Routines For Kids: Morning and Evening

Disclaimer: I am not a professional, just a mom sharing her experiences. Please do your own research and talk to a professional to figure out what is best for you. To see my full disclaimer go to my Disclaimer & Disclosure Page.

Daily Routines have made my life SOOOOO much easier. My husband is a HUGE list lover. I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t like to take the time to write everything out, but breaking everything down and having it written out makes getting things done quicker and easier than just trying to remember off the top of your head. I believe my kids were 7, 5, and 2 when I put together morning and evening routines for them. Obviously, the littlest didn’t necessarily join in yet, but it didn’t take him long to try to be like his big brother and sister. This in combination with having my kids get their clothes and lunches ready on Saturday or Sunday for the entire school week has made them completely self-sufficient in the morning, but we’ll get to that in a minute.

Ok, I admit it. I started these routines out of necessity, not because I wanted to better my children by giving them a little responsibility. When I found out that I was pregnant with my fourth child and realized she was due mid-school year, I knew the reality was that I was barely going to get them out the door in time to take the bus. A newborn is exhausting! You’re either feeding them or trying to get some sleep so you can be vaguely functional. So I knew that school year I had to start having them take on a little responsibility to keep my sanity. Morning and evening routines were easy because they were things they did every day anyway. Making lists for them to follow just meant that I no longer had to follow their every move, reminding them every step of the way. When they first started using the lists, I had to remind them to check everything off to make sure they were completely done. It didn’t take long before they were checking everything off on their own. Just remember routines don’t happen overnight. It takes time for anyone to create a habit.

I got them alarms so I no longer had to be one. I still have to check that they get up with their alarm, but they haven’t discovered the snooze button yet so normally it’s not an issue unless someone forgets to set theirs. However, I do have all their alarms staggered so if one forgets, or turns it off and falls back asleep, another will go off shortly after. Currently, my boys are 7 and almost 10 and have realized that if they get up with their older sister (who is in middle school and starts earlier), they can get some things done in the morning that they would normally do after school, leaving more time for play when they get home. I have recently caught my 7-year-old falling asleep on the couch, though. So I keep reminding him he doesn’t have to get up that early.

Their daily routines are pretty straightforward. Things that you do (and should do) when you get up in the morning and go to bed at night. When I made these I started by looking up ideas on Pinterest. There are so many versions out there. If you find one that works for you, awesome! I decided to make my own so I could personalize it. After getting a bunch of ideas from others, I went through step by step what they should do. I tried to keep everything pretty much in the order it should happen. In the morning, the first thing they do is get out of bed. So the first thing on the list is to make their bed. Although, I’ll admit I’m not really adamant about that so it doesn’t tend to actually happen. Next, they should go to the bathroom. This is more for the little ones so they don’t have an accident. Then, get dressed. And so on and so forth. For evenings I did the same thing. I put a picture next to each thing so the littlest didn’t need to rely on the older ones reading everything to him. As you can see below, I forgot to add cleaning their room to the list, so I just wrote it in. Leaving a little extra space on your first draft will come in handy. The magnets look like tacks and they’re pretty strong. I definitely recommend them if you’re using magnetic lists as I did. Well, the list is just printed on a piece of paper, but it’s on a magnet board.

Now for school clothes and lunches. This is the add-on to morning and evening routines that have made my children completely self-sufficient, in the morning especially. I have a different setup in each of my kids’ rooms for their clothes for the week. How these are set up is going to be determined by what works in their particular room. I look at the weather for the week and tell my kids what type of clothes need. The trick is also remembering if it’s a themed week to follow that as well. My boys use a hanging shoe/accessory organizer and my oldest daughter just hangs her clothes on the side of her loft bed right now. Before she had a loft bed she used a long rolling under bed storage bin. I cut out foam board and put the names of the days on them to use as separators. It worked well because I even had her put her clothes for her activities in it as well.

As for lunches, up until the pandemic, I kept it pretty simple. Sandwich, crackers, and fruit. That’s what they had each day. I was tired of asking them what they ate for lunch and getting the response “a cheese sandwich”, which is the meal for the kids that don’t want the hot lunch. So I finally said, “If all you’re going to eat is a sandwich, it’s cheaper for me to have you take your own.” Now my oldest has started adding a little more variety, so I have upgraded to a couple of lunch tins for her instead of just sandwich bags. I have been trying to lower our waste so we have reusable sandwich and snack bags that we use. I do have some ziplock bags leftover from before we got the reusable bags, but those are only used for field trips because they have to be able to throw away their lunch. Yes, they do make their own lunches. When my third child was in kindergarten I started out the year making his sandwiches, but probably halfway through, he learned to do it himself. They each also have a water bottle they take to school, so they can never complain about being thirsty. Having these all put together at the beginning of the week makes mornings easier and faster to get ready. Literally, grab and go. No thinking about what to wear or hurrying to get lunch put together.

TIP: Most of the kids’ sandwich and snack bags came from Target. They carry the silicone (I believe that’s what they are) ones all year. However, they get fabric ones in with back-to-school supplies. So after school has started, look for them to go on clearance. Once they do, they may go fast though. Also, check out other discount stores like Home Goods and Marshalls. I’ve even ordered some on Amazon. Really you can find them all over the place, but if you don’t want to spend a lot of money at first, check out clearance. When buying fabric bags for lunches, you’ll want to make sure you get the ones with a lining. Otherwise, the food inside won’t stay as fresh. If you’re looking at actual containers, keep in mind that they can’t take glassware to school. I only mention this because with trying to lower waste and just get better products that’ll last longer, we switched all our food storage to glass. So when my oldest mentioned she wanted to take a salad to school every now and then, I had to buy a couple of metal containers for her.

So when can you start using these morning and evening routines? I would say school age. That includes preschool. I started having my 3rd child follow these routines when he started preschool at 3. However, my 4th is being homeschooled for preschool, so I’m not really pushing it yet. Next year will be her second year of preschool and even though I will more than likely still homeschool her, I will have her start following the morning and evening routines. Honestly, she really could be doing it now with no problem. I’ve just decided not to push it yet.

Hopefully, this will give you a good start to a less stressful start and end to your day.