Mornings

One thing we have been working very hard on as a family is making our mornings more sane. 
Our goal is not having to say, "Hurry up!".  Our other goal get the kids to realize that the time it takes for them to do what they need to do is really very minimal AND that they can then have their time to do what they want with.

It has not been easy. 
Some mornings earlier in the year, I could have cried at all the yelling and general grumpiness we encountered when Urchins dragged themselves out of bed.  Being a Morning Person, it's tough when people don't get up and going as they "should".  I get most of my work done before noon, so those hours in the morning are precious. 
We instituted changes. Earlier bedtimes, laying clothes out the night before, baths at night, having the kids make their lunches in the afternoon, doing homework as soon as the kids get home and me having dinner ready to go before 3 so I can focus on homework and other things during the usual dinner prep time. We also set timers in the mornings to make the kids more aware of how much time they have to work with. 
All the days are not perfect, but mornings are so much better than they used to be.  On Thursday, Sam and Nate got up and dressed, make their beds, picked up their rooms and brushed their teeth TOTALLY on their own.  Another morning this week we were able to get everyone ready in a calm manner and we were out the door at 7:40. 
It.  Was.  Amazing.  :)

Sam had time to do 20 minutes of reading before getting on the bus. 
It's such an accomplishment, especially for him, that we had to get photographic evidence.  :)