It is so hard to get up sometimes at 5:30 am when you don’t go to bed until 11:00 pm the night before! I hit snooze about three times and before long it’s 6:00 am. I have 30 minutes to feed the dog, fix my breakfast, fix my lunch and wake my son up for him to snooze for another 30 minutes. Although I get to school by 7:00 am every morning, my goal is to be here by 6:45 am. At 7:00 am, I think I am tardy. As I reflect, I have the TARDY TENDENCY. I do things in the morning that could be done the day before. When I realize I’m tardy, I stress out, drive fast and put myself in danger. I must stop the TARDY TENDENCY. As a parent, think about your daily routine in the morning. Here are a few things for you to think about to avoid the TARDY TENDENCY…
Don't Go to Bed Until "All is Ready"-Leave ONLY what is necessary to do in the morning for the morning. Do the rest the afternoon/evening before. Do not leave it all to do right before bed as that delays bed time and people are tired and crabby then. Example: Everyone's clothing laid out (yes, even high school kids and the adults!) Backpack/jacket/shoes by the door Breakfast dishes/food on table All forms, homework, etc. in backpack; school lunch made.
Set 2 Alarms-Adults set two alarms (be sure at least one is battery powered in case electricity goes out). Set one right beside your bed and noisier one far away so you have to get up to shut it off. Every scholar should have their own. (Give everyone 15 minutes more time than you think they need.) Do you know we have about an average of 100 scholars tardy daily?
Run Your Routine-Establish routine and do not deviate from it. Sharing bathroom? Establish order of use
Be Calm Use quiet voice-Expect same of your scholars. If routine needs to be altered or if running late, know ahead what to have out such as sit down breakfast (have granola bars, bananas, small boxes of cereals available to grab and eat on way to school/work).
Be Realistic Life happens-No one is perfect. We are all late sometimes. Do the best you can and move on. But do not assume it doesn't matter that your scholar is late for school. Every minute of learning counts and you're helping yourself and your scholar gain control and be independent and organized. Tons of ability.
For this week, we have had three confirmed COVID 19 cases. Those who have been impacted were contacted and told of their period of isolation. We must change our behaviors if we want to keep everyone safe. Please remember to use the online COVID-19 reporting tool.
Remember the TARDY TENDENCY. Let’s try to avoid it and help our scholars get back on track. This pandemic has truly made a huge impact on our scholars. Have a great week!
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