When I drive to school in the mornings, I do not have students in my car and it is still hard some mornings to be on time! That got me wondering what mornings are like for the other families in the Cedar Classical Academy community who do have students. I asked the six families with the best attendance records in the school for their best tips and tricks for getting to school on time. Not only did I see shared habits, but I also saw some refreshing differences in families’ cultures, priorities, and approaches. It always encourages the staff to see both similarities and differences in our partner families. I hope that their advice and experiences encourage you too.
Plan Ahead
“I make sure uniforms are clean and ready.”
“We have everything ready the night before. We set out backpacks, homework, snow clothes, uniforms, lunches, shoes and coats exactly where they need to be. Breakfast dishes are even out!”
“We prepare as much the night before as we can. I just started having the kids pack their own winter bags (snow pants, gloves, boots, etc.) and doing that the night before is so helpful. We do not do homework in the morning except for occasionally fixing a mistake I might have found looking things over after their bedtime.”
“We maintain a regular and reasonable bedtime.”
“Backpacks are packed the night before with everything except lunches. In fact we make sure that any time something comes out of our son’s backpack, it goes right back in as soon as he is finished using it. We make sure that there are always clean uniforms hung in the appropriate place so the kids can dress quickly without needing to search for items.”
“From our target arrival time we schedule backwards all the things we need to do in the morning. It takes 30 min (rounding up!) for us to drive to school, so we need to be driving out at 7:20, so we need to end breakfast at 7:10 and start getting to the car. That is probably the most important time point for us. So we try to start breakfast by 6:45, wake up boys at 6:20, start cooking breakfast by 6:00. If we are persistently having trouble staying on track, we will push these times all earlier, often going right back to when Mom has to wake up at 5:00.”
Wake Up Earlier Than You Need To
“We wake up early enough so that the morning is calm and not rushed but not too early that the kids get wrapped up in other things. It’s a fine balance!”
“We get up well before the kids so we have time to have our coffee (always) and have a quiet time (usually).”
Make Your Lunchmaking Strategy Work For You
“I pack lunches when I clean up from dinner about 90% of the time. I know many families have the kids pack their own lunches, but I like the control over their macronutrients for the day given what we will have for breakfast and dinner that day as well.”
“I don’t agonize over perfectly balanced meals for lunch. Sometimes it is as simple as an apple and a couple of granola bars. Our daughter packs her lunch independently and I don’t micromanage it.”
Aim for Early
“Know the exact time it takes to get from your home and to arrive at the school at 8:00AM. Then be firm on getting out the door 5 minutes early. This year, I tell the boys we need to pull out of the garage at 7:22AM each day. This removes all pressure to drive fast, and removes unnecessary anxiety from the beginning of the day.”
“The target time has always been 7:50, which gives us 10 minutes of ‘oops’ time.”
“Our strategy is to shoot for 7:50 rather than 8:00.”
“We live about 30 minutes away so we make sure we leave no later than 7:15.”
“We leave the house 5 minutes earlier than we need to. I love my talk time with the kids in the car and I don’t want to feel rushed and frantic.”
Carpool
“Honestly, we might not be as punctual if there was not another family counting on us to get their kids to school! It is great accountability. Also, it means that we only have to hustle and bustle to be ready on time a few mornings a week instead of every morning.”
Give Your Students More Responsibility
“Because two of my kids are older they know what they have to do to get ready and be on time. It’s a team effort.”
“Any ways kids can help in the morning are helpful. My son now knows how to start the car! Game changer!”
“We have gradually trained the kids to do much of their morning routine independently. We get them up and have breakfast on the table, but they take it from there: get dressed, brush teeth, brush hair, etc.”
“Our upper schooler manages his own wakeup and preparations, and then helps out quite a bit with our toddler, getting his little brother’s shoes and jacket on, etc. I suppose this can be encouraged, but what makes it really helpful is that it isn’t required or forced, and doesn’t need to be enforced. Enforcement is a limited resource in the morning.”
It’s Easier if Your Kids Care Too
“It helps that my kids don’t like to be late!”
“My kids like to arrive in time to put bags away.”
“My kids are on time and have good attendance because they love school and value school and this is a result of CCA’s investment into them more than mine. They are upset when they might be late because they love and value Opening Ceremony because their teachers have instilled this into them. They don’t want to miss school for vacations or appointments or anything because of what they will miss while they are gone because their teachers have instilled in them a love for learning and an appreciation for learning. It is evident in many ways but maybe this is the way it shows the most; they want to be at school more than anything else.”
Don’t Give Up
“Certainly we still have stressful mornings sometimes! There was a time I had to wrangle a preschooler and nurse a baby before getting out the door which was so stressful and busy, but any sort of advanced preparation helps a lot.”
“Some mornings start with me barreling into my boys’ room and yelling “Get out of bed!!! You have 8 minutes until the car needs to be driving! This month we are celebrating our 2 quarters of perfect attendance and no tardies by planning a day trip up north and missing school with no guilt!”