September is Here; Back To Routines!

/

Ah, September! On one hand we are enjoying the last few lazy weeks of summer and on the other we know that the start of the new school year will be something akin to getting sprayed with a garden hose... on high... in the face... at seven in the morning.  Wherever you find yourself, the following tips and tricks might help you and the students in your life ease back into school routines.

1.    Start now.  Whether you have a week, two days or you find yourself mid-month already, it is a good time to start to turn back the clock on bedtime. For some reason September mornings just seem to start earlier than summertime mornings – even if the clock says the same time!  

  • Go to bed earlier (try pulling back bedtime by 15-minute increments each night or every second night until you reach your goal bedtime). This will help you body get the much needed sleep it needs to face early mornings and long days. Most adults need between 7-9 hours of sleep each day.  Young children need 10-11 hours each night. Going to bed early makes it easier to get up in the morning (says the morning person!) and redefining bedtime for you and your family can make a huge difference in mood, performance at work, school and play, and health.

2.    Aim to do one or two (or more) of the following the night before to ease morning madness:

  • Set out breakfast items
  • Set out the clothes you will be wearing (kids can do this too)
  • Pack backpacks, gym bags, courier bags, purses and any other bags with notices, clothes, permission slips, library books, etc.
  • Pack lunches – for most parents, this one is the hardest.  Here are a few tricks to take the crazy-making out of making school lunches:
    • Jot down a Lunch List (or print one from the Internet) of quick and easy lunch ideas and/or items. List those items that you know will get eaten. Listing them by category (veggies, fruit, grain, protein, “dairy”) can be helpful (see Enlist help below)
    • Shop and buy lunch items. This may seem obvious but if you don’t have it in your house, it’s not going to get into your lunch bag :)
    • Have a spot in your fridge where lunches can go once made (not lunch bags necessarily but lunch items - lunch bags take up too much room)
    • Enlist help. Even young children can choose from a few items for their lunch – if they help build their lunch the more likely they are to eat it! Have them choose one or two items from each (or most) of the major food categories from your Lunch List (see above)

3.    If all else fails, turn your clocks back – literally.  This one is a bit tricky though, if it works for you do it, but if you are someone who knows the clock is 5 or 10 minutes fast and it only encourages you to hit the snooze button it’s not going to work!

New routines can be a challenge to adjust to. Just do your best, that’s all we can ask of ourselves anyway! 

Looking for earth-friendly lunch gear, kid- and mom-approved foods and everything you need for healthy living? We got you covered at Pomme this September and all year long!