Making Homeschool Mornings Easier || My New Routine

Can you wake up on the wrong side of the bed after you’ve already been up for an hour? Is that a thing….because I think it’s a thing. We all seem to wake up in agreeable, ready-to-go spirits and somehow still manage to struggle to start any daily productivity. Well, except breakfast. We all love that. 😉

It doesn’t seem to matter what time I wake up. My wake up time doesn’t impact the flow of our mornings as much as what I do once I get downstairs. I’ve spent the summer trying to create new routines and habits, for both myself and the kids, with hopes for a more efficient school morning routine. Without further ado…here’s what our mornings will look like on school days:

1. I go immediately downstairs when I wake up and get breakfast for me and my little early riser. I also let out the dog or ask my son to do it.
2. It’s not preferable, but I let them start with a TV show while they eat breakfast. I started off our homeschool journey like everyone else – no screens until after school work is done. Oh, the whining and fits this caused. I don’t know what made me try it, but I decided to let them have one show with the promise that as soon as it was done we would start our day. It worked amazingly well. I’ve kept it up ever since.
3. While my kids watch their show, I read my Bible and get ready. (This is where things can fall apart. If I don’t use this time to be ready spiritually and physically…the day quickly unravels. It seems I am most distracted by my phone at this time of the day.)
4. After their show, the kiddos head upstairs to get dressed, make bed, etc. I get the Morning Basket out to be all ready for them when they come back downstairs. (See our morning basket and schedule here on YouTube.)
5. Time to gather on the couch and learn together! Our Morning Basket will cover Bible time and two or three of our planned six subjects for the day. So at this point, our school day has begun.
6. Once we finish the reading portion of our couch time, the kiddos will finish any written work while I check on laundry for the day. When I come back to the couch, I will check their work and send them off to feed the dog and practice piano.

Obviously, that isn’t the entirety of our school day. This article is only meant to cover the super critical morning routine. I know I can’t expect our entire day to look exactly the same all year. However, as much as possible, I’ve learned from experience that this early part of our day needs to be as routine and predictable as possible. My kids have really done well with this practice routine over the summer. I am praying this works for the fall, too!

How about you? How does your routine resemble or differ from mine? I’d love to learn from you!