Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Stages

How to ease your 1st grader back into a morning routine

By

Transitioning from sleeping in and starting off slow in the morning to waking up early and rushing out of the house presents a challenge for any child when the first day of school rolls around. And that situation happens frequently with any given “normal” year. However, we’re not only moving from summer break, but also into the first reopening of most schools in just over a year due to Covid-19. Consequently, for adults and children alike, adapting to a new school morning routine might be more difficult. Therefore, we have some tips that will help you to set up a new school morning routine for your first grader.

Establish a school morning routine one to three weeks before the first day

Starting a transitional phase late in the summer break will take the “shock” out of the first week of school. Preparing during the last month of summer, or even just a week before your first-grader goes back to school creates a calmer environment that enables them to adapt to the new routine without rebelling. Plus, this gives you a chance to see what works and what doesn’t in relation to specific procedures such as sitting down to breakfast as opposed to grabbing a quick bite for the ride to school.

Recommended Videos

Also, by starting well ahead of time, you’ll get more opportunities to remind your child about the start of the school year, to get answers to questions about the school’s policy regarding Covid, and to ease your child’s anxiety about in-person learning. To make the return to school more interesting, you can also remind your first grader that he or she will see the same friends again or will be able to finally meet them face-to-face if virtual learning was the main option during this past year.

Big sister reading to little brother
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Determine an ideal bedtime—and stay with it

Along with practicing the school morning routine, you can set up the school night procedures. So even on the weekends, you might consider getting your child into the practice of going to bed early. Some measures that you can implement include:

  • switching off the television at a certain time every evening
  • serving dinner a bit earlier than “summer hours”
  • bathing the evening before
  • reading a bedtime story

Settling down at the same time every evening can help your first grader regain sleep patterns that might have been thrown off during the pandemic when virtual learning took place. And with the school year’s “new normal” on the horizon, any form of a routine gives a sense of security for the little ones.

Related

Prepare school items, lunches, and clothing the night before

Allowing your child to help you prepare their backpack and/or lunch for the following day will show them a valuable life skill, and, of course, that it’s time to go back to school, and that everything will be back to normal, so to speak.

In addition to the school supplies and lunches, you can also employ your first grader’s help in picking out clothes for the next day. At this age, your child might want more independence and control over important decisions—like which t-shirt to wear. So again, you’re giving them the chance to learn how to make choices, which is another important life skill. Most importantly, nightly preparation will help everyone avoid the stressful rush in the morning.

little girl meditating
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Try some fun rituals to start the day

Adding a short, simple activity makes the school morning routine enjoyable and eliminates the stress, especially if these daytime doses of positivity involve the whole family. Here are some suggestions to try out:

  • Use a favorite song on your phone as an alarm when you open your child’s door
  • Prepare a simple, favorite breakfast; make it a “grab-n-go” if you have to run out the door immediately
  • Engage your first-grader in a quick song, chant, dance, or some other fast, fun activity right before you leave
  • Recite or make up a positive (quick) affirmation or devotional to start out the day

When your child sees how mornings can be an uplifting time of the day, rather than a difficult and exhausting one, they will eventually pick up the skill of self-motivation when an obligation (like going to school) is met with a positive attitude. Plus, your child will also learn the importance of punctuality when you stay with a consistent, well-prepared routine.

So, school morning routines have returned, but with these ideas for making mornings run smoothly, you’ll be able to get out the door on time and with lots of smiles. You might also remember that the sooner you start adapting to the school year schedule, the easier it will be for your first-grader to adjust to waking up, getting ready, and heading back to class.

