School Prep

I know this about myself. I have the gift of preparedness. Not only am I good at it, I get real joy out of figuring out the quickest, most efficient way of preparing for any situation, or process. It's the Singaporean in me. When I was in high school, I used to sleep in my school uniform, not because I had to, but because I wanted to streamline my morning routine as much as possible so I could beat my sister to the breakfast table. I think it's what makes me a good designer, figuring out the most effective and efficient way of communicating a message in layout or on the web. I think it makes me a more prepared mother, although I have many friends, including my husband, who call me crazy for the minutiae that I prepare for when it comes to my kids. Of course when it came down to getting a school morning routine down, I was a fish in water. I couldn't wait to dive in.

First things first, we wrote it down. Greyson studied this schedule for days before school started. At first I had only written the steps, then one morning I woke up and found him filling in the hands of the little clocks. When show time came, he followed the schedule to the tee. He just thrives on structure, this kid. Even made his bed for a sticker, although he asked me if I could put the sticker on the chart for him because he didn't have time to do it.

I prepped his breakfast last night so all I had to do this morning was cut fruit and pour milk. This morning he had Frosted Mini-Wheats, a gold kiwi (which at the last moment he switched for cherries), juice and vitamins. He's still eating the vitamins and gummy fish that Ah Ma bought him in Singapore.

I also packed his lunchbox last night. For snack he had strawberries (he was so excited when I showed him the little giraffe fork), Cheezits and string cheese. For lunch, he had pasta with soy sauce (his favorite way to eat it, don't ask me why), ham and pumpkin butter rollups and grape kebabs and apples. I also packed him a thermos of cold milk and a water bottle. It all went in his little lunch bag, labeled appropriately (it's so handy that he reads now), and right into his new red backpack. I have no idea if he'll eat it all. Kindergarteners are notorious for choosing play over food during recess. I plan to take an "after" photo when these lunchboxes come back. Watch, it'll be identical to this one.









So far, I think baby boy is doing beautifully in the mornings. That's a benefit of a kid who never wants to sleep. He's happy even when you wake him up early. In fact, the only thing he says he doesn't like about kindergarten is that they have a mandatory rest time after lunch. All the kids have to lie down and rest for 25 minutes. As always, Greyson says "I'm not going to sleep. I'm not going to be tired. I'll just rest." This from the child who was in bed and out like a light at 730 sharp last night.