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| Finn picked out his first day of school outfit |
Finn's school has a staggered start, so last week he went to school Tuesday with only about 1/4 of his class, and then didn't go a again until Friday, when all of his class went. It made for a weird week, but now that the emotional turmoil caused by the first few days is over (for him and for me!), I'm really ready to get into our routine.
School starts early here, so bedtime has been moved up by an hour. This has been made worse by our recent transition from crib to toddler bed for Zachary. About 2 weeks ago he figured out how to get out of his crib on his own, and bedtime and mornings have been difficult ever since. I switched him to a toddler bed last week, which eventually will make things easier (since he can get back into his bed once he's gotten out), but right now hasn't helped at all. Bedtimes are going to be rough for at least a few weeks.
Which leads me to Task #2 in my Life Reboot: Creating Routines.
A little background: growing up, my parents did not excel at teaching me be good student, to get projects and homework done on time, to have any kind of routine around my days. I have vivid memories from elementary school (I'm talking 2nd and 3rd grade here) where I would be doing projects at the last minute, and my parents were so angry at me for waiting until the last minute. But they were never proactive at helping me NOT wait to the last minute. From an adult perspective, I realize there is no way to expect the average 2nd grade child to know how to budget time - it was their responsibility to help me learn how to do this.
So starting tonight, we're going to have a routine, and we're going to do it every single school night. Finn decided if he wants to bring lunch or buy it. He picked out his clothes for tomorrow and has them ready to go in the morning. We went through his binder for school, I signed forms that needed to be signed and it's ready to go in his back pack. When he wants to bring his lunch, I'll put everything together that I can the night before (we're doing either homemade version of lunchables or a sandwich with a fruit and some veggies).
Since bedtime is earlier, I'm going to have time to exercise most nights after the kids are asleep, and then after that I'll shower, and then have an hour or more to myself before I have to go to bed. (While I've lifted my Facebook ban, I'm spending a LOT less time there than I did before, so hopefully I can stick to that and avoid wasting that hour every night mindlessly scrolling.)
In the morning, I'll get up and get mostly ready before waking up Finn. I'll help him get ready, and then we'll go downstairs for breakfast. I really want to drive him to school, but he wants to ride the bus, so we'll then go to the bus stop, and then Zach and I will come home where I'll finish getting ready before the nanny comes.
Finn will get home from school a few hours before I get home from work. He won't have homework in kindergarten, but I'm going to still make sure he has a routine. He'll come home, have a snack, and then if the weather is good, he'll go outside to play until I get home. As he starts to get older, he'll get only an hour to play and then he'll come in for homework. I'm not planning on micromanaging, but I do plan on knowing what homework he has, when it's due and what recurring projects or tests he has, so that I can help him stay on track and learn how to budget time and get things done. He may still end up being a procrastinator, but I want to do all I can to give him a good solid foundation.
And that foundation starts now, with a routine that we can both count on. This is so far out of my usual daily existence, but I'm really excited about it. Fingers crossed I can pull it off!
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| Can't forget that this guy had his first day of school, too! Only two half days a week, but still...preschool. |
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