Happy Monday friends!

It is officially back to school week in the Rogers’ house and we are doing all the things to back ready for back to school. From grocery shopping for all the snacks, to adding all the time things on my calendar and everything in between we are focused on getting our routines and rhythms together after a pretty awesome and low key summer.

If you are new around here, as an enneagram one I thrive on routines and schedules and to-do lists but this summer I made an intentional effort to let lazy days reign and the slowness of not having a ton on calendar was such a gift. We did so many fun things but also had so many lazy days at home and we are all feeling refreshed and ready to tackle the upcoming school year.

Check back with me in March and I will be so ready for summer I can hardly stand it but today, we are ready! 😂

Anyways, as I was prepping for the upcoming school year I thought I would share with you guys some routines and rhythms that have worked for us over the years. We have already sent one kid off to college and now have a 7th grader and 5th grader so we have been at this for a while!

As always, take what serves you well here and spit the other things out. If they work for my family but don’t for yours, cool. If they all work, cool. If none of them work and you wasted 5 minutes reading this I’m sorry but cool too because way to be aware of what won’t work for your family!

Let’s get started….here are my top 3 tips!

Tip #1 // Meal plan.

• I shared last week how I meal plan in a simple way but it’s worth repeating. I usually meal prep for the following week on Friday’s so I can use some time during the weekend to prep for the week ahead but find what works best for you. I really meal plan our dinners but I also think through what are the kids going to eat for lunch and breakfast so I can buy for those too of course. But here’s the thing…there is no way I am making pancakes at 6am and there is no way I am making a complicated lunch so I get real with myself and buy the stuff we will actually use not that we wish we would use. Example - my kids are big breakfast eaters, so I make sure to have small grab and go things that they will actually eat versus some elaborate meal I don’t want to make and they don’t want to eat.

Tip #2 // Get the kids involved.

• Even from an early age my kids helped with everything. Laundry, dishes, picking up the house…everything. We all live here so we can all help is my mentality. Obviously, they would do age appropriate things but everyone helped. Having them help with back to school stuff helps me not feel so overwhelmed. An example is that the girls and I went back to school shopping together but then when we got home they had to label it all, double check we got everything and get it ready for back to school night.

Tip #3 // Give yourself grace.

• Mama’s, we do a lot. We try to cross every t and dot every i but sometimes, something slips through the cracks and it is okay. It doesn’t have to be perfect. The yellow folder you can’t find, buy the green one the teacher will figure it out (sorry teachers). You can buy the Target brand stuff and life will move on. You don’t have to do everything for everyone I promise whatever you are doing is good enough if you are trying!

And my favorite 3 routines…

Routine #1 // Wake up earlier than the kids.

• Even if it is 10 minutes, you will be thankful you had a few minutes to gather yourself before the before school chaos ensues. I love my sleep too and I hate getting up early but anytime I oversleep and don’t have that time I regret it and we have a bad morning. Those few minutes to make your coffee, take a deep breath and wake up are pure gold.

Routine #2 // Homework after school.

• The kids have been in school all day long and after school homework sucks (yep, I said what I said) but ya’ll 8pm homework sucks even more. They are already in school mode after school and they are even more tired the later the evening goes on. We have tried everything and every way to tackle homework and this works best for us. We come home, they grab a snack and unpack their bags. We put on music and work. I try to work alongside of them so I can help and so that they know I am doing stuff too after a long day and it works nicely.

Routine #3 // Lunches made in the morning.

• We have tried making lunches the night before but it feels like chaos to add it to dinner and clean up. Then they will wake up and decide they don’t want those chips today 🤷🏻‍♀️ so I make them while they are getting ready and ask for input. It is pretty mindless so I don’t mind making them while I drink my coffee and they get ready and then I know they will actually eat what I pack. We buy lunch 1x a week.

I hope those were helpful but if you have anything to add, I would love to hear them below! Any tips/tricks/routines for a smoother school year…I am all ears!!!