Morning Routine For Home

A morning routine for home can make getting everyone ready in the morning. Try some of these suggestions for a smooth morning for everyone in the family.
Let’s go! Let’s go! Come on … you’re going to miss the bus! I don’t know where your favorite jeans are; it’s not my responsibility. What do you mean you still have homework? Did you brush your teeth yet? Let’s go! I’m leaving… NOW!

Oh I hope your mornings don’t sound like that above. If it does, it’s not too late to turn that ship around. The key to having a stress free morning routine is to have a smooth bedtime routine. Remember, a routine is something that is followed regularly, standard procedures. Without the consistency you will have an uphill battle.

Here are some tips to a stress free morning routine:

· No yelling. Raising your voice, albeit frustrated, is only going to escalate matters.

· Early to bed, early to rise. That one is simple.

· Showers and baths should be taken at night. You think you’ll have time in the morning, but you rarely do.

· Look over all homework for completeness before bed; don’t assume it’s finished.

· Before bed ensure lunches are made, backpack is packed and there are no surprise “Oh I need xxx today!”

· Give singular instructions. Don’t say, “I want you to finish your homework, eat breakfast, get dressed, comb your hair, brush your teeth and be in the car by 8:15.” To a child, that sounds like “blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah.” One instruction at a time works wonders.

· Provide instructions once. If you’re doing this, stop: “Johnny, it’s time to get dressed.” Two minutes later, “Johnny, we’re going to be late if you don’t get dressed now.” Two more minutes later, “Johnny, honey, I told you to get dressed.” “Johnny, Mommy is going to be late, now go get dressed.” To a child that sounds like “Oh mom is good for asking about five more times before she really goes ballistic!” Repeated requests only send the message that junior doesn’t really have to do it now.

· Set consequences and stick to your guns. If you tell your child the car is leaving at 8:15 sharp, make it happen. Clearly you can’t leave your child behind, so leaving without her isn’t an option. Tell her you will be leaving whether she is ready or not. Sending a 10 year old to school with uncombed hair, pajamas and an empty belly might be just the catalyst for change.

You are the parent; you set the tone for the morning routine. You need to be actively involved in the morning routine. Follow the steps above and I guarantee ‘joy will come in the morning!’

We recommend:
Dine Without Whine
The family friendly menu mailer – Dinner recipes that you and your kids will love send to your inbox everyday. Christine will even create a grocery list for you. Fixing dinner every night couldn’t be easier. Give it a try!

Meet The Teacher Ideas

Your child’s teacher spends a lot of time with him or her each week. Make an effort to get to know this person with these meet the teacher ideas.

By definition, a teacher is one who teaches. Ya .. so? Let’s look at what it means to teach. The dictionary defines the verb teach as:

· To impart, provide or instruct knowledge or skill

· To condition to a certain action or frame of mind

· To cause to learn by example or experience

· To advocate or preach

· To carry on instruction on a regular basis in

That last one, to carry on instruction on a regular basis, is a biggie…on a regular basis. On average teachers will spend 30 hours a week with your elementary age child. In contrast, let’s look at the amount of time you will spend, with your child during an average school week. Between getting up, dressed, fed and teeth brushed, on average, a parent will spend 10 minutes actually with the child.

Then there’s after school – it’s probably at least 5:00 pm before you really spend time with your child; either due to your schedule or your child’s. (Note: Seeing your child and spending time with – are not synonymous). Then maybe you spend some time together preparing and eating dinner. After school and after work you may have taken junior to practice or the store, or there was more homework.

If your child is like most, a bath or shower is probably needed. After that, perhaps a bedtime snack, a little TV and then it’s time to start the bedtime routine. It’s safe to say, on average, parents will spend less than eight (8) hours a week interacting with their elementary age child. Now do you see why it is vital to get to know your kid’s teachers?

Most schools have an Open House prior to the first day of school. This gives the parent and child a chance to meet the teacher and vice versa. Make every effort to attend this Open House. If you have a schedule conflict you cannot rearrange, make an appointment before or after school to meet your child’s teacher. It may only take a quick 10 minute visit initially, but don’t you want to know who will be imparting, providing and instructing knowledge and skills to your child?
Teachers will almost always provide phone numbers and emails where they can be reached. Nearly all of them will give you their home number. Use this contact information! Many parents think, “Oh I don’t want to bother the teacher by calling him/her.” Bother? Staying informed about what is happening with your child thirty hours each week should by no means be considered, “bothering the teacher.” Parents have a duty to know what is going on!

Additional Resource:

We recommend:
Dine Without Whine
The family friendly menu mailer – Dinner recipes that you and your kids will love send to your inbox everyday. Christine will even create a grocery list for you. Fixing dinner every night couldn’t be easier. Give it a try!

Ideas For Packed School Lunches

Send your kids to school with some great food with these ideas for packed school lunches.

Hot lunch at school can become quite expensive. Figure on average, hot lunch costs $2.10 per day if you include milk with the meal. If you have three children, $6.30 a day, multiplied by five days, that’s $31.50 a week… just for lunch! Is it convenient for parents? You betcha. Can it be expensive? You betcha!

I’m going to give you some excellent money saving lunch ideas. It’s important to remember that you must not embarrass your children with the lunch you force them to take (egg salad sandwiches aren’t real popular in school). You need to come up with some fun, tasty meals that will make your child the envy of the lunch table. The object here is to save money and ensure your well thought-out lunch doesn’t end up at the bottom of the trash barrel.

I remember a day when it was cool to bring a thermos to school. Mine had My Little Ponies (the original ones) and my brother’s was Lost in Space. Kid’s thermoses are quite adorable, however a word of caution: they don’t keep hot foods as hot as the trusty metal and glass thermoses. Just be certain to preheat the thermos with boiling water, and then put the hot food directly into the thermos. Your hot food should stay warm until lunch time, four hours later.

Leftovers make great thermos food. Make sure you get a wide mouth, shorter thermos. You could fill it with soup, stew, mac and cheese, hamburger helper, chili, spaghetti and even hotdogs. Another idea is to fill the thermos with taco meat with the cheese already added. Then put a hard taco shell or a soft tortilla into the lunch bag and your bambino is ready for a fiesta!

Of course you could also serve cold lunches in the thermos. How about tuna salad, macaroni salad, or spaghetti salad? Or fill it with antipasto – variety of meats and cheeses. Don’t forget about celery and peanut butter or crackers and cheese. Roll-ups go over well, too. There are a couple different variations: Cream cheese spread on a slice of salami, with a sweet pickle inside; or instead of rolling up a slice of salami, roll up a tortilla that is stuffed with ham and shredded cheese.

Forget those pre-made lunches in a cardboard box. Forget the standard PBJ. Think out of the box. Economical can also be fun. Your child’s friends will try to trade their lunch for the fun meal you packed!

We recommend:
Dine Without Whine
The family friendly menu mailer – Dinner recipes that you and your kids will love send to your inbox everyday. Christine will even create a grocery list for you. Fixing dinner every night couldn’t be easier. Give it a try!

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