Twas The Night Before School – Tips to Get the School Day Started on the Right Foot #greatstarts

As a busy mom I learned very quickly once my son started Kindergarten that I had to prepare for school the night before. I can’t imagine how we could survive our mornings (and as a result, our days) if we weren’t prepared the nights before.

While I was thinking about the things we do in our home to get ready each day for school, the poem, Twas The Night Before Christmas, kept running through my head. And because I make up poems and song lyrics in my head all the time, I had to change it just a bit. Here’s my version…

Twas The Night Before School

Twas the night before school, when all through the house,
Mom was scurrying about like a mouse.
With cereal, bowls, and spoons laid out with great care,
In hopes that breakfast the next morning would leave time to spare…

Before my son could get snug in his bed,
With visions of lunchtime and recess in his head,
Mom helped him lay out his clothes,
Thank goodness he’s a boy and we can forget the bows.

Then out of the blue there was such a fuss,
You must do your homework to be a genius,
So make sure all homework is complete,
Or your teacher may make you obsolete.

I could go on, but you get the gist. One thing is for sure, getting prepared the night before helps us get our day started off on the right foot.

10 Night Before Checklist
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Here’s my night before school checklist…

  • Put cereal, bowls and spoons out for breakfast – it’s important to start the day off with a good, healthy breakfast
  • Lay out clothes – choose clothing for the little ones, but as your kids get older, let them pick their own clothes out
  • Homework done – one of the first things my son has to do shortly after getting home from school for the next day. It eliminates a lot of stress
  • Backpack ready – get it packed and sitting right by the door
  • Lunch packed – let kids help make/prepare their lunch
  • Double check next day’s schedule – if there’s soccer (or in our case play rehearsal) practice, or a doctor/dental appointment, so everything is coordinated to make the day go smoothly
  • Set alarm clock – nothing worse than starting the day off by oversleeping

Tips to get ready for school the night before

tips to get ready for school the night before

By doing the seven things listed above, we get our days off to a great start!

What do you do to get school days started off on the right foot?

Please check out more great tips at Kelloggs.com/GreatStartsTips.

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Kellogg’s® believes that From Great Starts Come Great Things®. So we’re helping Moms start every day with a tip from the top athletes of Team Kellogg’s™ and Team USA dietitians. The thirty days leading up to the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games will each feature fun pieces of advice to help families fuel just like the athletes of Team Kellogg’s. To see all 30 tips, visit Kelloggs.com/GreatStartsTips.

Compensation was provided by Kellogg’s via Glam Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Kellogg’s.

43 Comments

  1. The poem is so nice! 🙂

  2. I’m so glad those days are long gone. You have some good tips. Starting school can be very hectic.

  3. I am always so frazzled in the morning. This is such a great idea!

  4. Mornings are so hectic. Thanks for sharing these tips.

    1. Author

      Yes, mornings would be beyond chaotic if I didn’t have a checklist and plan the night before.

  5. Cute poem. I am such a check-list girl, I love check lists!

    1. Author

      Thanks! It was actually very easy and fun to write the poem… it just came right out as I was thinking about my checklist.

    1. Author

      Okay, I don’t do lunches nearly as creatively as you, Rachel, and I HAVE to do lunches the night before, too. 🙂

  6. i love the poem

  7. We’re pretty much on the same wavelength over here too. Doesn’t it make a HUGE difference to prepare in advance?

    1. Author

      Absolutely, Liz! I can’t eve imagine the chaos in the mornings if I didn’t plan the night before. Besides… I’m a planner by nature. 🙂

  8. Nothing – we homeschool our daughter 🙂 I really like that point on double-checking the next day’s schedule since there have been several times I’ve forgotten something. Oh, and how clever you are to create your own version of that poem!

  9. Love the poem! Nothing like a hearty breakfast to kickstart the day!

  10. When we plan our mornings the night ahead, things go so much smoother!

  11. The poem has me smiling. With 5 kids, getting them out the door in any sense of order is a dream. I found that by keeping the backpack by the door and important papers (homework and permission slips) back in folders made the exit easier and curtailed some of those trips to school with leftover at home homework or forgotten lunches. Although my artistic daughter forgot her lunch on purpose to see if she could scavenge up a better lunch.

  12. Preparing ahead of time really makes the morning less hectic.

  13. Our checklist looks a little different since we homeschool, but one thing remains the same, breakfast is an important part of the day!

  14. Great list! We are always scrambling around and have a list kind of like this to help. 🙂

  15. Love your version of the poem! I don’t yet have to do much the night before {my son is only in preschool so no homework or lunches, and he doesn’t leave until after noon} but I’m keeping these tips in mind for next year!

  16. Great tips, I need to be better about getting the kids ready the night before! Setting out breakfast and packing my son’s lunch for school…

  17. Hahaha cute, love the little poem! We don’t have kiddo’s but I know if we did I would round up and organize that evening so all would be ready for morning!

  18. Since we homeschool we don’t need to be ‘out the door’ but I do identify the activities that we will be doing first thing in the morning and make sure that I prep them and have them out on the school table so my daughter doesn’t dawdle in starting her first subject!

  19. Cute poem! I’ll be reciting it in the fall when Sweet T starts preschool.

  20. Cute poem! I’ll be reciting it in the fall when Sweet T starts preschool.

  21. I try to get their clothes laid out, lunches made (minus the sandwiches) and their backpacks put together. Our school starts pretty early so being prepared ensures we don’t have to wake up super early or rush around.

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