Tips for making your Morning and After School Routines a Breeze!

Streamlining your before school routine can be tricky! Maybe you have your resident sleepy head to get moving, or perhaps you have that one child that keeps getting side tracked!

Limited time + stressed out kids = morning chaos!

Listen, I feel you. Mornings can be hairy… but here are a few tricks we’ve used to make the morning rush, a little more manageable in our house!

Morning Management Tips:

• Use a Morning Routine Checklist! You can print out the Downloadable Check list above, and then frame or laminate it! Once you do, your kids can use dry- erase markers to check off items from the list once they complete each task!
• Have a specific place where you keep your child’s backpack and have their clothes laid out for school. Not having to go on a scavenger hunt for each sock or homework assignment save you time, and lets be honest – saves you a little sanity!
• Eat a Breakfast that can be made quickly, and can travel!  On a recent shopping trip at Walmart, I picked up Jimmy Dean® Sausage, Egg & Cheese Croissant Sandwiches. They microwave in a blink, and they make several favorite breakfast ingredients in our house easily portable! My daughter can take bites of the sandwich while she practices a little piano, and my husband can be handed one on his way out to the car! And I love that I don’t have to get up earlier than everyone else to get things on the grill. I can just microwave and go! #FuelForSchool

Taming the After School Crew:

• Keep Homework Tools on Hand, and Organized! We use a small shower caddy to corral our crayons, glue sticks, highlighters, pencils and erasers. It can sit right on our kitchen table during homework, and be easily cleared when it’s time to eat.
• No mess Snacks!  Snacks that don’t require lot’s of clean up, and that can be held in one hand – help with time management! Homework can get done, all while after school hunger pangs are being satisfied. Also – a snack with protein keeps kids tummies full longer, and keeps them from asking “when is dinner?” five hundred times an hour! State Fair® Classic Corn Dogs are a popular choice at our house, and I got a great deal on them at Walmart.
• Use an After School Routine Checklist! We use an after school checklist to keep expectations clear, and to make sure that we have time to get everything done. I also think it cuts down on nagging from mom and dad! The list is simple- and puts the afternoon routine right in the hands of the kids – and that empowers everyone. You can download the checklist we use below!

I hope these tips and tricks we use at our house, help you to keep your morning and afternoon routines a little more efficient and stress free!

For more Breakfast and Snack ideas: http://walmart.com/fuelforschool

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Jimmy Dean®. The opinions and text are all mine.