them also make their bed. Here is an example of one that I created for my own kids when they were little:
- Make it a game for them. Offer awards if you want. Anything for them to understand that the morning routine can be fun!
Here are some helpful tips to make your morning routine more successful:
- If your kids do not read yet, use drawing with words under them on the checklist.
- I had a clients who did this for with their ADHD children to help keep them focused. They would give them their own decorated clipboard to carry around and check off what the kids completed.
- Laminate the morning routine checklist so the kids could reuse the same checklist over.
- Determine the best routine for you and your family. But, be flexible in the process. There may be times when you need to change the tasks. Here are tips to get your morning rituals in order.
- As a mom, carry around the checklist with you until you make it a habit. It takes at least a month for you to get into the habit so don't give up.
If you need some more guidance, please check my morning routines/rituals. Good luck! Please return and leave a comment below on how it is going making your morning routine. Did you have a chance to implement it? How did that go? How did your kids do with the process? I would love to hear from you.
