Getting Ready for Back To School – A new routine

My girls are back to school today. I must admit, I wish it was June 2016 already so that they can be back on summer vacation. Yes, I’m one of those moms who loves having their kids home with them. They were both really excited about going back to school. We’ve promised each other that this will be the best school year yet. I’ve promised to implement a structured routine and they’ve promised to put extra effort into their school work.

Back To School

I’m kinda a slacker when it comes to routine. I tend to bend the rules a lot and unfortunately the girls know it which means they sometimes take advantage of it. My slacker attitude is even worse during the summer. I let me girls do whatever they want. They want to go to bed late, sure no problem. They want to stay up and watch a movie until they fall asleep, no issues with me. They stay in their pjs all day, no prob. Basically they are on total and complete vacation mode and I let them. That doesn’t seem so bad, but the real problem is that I’m like that during the school year as well.

Yeah, I let them stay up during school nights. Oups! We have cuddles to do, shows to watch, … no time for early bedtime. hehe Lucky for them Sébastien is way better at keeping a bedtime schedule, he isn’t very strict, but he makes sure they are in bed no later than 8:30-9:00pm. I realize that I need to stop finding excuses, I need to implement a real bedtime routine. Instead of making it difficult for Sébastien to push the bedtime routine, I need to help him create it. I know in the long run it’s good for the girls health to have a good sleep routine. Not only good for their health, but good for their education as well.

Implementing a structured routine

This school year will be different. I’ve vowed to be more structured and implement a routine that we will stick to!

We’ve decided that when the girls come home from school they will get 15 minutes to relax and have a snack & a ND Shake. After that they will work on their homework for an hour. Which means by the time Sébastien comes home from work, all the homework will be done, and we’ll be able to make supper together as a family. After supper, we’ll go for our evening walk or bike ride (obviously until the snow shows up). When we return home it will be time to washed up and pajama time. We’ll cuddle a little and start preparing for bed by 7:45-8:00pm. The kids are to be in bed by 8:30pm.

The bedtime routine will be the hardest but I’m sure we’ll get it done right with some determination. We’ve always had difficulty putting Emanuelle to bed. I do mean always. Ever since she was a baby it was such a hard task getting her to bed. Not like Gabrielle who would put herself to bed as soon as she learned how to walk. Sometimes we are lucky and Emanuelle will go to bed right away, but soon after she’ll be back in the living room asking for a snack or more cuddles. I must admit that the cuddles until she falls asleep doesn’t really bother me, I like it. I keep telling myself that someday she won’t want to cuddle like that anymore, so I better enjoy it now. haha

I’m quite excited about our routine and seeing how it works out for us. Do you have a school night routine?

Orange Naturals has a great selection of natural and safe homeopathic formulas for back-to-school jitters:
Worry + Fear for Kids – Calm for Kids – Sleep Tight for Kids
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P.S. I also want to share with you this really interesting article Back to school: Backpack Safety. The article contains a lot of great tips! Another great read: Preparing for the Emotional Challenges of Back to School!

I’m curious, for those of you who have children, do all your children go to bed at the same time or do they each have their own bedtime?

Have a GREAT Back to School!
And I’ll make sure to update you on our routine!

Disclosure: I am part of the Orange Naturals Mom Ambassador Program and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.