Editors’ Recommendations

Leslie Anderson
Leslie Anderson
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Leslie Anderson is a freelance writer/writing coach from Roswell, N.M. She enjoys gardening, cooking, and helping students…
How old do you have to be to fly alone? Read this before booking your kid’s trip
Find out the right age for solo flying and other important facts
Little girl watching movie on the seat-back TV screen while enjoying her airline meal

If you thought traveling with kids was stressful, try sending them off on a flight alone. For many parents, it's necessary to send their child on a flight by themselves, whether it's for a vacation, to visit a parent who lives far away, or for any number of reasons. If you find yourself in a position where your child may need to travel without you, you may ask yourself, "How old do you have to be to fly alone?"
All airlines have their own rules and regulations regarding unaccompanied minors, so parents or caregivers must be aware that there isn't one specific set of rules that applies to all airlines. Before booking any trip, parents need to ensure they know the airline's policy regarding how old they have to be to fly alone and be aware that there are often extra fees that apply when a child flies without an adult.

When can children fly alone?
Typically, airlines have unaccompanied minor policies in place for children between the ages of 5 and 14 years old, which means children under 5 are not allowed to fly solo, regardless of whether they're traveling with an older unaccompanied minor or not.

Read more
What is 4-month sleep regression (and how to keep it from ruining your life)
Here's what you need to know if you're dealing with 4-month sleep regression
A mother watching her baby sleep in their crib.

A good night's sleep is hard to get when you have a baby. So, when your little one starts sleeping for longer stretches, and dare we say through the night, it is a cause for concern. Not many parents may have heard of 4-month sleep regression, even though they may be experiencing it. Four-month sleep regression is perfectly normal and happens to some little ones around the 3- to 4-month mark. Of course, when baby isn't sleeping, neither is anyone else in the house. Here's everything you need to know about 4-month sleep regression, including when your baby will start going down for the night once again.

A guide to 4-month sleep regression
By the time babies are 2 to 3 months old, they typically sleep for 5 or 6 hours stretches. By 4 months, babies can sleep through the night without being fed. Whether a baby does depends on the child. Most babies will sleep for that heavenly stretch of 7 to 8 hours by the 4-month mark. If your kiddo has been snoozing for a solid 8 hours at night and has suddenly stopped, you could be dealing with 4-month sleep regression.
What is 4-month sleep regression?
When babies around the age of 3 to 4 months start having trouble sleeping through the night again, it could be a sleep regression period. Regression means to revert or go back to a previous pattern. This is what happens with sleep regression. Babies begin to have trouble falling or staying asleep at night and during their usual naptimes, regressing to those short intervals of slumber you thought had gone by the wayside.
When can 4-month sleep regression occur?
Despite the name, 4-month sleep regression can happen at any time. This change in sleep pattern typically happens to babies at around the 3- to 4-month mark.
How long does 4-month sleep regression last?
It may seem like ages, but 4-month sleep regression doesn't usually hang around for long. Provided parents make an effort to keep baby's sleep routine consistent, 4-month sleep regression lingers for around two weeks.
What causes 4-month sleep regression?
Since most parents want to avoid any interruption in the much-needed good night's sleep in the household, it's important to understand why this sleep regression happens in the first place to babies happily sleeping through the night. As infants, babies don't have a sleep and a wake cycle. They pretty much sleep when they want and wake when they're hungry or need a diaper change. When babies reach the 4-month mark, they begin to understand the sleep/wake cycle. They snooze longer at night and take fewer naps during the daytime. It's this important developmental adjustment that can actually interrupt their newfound sleep pattern.

Read more
What is a nanny? How to hire the right nanny for your needs
Looking to hire a nanny? Here's how
Frustrated mom in need of nanny

Finding the right childcare for your family is challenging whether you're returning to work following a maternity leave or transitioning from being a stay-at-home mom back into the workforce. It's never an easy decision to leave your kids during the day to go to work.

While some parents have family to rely on to watch the kiddos, many don't. Their options boil down to daycare centers. Other parents opt to hire a nanny to care for the children during the workday to allow the kids to stay in the familiar environment of their own home. Nannies have been caring for children for ages, but exactly what is a nanny, and how do parents go about finding one?

Read more