School of Thought

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School of Thought Hectic Mornings

By Etti Siegel

Dear Etti,

I am a little nervous about school. It’s been pretty relaxed in my home, and everyone is in vacation mode. How to I make sure we begin school on the right foot? I cringe as I remember last year and the hectic mornings we faced day after day. I asked the bus driver to wait a little too often, and then I had to drive kids to school on some days.

I would appreciate your help and guidance. -Anxious Mom

Dear Mom,

You are not alone! It is a big transition to move from the summer no-schedule to the school schedule.

Here are some tips that might help:

Have breakfast/lunch/snack planned the night before, as much

as you can. The decision factor is a timewaster for most children. Does your family do yogurt? Cereal and milk? Eggs? Put out the bowls and cereal on the table the night before. Put the frying pan and spatula on the counter, ready to be used. Have children enter the kitchen with breakfast ready to eat.

The most important part, all teachers will tell you, is that your child eats breakfast, even if it is breakfast-to-go (bag of cereal and a yogurt with a straw to eat on the way). Teachers cannot expect to teach hungry students, and hungry students are like cars without fuel.

Do you pack lunches? Prepare snacks? Think of how you can streamline the process. Snacks can be chosen the night before. Many lunches can be made the night before, or on Sunday for the week! But please, pack what your child will eat. Teachers know how vital food is to your child’s healthy development, but they do not want to be busy trying to convince your son/daughter to eat when they must supervise the rest of the class as well.

Have clothing laid out the night

before. Your children can do this themselves. Even children who struggle with organization can follow a list (or drawing) of what should be laid out in the designated place. Put shoes on the floor near the clothing and precious minutes will be saved in the early morning rush.

Have a designated homework

spot (even if it is the dining room table). This will allow your child, and you, to notice if something was not put back in the

There is a theme here, and it is Being Proactive.

knapsack to bring back to school. (Have a dumping place for school stuff. This way, if a child is missing a folder, you all know where to look. If a booklet is there for a while, you know you can probably toss it; just ask your child first.)

There is a theme here, and it is Being Proactive.

It might sound overwhelming, but the truth is, once you get the hang of it, it makes life so much easier.

Set the timer, even if it is the oven timer. Have it ring ten minutes before everybody needs to out to the school bus.

Have a meeting before school with your older children and have them make a list of what they need to get done in the morning. Pretty paper and laminating will make the list feel even more important!

Here is a great system to help your early childhood child (through 2nd grade) own the morning routine (and if it works, make a night one, too!).

Using a non-pocket folder, make a flip book with your child that allows your child to see what needs to be done, and

then flip the folder closed after completing that item. You can find images online or draw them and have your child color them in. You can use magnetic tape or Velcro dots.

One of my daughters used the concept in her special ed classroom, and another used the idea in her home with her children.

Her is a great sample featured on https://mamapapabubba. com/2019/07/25/morning-routine-flipchart/

The more involved your children are with planning, the more they will own the issue and take responsibility where they can.

Children will feel less frazzled and hectic mornings will be a thing of the past.

And the teachers will thank you for the calmer child you will send to school.

Enjoy the rest of the summer, and happy planning!

Etti

Mrs. Etti Siegel holds a MS in Teaching and Learning/Educational Leadership and brings sound teaching advice to her audiences culled from her over 35 years of teaching and administrative experience. Etti was an Adjunct Professor at Aspen University and at Concordia College of NY and is now an Adjunct at the College of Mount Saint Vincent/Sara Shenirer. She is a coach and educational consultant for Catapult Learning and HigherSchools/ FACTS Education Solutions, is a sought-after mentor and workshop presenter around the country, and a popular presenter for Sayan (a teacher-mentoring program), Yachad/OU, Hidden Sparks, and the Consortium of Jewish Day Schools. She is a frequent contributor to Hamechanech Magazine and The Journal of Jewish School Leadership. She will be writing weekly for The Jewish Home. Mrs. Siegel can be reached at ettisiegel@gmail.com.