A Homeschool Mom’s Morning Routine: Keeping It Simple

Routines are not in my nature. I struggle to build new habits. And forget keeping to a time-bound schedule every day.

As much as I struggle with even loosey-goosey routines, my days really do run more smoothly when I start the day with a good morning routine. I spent years trying to follow all the ‘best morning routines’ I found on the internet. It took me years to understand that the best routine was the one that fit me and the needs of our home.

Why did it take me years? Who knows. I’ve long struggled to feel like I’m doing the wife & homeschool mom the “right” way. Again, it took me years to understand that being the “right” kind of wife & homeschool mom meant being the best one for our home.

The exact details of my routine fluctuate by the season of life and, honestly, the demands of the day. As long as each ‘area’ of the routine gets touched, I know that I’ve set our day up for success. Some days more or less than others!

Start-to-finish time: about 45 minutes.

I get myself ready.

If mornings went my way, I’d lounge around in my pajamas until it was time to start school. Then, I’d take the time to get myself ready. But when the kiddos were little, squeezing in a few minutes to get myself ready rarely happened.

Somewhere along the line, I had to make my day start with me. Even years into the habit, I’d still prefer slow, lazy mornings. But I’m worth the effort. And it really does make things easier later in the day.

My routine is short & sweet.

• I turn on UpFirst, my favorite morning news podcast, which is about 10 minutes long.
• I keep my morning skincare routine simple — a hyaluronic acid serum & a moisturizer (with SPF, of course).
• I get dressed.
• A bit of makeup, if I feel like it.

My usual outfit consists of a pair of jeans and a shirt. Sometimes, though, I get dressed in pajamas. Wearing that as an outfit, rather than just rolling out of bed and staying in them all day, leaves me feeling intentional rather than lazy.

Spending time on yourself doesn’t have to be elaborate or time-consuming. By the time my podcast is over, I’m (theoretically!) ready to tackle the day.

I get my home ready.

This is always the longest part of my morning routine. Coffee perking is a good motivator to keep focused.

1. After I finish getting ready, I wipe our bathroom counters, make the bed, and do a quick pick-up of the bedroom.
2. In the kitchen, I look at our dinner plans. Do I need to thaw any meat? What veggies need to be cut? Should I make a marinade or start the slow-cooker now? Some mornings, I start dinner prep. On other mornings, knowing the plans is enough.
3. I reset the living room, if we didn’t do it the night prior. I neaten up the couch, fold blankets, and clean up the coffee table.
4. Before I sit down to work, I start a load of laundry. If I don’t need to do a load today, I make sure the laundry room is ready for the teens to use.

These tasks are all designed to minimize how distracted I get later in the day. No “oh, I forgot the chicken!” 4 o’clock surprise. No stopping the math lesson midway through so that I can clear the washer for someone to start their laundry. If we’re sitting down to watch a documentary together, we don’t need to clean up the living room first.

I get my plan for the day settled.

1. When & why am I leaving the house today?
2. Do I need to take anything with me when I leave? If so, do I still need to gather anything? (My bag goes into my car as soon as it’s ready, so I don’t walk out of the house & forget.)
3. Do the kids need anything when we leave the house today? (Again, their stuff goes into the car when it’s ready so we don’t pull into soccer practice and only then realize that the soccer bag is sitting at home.)
4. Sometimes, I look ahead to tomorrow and prep for tomorrow’s agenda, as well.

One of the perks of having teenagers is that they can take charge of all aspects of their activities!

I get the homeschool ready.

Anymore, this is the quickest part of my morning routine. I give our day a quick once-over, double-check that any supplies they might need are handy, and I look at anything I need to grade, order, etc.

Bonus: I get myself connected.

I don’t really count this as part of my morning routine, though it very much is.

I’m not the only one who’s tempted to be on social media during your homeschool day, am I? Especially now that my kids need me less frequently, I find myself reaching for my phone more often.

When I give myself permission to connect with others — friends, the news, the world — as part of my morning routine, I find that I don’t reach for my phone as often. So, when I sit down with my coffee, I do just that. I read the news, scroll through Facebook, respond to comments on my YouTube channel, and so on.

Connecting with others is so important, and giving myself permission to do it is one way I can honor that need.

tl;dr

And that’s it.  I tried for years to have a long morning routine, cramming an entire day in before school. But I failed. Every time. I took all the ideas from others and tried to replicate them in my home.   Why do I think that will work?? When I stepped back and figured out what I really needed to set our day up for success, a morning routine that worked easily formed. And I’ve been able to stick with it. {Watch an older version of my routine in action.}
 

• Consider where your day gets hung up & how you can tackle that first.
• Don’t try to replicate those ‘perfect’ morning routines you see online.
• Embrace what works for you.