Do you feel like you have chaotic mornings? Do you feel pulled in too many directions and overwhelmed by all the little things to do? You aren’t alone. I don’t care how many kids you have, if you work or don’t, are a naturally organized person or not; I believe that everyone has these mornings of chaos.
“Close to Open” is a term used in the restaurant industry and it means to close up the store fully and completely prepared for the morning shift to walk in and start working. If you need a measuring cup and a spoon for cooking your oatmeal, then you have all the ingredients, utensils, and pot ready on the counter for yourself. I use this same concept in my homeschooling to reduce my morning chaos.
Each night before (or right after we finish the day’s work) I choose all the worksheets my kids will be using the next day and set them up on the clipboards. I sharpen pencils and attach them to the clipboards, pull out any flashcards or manipulatives we will use, and select books for the schoolwork. I also sprinkle random books in open places to organically attract their attention and draw little stars on all the work my kids can do independently. I definitely still have my mornings when everything feels behind and I am not on the ball, but it is usually when I haven’t taken the time to use this system. It sounds like small things but all the little things add up and help you when you are doing them proactively rather than reactively.
When my kids wake up for the day, I usually start them off by watching a little Bible video from The Biggest Story to ease them into the day. Then they start doing some independent work while I make breakfast. If we are heading out somewhere for the day (usually we are), they can keep working on those independent pages and I can help each one on their own with new concepts or tricky problems. I love doing our work this way because it allows us to do all the things we want to do and school before, during, and after our fun. The “Close to Open” method just helps me make this process smoother!
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