Green Child Magazine Back-to-School 2012 | Page 28

Simple Routines
for

School Days
By Sandy Kreps

With school starting, it’s time to set routines
in place to ease your kids through the transitions of their day. For school-age kids, the
three most important transitions to manage
are morning, the after-school transition, and
evening/before-bed. Creating simple routines
can make the day go smoother:

Morning

Encourage children to be take responsibility for getting themselves ready for the day. A
chart of each step of the “getting ready” process
can cut down on the number of reminders you
have to give.
Have a standard rotation of simple breakfast
options, including a few “to go” items for those
extra-crazy mornings. Crockpot oatmeal, toast,
yogurt, cereal and fruit are all easy, healthy
choices. Muffins, bagels or breakfast bars make
good “to go” options.
Associate tasks with specific times, such as
what time you should be eating breakfast, and
use cell phone alarms for reminders to get going. If you know you need to leave the house
by 7:30, se Ё