Back to School Routine: 4 Things That Make Mornings Easier

Lucy is starting fifth grade and Cyrus is starting first, which means it's time to find our back to school routine again. I'm happy to have a routine. I'm less happy about the part where everyone needs shoes, lunch, a water bottle, and a signature on a form by 7:30 a.m.

I don't think a shopping cart can fix our mornings. But a few boring, useful things can make them easier. These are the four I'd bother with:

A lunch box with a built-in ice pack. The Bentgo Chill has one less loose ice pack to find in the morning. It's sized for younger kids, so this is more of a Cyrus pick than a Lucy pick. Lunch is hard enough without pretending every container works for every age.

Cirkul water bottles. This one is actually from our house. My kids drink so much more water when they can add a flavor they like. Here’s a Cirkul 22 oz starter kit if you want to try one. The flavor cartridges are an ongoing purchase, so I’d start with a couple and see whether your kid likes them before stocking up.

A visible timer for the morning countdown. The Time Timer MOD lets kids see how much time is left. It won't put anyone's socks on for them, but it might save me from saying “we have five minutes” 14 times.

A calendar everyone can actually see. A magnetic monthly and weekly calendar set on the fridge gives school events, activities, and “bring this tomorrow” reminders somewhere to live besides my brain. An electronic calendar would work too, but a dry erase one does the job without another screen to set up.

None of this is a perfect routine. Someone will still announce they need a specific shirt while we're already running late. But if lunch, water bottles, and the things we need to take are a little easier to find,

I'll take the win.

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