Cows in the Pantry: How to Get 5 Boys to School on Time

Ok, I know the first thing you want to know is, “What do cows in the pantry have to do with getting kids to school?!” But why aren’t you asking how I fit cows in the pantry to begin with? You’ll have to read on to find out 😉

Getting kids ready for school is a grueling, multi-phase, often multi-parent ordeal that can leave some in tears, and others hiding under their covers. And I don’t mean the kids! I have so many people ask me how in the world I get 5, active, distracted, chaotic boys to school on time every morning, so here are my secrets:

 

The Morning Routine:

 

Routine, Routine, Routine!

I can’t stress this enough with just about everything I do with all my boys. Having each one of them know what to expect, and what is expected of them, is key in getting them to cooperate and move a bit slower than a turtle in the morning.

You have to find the routine that works for you, but for us, I have a standard five-finger check list for the boys:

• Get dressed
• Make your bed
• Eat your breakfast
• Brush your teeth
• Shoes and water bottles

 

Now, I don’t care what order they do it in frankly, just do it. And when I ask the boys if they are already for school, they hold up their fist and start opening their hand as they count off what should be done. Having the counters on their fingers keeps them focused, helps them remember what needs to be done and serves as a great reminder when I can’t be there to help them along. Most mornings when they think they are done but actually aren’t, they rattle off the items to me and when a finger is left down they automatically know what they’ve forgotten, and run to get it done without me having to say a word.

Praise and reward are also key when it comes to the five-finger check list. Once all fingers are up signifying everything is ready, they are in perfect posture for a high-five to tell them great job for doing it “all by myself”!

 

Reduce Stress:

Stress in the morning does two things, shuts the boys down (making them slower) and ramps me up (making me snippier). So, anything I can do to reduce the stress in the morning, I do it! Your socks are hard today? Go grab new ones. You spilled your water bottle filling it from the fridge? Let me get you a napkin. Notice, I am reducing stress, but I am NOT doing their tasks for them.

I also move any task I can to the evening routine so that my mornings have less items on the to do list. All backpacks are cleaned up, prepped and packed with a snack the night before. We clean up our toys and straighten up our rooms before bed so there’s nothing in our way in the morning. Basically, if it’s not on the five-finger check list, it gets done the night before to streamline our mornings as much as possible.

 

Know the Time:

Once you get into a good routine, figure out how long it takes to get the kids ready on a normal day. Use a timer or just be aware of the clock and for a week or two, see how long it takes to get ready, not rushing them, but not letting them play around too much. What is normal? For us, it’s about 40 minutes when everyone is in a good mood, can do everything on their own and is cooperating fully.

Once you know how long it takes, give yourself 50% buffer. YES, 50%! Don’t give yourself a few extra minutes, or a even 10. When something pops up in the morning, like a grouchy kid or a homework assignment that was forgotten, there’s no way you can get it done in 5-10 minutes! Your morning routine is thrown off, the kids are stressed out, everyone moves slower, you bark more and the next thing you know, an assignment that should have taken 2 minutes drags on to 15 minutes. For us, we need to leave the house by 8am so at 7am we stop everything and start the routine.

 

Conclusion:

I have been using this method for a couple of years now and I have to say that our mornings are pretty stress-free and even fun most days. The boys know what they need to do, I’ve taught them to do it all by themselves, I am there for support and laughs and high fives, and we even sneak in 10-15 minutes of play before school most days. I can’t say it’s perfect all the time, and we do still have tears, but for the most part, I am a big girl and am not hiding in my blankets!

 

Oh yeah, and as for the cows? Until Jack is old enough to start the five-finger checklist, I happily set him up a fenced in pasture for his cows in the pantry so he can be happily playing in the kitchen with me while I make breakfast, manage the boys and give those high-fives!