Routine

Each time we've added another member to our family (including canine members), I've felt the pressure to become just a little more organized. It's hard to get seven people ready in the morning, so one of the first things I established was our morning routine. This routine actually begins the night before.

Evening (right after supper):
- pull out clothes for the next day and set them on the end table (the little ones get dressed in the living room under my supervision, bigger ones retrieve the clothes in the AM and take them somewhere with more privacy)
- pull out pyjamas for bedtime
- pack lunches for school the next day (everyone does their own, and we help with anything that needs cooking/assembling; even three-year-olds can choose snacks for at playschool)
- homework and/or home reading

Evening (half hour before bedtime):
- change to pyjamas
- put clothes in dirty laundry hamper
- brush teeth
- climb into bed and quietly look at books (even the one-year-old can turn the pages and look at pictures for a few minutes)

Morning:
- mom's quiet time until 7am, which means any little children who are up earlier than that must sit quietly looking at books (no talking is allowed or they are sent back to bed); I have actually found that this is my #1 influence on the tone of our morning...if I am not up before the kids, spending time with my Lord, I lean toward the irritable and impatient
- breakfast
- get dressed
- brush teeth and hair
- pack backpacks and have them ready at the door
- set out shoes and coats
- watch TV/ play with toys while mom gets ready

This routine has become such a part of our lives that I seldom need to tell the children what comes next. I usually just ask them, "what's next?" We have little trouble getting everyone out the door and to their buses on time, and mom and the wee ones aren't running late to do what we need to do!

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