‘Twas the Night Before Homeschooling – A Time Saving Tip
‘Twas the night before homeschooling, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring – not even a mouse! What does this have to do with your Heart of Dakota homeschooling and saving time? Well, the night before homeschooling provides the perfect opportunity to get ahead so you have more time to homeschool tomorrow! In today’s time saving tip, let’s see how ‘the night before’ can save you precious time the next day!
Prepping Breakfast the Night Before
In homeschooling, making breakfast is a daily occurrence. On our especially busy days, I like to prep breakfast the night before. One of my favorite recipes is overnight cinnamon rolls. At supper, I set the frozen dough out. Right before bed, I make these super simple cinnamon rolls. They rise overnight, and in the morning I pop these in the oven for 15 minutes and drizzle on some frosting. Voila! Breakfast is served! Overnight oatmeal and egg bakes save time too. Or, last night I just set out the nonperishable ingredients, measuring cups/spoons, and waffle maker for waffles. This morning, I could whip those waffles together in a snap! Setting the table the night before for breakfast the next day is another time saver. So, if you find you have more time at night than in the morning, try prepping your breakfast!
Setting Out Clothes the Night Before
If I know I have an especially busy day tomorrow, I set out my clothes the night before. I might even have my sons set out their clothes. When they were younger, they had trouble finding matching clothes. They would come downstairs to start homeschooling only to have to head back upstairs to change clothes so they matched (or so they had on clean clothes – boys need a little more help in this area). Setting their clothes out the night before helped save a lot of time in the morning! When they were tweens, I snapped pictures of sets of matching shorts and shirts. I hung these pictures in their closets. That way, they could check the pictures and be able to match their clothes themselves. This also saved time! (If you have a personal goal to try to exercise in the morning, setting out exercise clothes helps too!)
Showering or Bathing the Night Before
When I had babies or little children, I had an especially hard time getting to my shower in the mornings! Little ones wake up, and ‘homeschooling’ is ON! Moving my shower or bath to the night before helped save so much time the next day. Likewise, moving babies’ and little ones’ baths to the night before helps the next morning too. Finally, moving tweens’ and teens’ showers to the night before when a busy homeschool day is ahead helps. This need not be an every night occurrence, but if an especially busy day is ahead, it helps to move showering or bathing to the night before!
Setting Out Homeschool Books and Supplies the Night Before
For teenagers, setting out homeschool books and supplies the night before works well. I have a nephew (now graduated) who set out whatever he needed for the next homeschool day the night before. He had several blocks of work time, so he made several piles of books/resources. This saved much time as he moved from block to block of work time. He also said he liked how this helped him envision his homeschool day well. For little kiddos who have a work area you won’t be needing for something else in the morning, you can set up their things for them. (This won’t work if their work area is the kitchen table though!)
In Closing
If you find you have more time and energy at night, these ‘night before’ tips may save you some time the next day. I have not done all of these all of the time I’ve homeschooled, but in certain stages of life, each tip has served me well. I hope some of these tips save you some time too!
Julie
