A day without coffee is like…just kidding, I have no idea what that’s like. Well, not in the past 10 years, at least! When I wake up in the morning (especially on schooldays), I find my slippers, stagger to the kitchen, and pour two cups of the nice, hot coffee that’s waiting patiently for me in the coffee maker that I {hopefully} remembered to pre-set last night to brew 30 minutes before my husband and I typically wake up. Just me? Tell me it’s not just me. It’s fair to say that I do not classify myself as a “morning person,” nor do I wake up rearing to go on most mornings. It’s a process. Where are my fellow non-morning people at?
On schooldays, though, I’ve discovered that waking up and getting ready for the day is an absolute must. I get up, drink the coffee (always coffee first for me!), eat breakfast, get dressed/ready/etc, and have a set time the kids need to be ready to start in on school. They know that I expect them to be downstairs at our “school table” by 10:00am having already done all of these things, too. I have tried (and failed) to start our school day without being fully prepared…you know, being relaxed about it, moseying around in pjs, eating a leisurely breakfast, and gently getting started as we are ready. Let me just tell you a little secret…for our family, this has been a miserable failure in the past. Imagine this scene: I look up when we are finally ready to start school, and it’s no earlier than 2:00 in the afternoon!!! Laughable, at best. Needless to say, it’s impossible to get any work done before beginning afternoon activities if we do things that way. Although this more relaxed method can work for some families, I have discovered that ours needs a bit more structure than that.
Now, I don’t want you to go thinking that our day is completely rigidly structured, or that I have an exact time set for everything we do, because that is far from being true. What I do have is a general outline of the day. It’s a kind of schedule, but with freedom. I love my freedom, and having options, so this definitely works well for us! The type of schedule I have found that helps us is:
- Set a specific start time for school (10am for us).
- Have a goal and list of what we want to accomplish before lunch. (I generally like us to be done with at least reading, science, math, and spelling by then.)
- Finish up any last activities/subjects by 3:00pm. (We usually save math and history for after lunch, because trying to complete those subjects with a rumbly tummy is really hard!)
- Move onto afternoon activities, errands, and dinner prep after school is done.
Something important to know about me is that I cannot work, or think well for that matter, in the midst of chaos. Knowing this about myself helps me to direct the kids, as well. When they are finished with one thing, they must put it away. I know this sounds elementary, but seriously…how many times has school been long finished and forgotten, and you walk back into the room to find books, papers, pencils, and supplies scattered about as if a tornado had blown through?? My brain starts to scramble at the thought. *drinks a few more sips of coffee*
Before school is declared officially done for the day, the kids have to put their school stuff away. At our house, that means into their backpacks. If it’s Friday, the backpacks are taken to their rooms for the weekend so we can truly be “off” and not stare at them. During the week, the backpacks are allowed to sit at each child’s seat at the school table. I know other families who use cubbies, boxes, bookshelves, and other storage methods to contain school stuff while it’s not in use. I say any organization method that works for your family is the one you should go with.
I don’t ever say “I hate Mondays,” though. Why? Because I would rather start the week off on a positive note…it just feels better. So, instead of hating Mondays, I prepare for them. I make ready my plans and my coffee. Part of how I prepare for Mondays and the beginning of the school week is by what I do on Sundays. I make all my photocopies and last-minute lesson plan adjustments then, so that in my Monday morning stupor I don’t drop the ball on anything. I know myself well enough to know when I’m not at my most alert, and Monday mornings…well, you know. If you’re at all like me, a quick Sunday evening once-over might help you, too! I have mentioned before that I love lists. Sometimes my lists have their own lists. But this is not the time for a long list. Just the basics will do. There’s a lot to be said about covering all the basics and feeling ready for the week. It really sets us up for success, instead of chaotic fumbling.
Now, where’s my coffee? Probably in the microwave where I put it to heat up, got distracted, and then forgot about it until now. Guess it’s time for a refill. It is Monday morning, after all. May you be blessed as you move through the week, and I hope you find joy in the chaos…sometimes it’s in your coffee cup, and if you can’t find that, you could check the microwave like I’m about to. Blessings and Joy are being wished your way today, mama!