My Morning Routine (with 3 kids 5 and under)

Kids thrive on routines . . . and so do moms! Here’s what my morning routine with three kids looks like right now.

With three kids five and under, I’ve realized recently that I NEED a morning routine. Kids thrive on routine – on knowing what to expect – and as their mom it’s my job to provide that routine for them.

I kind of resisted coming up with a morning routine or schedule for my kids for awhile. I liked to be able to just go with the flow.

However, I’ve found that our morning routine has been so good for helping the kids know what to expect and keeping us on track!

I thought it would be fun today to share our morning routine with you guys here on the blog. Of course, it goes without saying that everyone’s routine is going to look different depending on their stage of life / age of their kids.

Why a morning routine is necessary

Having a morning routine is necessary for me for two main reasons.

First, I’m doing Kindergarten at home with Caleb and I really need to be more consistent with it this semester. With prepping for our move last semester, our K5 stuff kind of got pushed to the side (and it didn’t help that I’d never gotten us into a good routine anyway.)

The other big reason for our routine is that I want to be more intentional at having the kids do chores and help out. It’s SO easy for me to just do stuff myself because it’s faster, but I know that I need to be training my kids to help out.

When I haven’t been asking them to help and then I do out of the blue, meltdowns are more likely to follow. (Just being real here!) But if it’s part of our routine and they expect it, things go a lot easier. 

A look at my morning routine with three kids

I’ve seen a lot of morning routines for moms and kids that suggest an outing every morning, but I’m kind of a homebody (and I’ve found that I’m more likely to spend money if we go places haha) so in the interest of frugal living and my sanity we stay home more mornings than we go out. 

When we do go out it’s usually either for a play date at the park, a quick trip to the library, or grocery pickup.

We’re done with breakfast by 8, so that’s when our schedule starts. I don’t stick rigidly to these times – sometimes we’re ahead of time, sometimes we’re a half hour behind – but just knowing what comes next in the routine is so helpful for all of us.

8:00 – Bible time with Daddy before work, get dressed/ready for the day/morning chores

8:30 – “Circle time” with all three kids 

9:00 – Caleb works on reading with me (we’re using this book currently), Sofi looks at books or plays quietly, and Lucas has quiet playtime in his crib

9:30 – Play time for the kids (outside if it’s nice), coffee and Bible time for me (this little breather for me is heavenly!)

10:00 – Snack time at the table, then math for Caleb

10:30 – Writing practice/drawing/crafts at the table (If we were going to meet up for a play date we would probably go around this time.)

11:00 – Play time again or time for library/errands before lunch (I also want to get into the habit of having a quick clean up time with the kids before lunch.)

12 (ish) – Lunch

In case you’re curious, our afternoon consists of quiet time (nap for the youngest two) from 1 to 3ish, then play time, sometimes an outing, clean up, dinner prep, etc. At some point in there I usually let the kids watch a show too – especially helpful if I have dinner prep to do.

How to come up with your own morning routine

If you’re trying to come up with a good morning routine for you and your kids, it helps to ask yourself some questions.

What do you need in a schedule?

If you could only get two things done in the morning, what would be most important? (Schedule those for early on!)

Do you have to be out the door at a certain time?

Regardless of whether you homeschool or not, what are some things you want to be teaching your kids?

Would your kids benefit from a morning routine chart?

Have you scheduled in a little break time for yourself at some point? (You’ll thank me later!)

Taking the time to sit down and think through a good morning routine for you and your kids is something you’ll be glad you took the time to do. While flexibility is always going to be important as a mom, having a basic routine that you follow most days helps everyone!

Do you have a morning routine with your kids? What does it look like? I’d love to hear in the comments!