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Rise and Shine

The kids have been back in school for almost a month now, so they should be settling into their morning routines. Of course, the key words there are ‘should be.’ If your house is anything like mine was when I was growing up, it’s a challenge to get the kids out of bed, fed, dressed and ready to run (not roll) out the door with their backpacks and lunches in tow. Is it even possible to make morning time less hectic and more fun for everyone? I say definitely. Implement a few of these activities, and kids will burst out of bed ready and raring to go.

  1. Wake-up Songs. If you’ve ever been to a Redbirds game (or any minor league game), you’ve noticed that each of the players have songs that they jam to on their way to the plate. Let your kids pick a song that they’d like to be woken up to in the morning, and let that song, their ‘jam,’ serve as their wake-up song.
  2. Breakfast Day. On Sunday afternoon, write the days of the week down on pieces of paper. Let the kids each draw a day, and on that day, they get to decide the breakfast menu. To help them adapt to the Paleo lifestyle, let them choose items from Protein, Carb and Healthy Fat categories. Need Paleo help? Click here for a delicious, Paleo pancake recipe.
  3. Routine Races. Once the kids have eaten breakfast, get a stopwatch and see who’s the first to brush teeth, get dressed and get back downstairs with their backpacks on.
  4. Pajama WOD. To get their blood flowing, create a mini workout for the kids. As soon as they’re out of bed, they execute a mini workout bedside, in their pjs. This can be as simple as 5 push-ups, 10 squats, 15 sit-ups or as complex as toy thrusters. Be creative!
  5. Breakfast Spelling Bee. Grab the newspaper, and pick out words for your kids to spell during breakfast in a ‘spelling bee.’ This is an activity I grew up with, and my three siblings and I loved it and looked forward to my dad ‘quizzing’ us each time.

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Do you have any tips or tricks that you’ve made part of your morning routine? What helps your kids rise and shine before heading off to school? Post comments below!

Real kids sweat! Check out more kids photos here!

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