The Kindergarten Morning Routines Little Ones Can Do On Their Own!

Here is a kindergarten morning routine that your own child can do on their own to get fully ready without you. From waking up to eating, it’s all there.

---

It ain’t easy being a School Mom. 

When my first started Kindergarten, I didn’t think it’d be that tough. But honestly, it gave our normal stay at home routine a good kick in the pants.

Until I had it figured out, I lost hours per week I’d previously spent reading or working. Then I had a shocking thought one morning… in a few years I’ll have to get 5 kids ready for school.

And that was enough to lead me on the road of School Morning Independence.

So without further ado…

A Kindergarten Morning Routine Your Little One Can Do On Their Own

Our kindergarten morning routine process

• I created these routine cards that can be printed out and used in any order. Each child (or each bedroom) has one set. If kids share, one set of cards is fine.
• I printed the routine cards, chose the activities we typically do, then laminated them.
• Then, I go over the whole routine from start to finish with each child. They offer up their ideas about what should come first, etc. and then we make it official.

Do the routine a few times

• I take one evening before bed to find the perfect spot in their room. My daughter liked hers hung where she could see it from bed and my son wanted his on the back of the door.
• On the morning of, I will either have their alarm set or wake them up with some kisses, hugs, and a minute or two of connection. Then, I point them to the routine cards. 

• As of this updating, my oldest has an alarm clock, my second grader will have an alarm clock, but I will personally wake up my Kindergartner to have some connection time. I find as the kids get older they need less of you helping them on track, but when they are younger and first starting school this connection time early in the day is a great encouragement and building up for your child.
• Some children will want to come to you and announce every individual thing they’ve done in their routine. This is great! Lather on the excitement! If they need help, always refocus them to the routine cards themselves. 

Reference the cards

• If you have a dilly dallier, you may need to keep track of time so they don’t end up needing to do 20 minutes of stuff in 5 minutes and thus start power battles and short tempers.
• I took the first week of school to help the child reference the routine cards in the morning. Of course, I remained close by for support and connection, and this encouraged them to enjoy the independence that came with the cards. Gradually as the days went by, they did not need me there and were happy to get ready on their own.

Troubleshooting your mornings

The following situations could cause your child to have issues at any given point in the routine. This is normal, simply work through each one individually and watch them fly.

• Tiredness | If they are tired. I encourage a set bedtime on school evenings to help with this.
• Organization | If things aren’t “organized well.“ If clothes aren’t picked out before (hopefully avoiding wardrobe battles) or if their shoes and backpack aren’t visible, they can lose track and get off task.
• The Flow | If I don’t keep the flow moving. This was particularly important in those first few weeks when I needed to help keep the kids moving along with the various routine card elements.
• Connection | If the kids are craving connection, they might dilly dally or avoid carrying out the tasks because they want you there. Don’t get frustrated here, just give them a few minutes when they wake up of dedicated time and this will usually be enough to help them move through the routine.

Tips for Encouraging Morning Independence

• View these routine cards as a process. The morning routine is made up of a lot of little parts and teaching them all individually and having patience as they come together is the name of the game.
• Any particular random thing might disrupt the routine – like a child not liking the way their sock seam feels in their shoe (heaven help us all!) – so don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater if you run into trouble. Troubleshoot that area and keep going.

It can take a while to get used to it, don’t give up!

• This worked for the entire year when they were in school. The hard work that first week paid off all school year long.
• Help your child follow the routine by regularly pointing them towards the cards. Don’t tell them what they should be doing because then they are learning to take their cues from you. This requires you in their room. If you reference the cards they learn to keep the flow of the routine whether you are in their room or elsewhere.

All in all, this has been a HUGE sanity saver for me over the years.

Recap

When putting together your kindergarten morning routine, keep all this in mind.

If you have more than one child in school, listen up, mama. I cannot emphasize how much easier your mornings will be. If you are able to hand the responsibility of the Morning Routine over to your child, do it.

And when they’ve got the hang of it, they love how good it feels to walk to the breakfast table. Fully ready to start the day.

Without nagging.

Without power battles.

And, without you doing it all for them. 

You’ll never change your life until you change something you do daily, the secret of your success is found in your daily routine. – John Maxwell