Routines and habits can help us live a more ordered, effortless life which ultimately cuts down on our stress level too. Your children will learn these valuable habits from watching you and will ultimately be able to carry these same habits through life with them as well. As a single parent for most of my children’s school years, I can attest to the value of these much needed time management tips.

• Plan for the unexpected. As a rule, have your children arise 15 minutes earlier than normal every day. This extra time allows the children to wake up and prepare for school in a more relaxed way which ultimately will send them out of the door more prepared to learn & face the day. This also is an added cushion in case little Suzie spills koolaid on her school outfit and you need to quickly change her or Billy suddenly remembers there is one more paper he needs help with.
• Prepare the night before. One of the most valuable tools I taught my children was to always put their bookbags and other school items by the front door the night before. This way we were never running around frantically in the morning trying to collect not only their book bags, but everything that goes in them. We just casually grabbed their bags as we walked out the door.
• Plan and pack your lunch the night before. If you plan and pack your lunches the night before you can just grab those as well on your way out. The other big reward of doing it this way is that it adds a nice and relaxed time for the family to “hang out” together and have fun preparing the lunches together. As your children are eating their lunch at school, they’ll be reminded of the time you spent together preparing them.