40. [Parent Corner] Back to School: How to Create a Routine to Ease Your Toddler into the School Year

Chantal 0:02

School is about to start here in Central Florida. And we are getting supplies in backpacks, groceries in our fridge, uniforms washed and ready to go, and the panic is starting to creep its way into our home. There is a silver lining in this whole process though. That is at least we have our routines in check. So our daughter knows what to expect. And so do we. We know exactly what we're doing every morning and night. And that my friend is going to help us all navigate this back to school transition real smoothly. You're ready to do this with me?

Chantal 1:20

You're listening to Episode 40 of the Preschool Made Easy podcast. I'm your host Chanty Macias and today we're kicking off our back to school series with an episode all about helping toddler and preschool parents establish a routine to ease their little ones into the school year. We're talking about building an ideal morning and evening routine, incorporating learning and play into your routines, and healthy habits and practical tips for a super smooth transition. I've had the honor of helping over 400 families get started with preschool with their ultimate goal in mind to get them ready for kindergarten. They've all used my Kinder readiness checklist. So go ahead and grab the link in the show notes to get your hands on our free, easy to use checklist that tells you everything your littles need to know before starting kindergarten today. All right, let's get started.

Chantal 2:19

Before we think about creating or building an ideal morning and evening routine, we have to understand the importance of routines and why they even exist. Routines require consistency right? Consistency provides security and predictability. The kids know what to expect and what is expected of them. Research has shown us for so many years, that routines have benefits for emotional and cognitive development, which helps kids thrive. Ultimately, that's our goal, right? So they help create smooth transitions, essentially reducing anxiety. So let's start early. Let's call this the gradual adjustment stage. We're going to begin the new routine, at least two to three weeks before school even starts. We're not going to wait until the night before because the routine is not going to be set in place, then will gradually shift bedtime and wake up time to match the school schedule. Don't forget to take into account adjusting their mealtimes and their nap time during the day.

Chantal 3:30

All right, let's go ahead and create our ideal morning routine. The goal is to create a calm, consistent morning routine that works for you, your child and your family. Remember, it's okay for your morning routine, evening routine, or any routine for that matter to not look like anyone else's. We are not in the business of making our systems the same as everyone else's just because it has to work for you and your family. That is a priority. Nothing else matters. Okay. Cool. Now that we've got that part down pat, let's talk about how we're going to build it and what each morning routine needs.

Chantal 4:14

We want to plan some activities the night before. These include things like choosing their clothes for the next day or the week ahead of time and packing their backpack. You can also take a look at some of the snacks that you're going to be sending your child to school with and perhaps putting it to the side or creating their own little small bin in the pantry or in the refrigerator so that they can access it. Grab it and they can even help you pack their snacks or lunch every morning. We want to include a healthy breakfasts to help fuel their day. I already mentioned snacks, but breakfast is a great place to start. So we want to consider breakfast, lunch and or snacks for the entirety.

Chantal 5:01

A great morning routine includes the transition from waking up in the morning, greeting family members, using the bathroom, brushing their teeth, washing their face or taking a shower, whichever one you do, then getting dressed, eating breakfast and grabbing their belongings before heading out the door. Now, you might also include your own things in there like walking a dog or taking care of something else that needs to get done before maybe making their bed, things like that. It's totally up to you.

Chantal 5:33

So now let's talk about creating your ideal evening routine. Because evening routine is just as important as the morning one evening routines are so important, especially because they provide a relaxing component to help your little ones wind down after a long day. They also help you wind down and feel calm and at peace instead of chaotic and feeling like you are never getting enough done. Incorporating calming activities into your evening routine are really going to be the staple in this entire process, because it's going to help you truly relax. Isn't that what we all want? So let's incorporate some activities like reading books or quiet play into our evening routines. Set a consistent bedtime routine, so that your little ones know exactly what's expected every single night. This could look like having a family dinner, bath time reading books together, hugs and kisses to everyone. And then Good night time, otherwise known as bedtime.

Chantal 6:42

Now that we have our ideal morning and evening routines structured, let's think about how we can incorporate learning and play into our routines. Making learning part of your daily routine helps make learning fun for our kids, and also gives us parents some margin or extra room in our schedule to not feel so overwhelmed or anxious about our day. Or like we have to have a million things going on just to feel productive. We actually don't, we can add some simple educational activities, like playing counting games or singing Alphabet Songs into our schedule. The best part about these simple activities is that they don't take up time at all. It may be it takes about one to two minutes, and you can add it into your schedule at any point in time.

Chantal 7:34

We also want to try to balance structured activities with free play. So what exactly does that look like? Well, you can have your learning time that is dedicated to your child, right perhaps you have a 30 minute block where you are teaching your child a literacy or math concept. And then after you're done with your learning time, you can give them some free independent playtime, where they can play with their toys, watch their favorite show, or listen to their favorite podcast. They can also use this time to play outside or with a family member.

Chantal 8:09

We've got our morning and evening routines done. We've added some learning and playtime into our routines. Before we finished this episode, I would love to leave you with some healthy habits, and practical tips for a really, really smooth transition. Some healthy habits include your child's nutrition, sleep, and physical activity. Now, I don't have to emphasize the importance of a balanced diet and good nutrition or sufficient sleep to you because Hello, you're already a parent. And you know exactly what I'm talking about. As an educator, though, I do often see the need of reminding parents how important these things really are. It's important every single day because our children need to feel comfortable, safe and supported in all the things that they do everyday with us in school and at home.

Chantal 9:05

Physical activity is so important also because it helps them release that energy that they have that we obviously don't as parents, right. Three, four and five year olds have so much energy that they need to get out of their bodies before we even start thinking about that evening routine. It also helps them reduce stress. It's the same effect that physical activity has on our bodies, getting workouts in our schedule, and helping them get their active playtime in their schedule helps us all release any anxieties, concerns and that pent up energy, but it helps our body relax, recharge and refocus. We also want to think about limiting screen time, especially before bedtime. I'm all for the shows and the podcasts and all of the screen time if it's helping your child because I know how amazing some of them can truly be. But this is where reading books together comes into play. Because when we're reducing the amount of bright lights and screens our children are seeing right before bedtime and relaxing, it's going to help them go to sleep easier. And it's going to help everybody just get ready for the next day in such a smoother way.

So here's some practical tips for you parents. Stay patient and flexible. Don't forget that adjustments take time. And it's okay to make changes to your schedule whenever necessary. Something's not working? Change it up. Keep communication open with your teachers about your child's progress. If you have them starting a new routine, or you're making a change in your home that you feel might affect your child, how they behave or how they are progressing in school. Go ahead and let the teachers know and fill them in on the updates as you go. Celebrate all of the small and big successes to build your child's confidence. Their confidence and independence are two things that I will never shut up about. These are skills that we want to build in our children from the very beginning, as soon as possible.

Alright, let's recap. In today's episode, we talked about building an ideal morning and evening routine. We also talked about incorporating learning and play into your routines. And I gave you some healthy habits and practical tips for a real smooth transition into the school year.

Not that you need it. But maybe you do. Here's your official permission slip to start implementing routines. Now, for a smoother school start one a sneak peek into our next episodes on this back to school series. We'll be talking about organizing and simplifying your classroom setup and management ideas for chores for your kids, and supporting teachers and parents with social emotional learning strategies. Perfect for this back to school season.

And hey, if you've got other parent friends that could really use our help, go ahead and share this podcast with them and help us grow our community. It takes a village to raise and teach our babies. So let's do this together. And don't forget to hit that follow button to subscribe. And stay tuned for more episodes in our back to school series.