It seems like forever ago when I had littles running around my house. But really, not that long ago in my time blocking journey I had a toddler at home, I was homeschooling, running a business, and doing all the things. To have a fun and productive morning block with a toddler running around it takes some planning.

That’s why I came up with this 6 part morning time block so I could have fun with them and be productive. Instead of always feeling like you can’t truly manage your life I want you to feel like you know exactly what to do to manage it. To not feel like you have 16 hours to pass between breakfast and lunch all the while your kids are terrorizing the house because they are bored, they’re in their pajamas all day, their beds are never ever made. Like what’s that? That’s not a thing. That all just feels life-sucking.

I want you to understand the beauty of your morning block and the power and potential it has to set you and your little ones up to succeed. So you and your kids can be connecting. To get you PRODUCTIVE and producing and to truly feel that you’re doing your best work as a stay-at-home mom. Because it’s really so much better that way, it is actually FUN! So let’s dive in and get down into the nitty-gritty!

Listen below for the entire episode on The Systemize Your Life Podcast

If you don’t know much about time blocking check out my free time blocking workbook. My free workshop on how to successfully manage your home and business is also going to really, really support what we are talking about here. Always feel free to ask questions in our Systemize Your Life Facebook group.

These 6 things don’t need to be in any order but it truly is the magic sauce. It’s that thing you can do to be productive and enjoy your kids at the same time. It’s actually magical. I’m not kidding, Just TRY it.

So here are my 6 steps to a killer morning block (From the time your kids wake up through lunch.)

Having these routines has set my family up to be successful, have some flexibility, all while staying on track and on time and it has brought such joy in my family for us to navigate these routines together

MORNING ROUTINE

I know I said these can be done in any order but this really should go first.

This one starts in infancy and goes all the way through the rest of their life. You should be doing their morning routine with them until they are old enough to do it on their own. Often this looks like 2nd, 3rd, 4th grade, or longer depending on the emotional maturity of your child.

You have to be very very present for this. All your stuff has to be over by the time your kids wake up. You need to be intentional with what is going on. To get effective and efficient, take notes and collect data so you can make small changes the next week. That is your job as a stay-at-home mom. You are the master at creating systems for your family. This can take 35-40 minutes. When they are older it might only take 10 minutes.

So what does this practically look like?

• Breastfeed
• Get dressed
• Put things away
• Make their bed and prep it for nap time
• Set out the diapers/ reset cloth diapers for the day

If your kids are older you are helping them:

• Get up
• Get dressed
• Brush their teeth
• Make their bed

When they are crawling you are asking them to sit next to you on the bed and hold the pillows then, “Hand mom the pillow.” They are watching all these things happen with you.

PRACTICAL LIFE

Practical life is when to do your housework. Every single day I was getting something done in my house and my kids were doing it with me. If it was laundry or dishes it didn’t matter what it was. I was getting something done. I was scheduling it, I was plugging it in.

What this could look like:

• Prepping lunch
• Packing lunches
• Prepping dinner
• Organizing a drawer
• Cleaning their room
• Sorting laundry

When they got bored of it I challenged myself to make it more engaging. I would turn on music or sing a song with it. I would ask them questions and teach while I did it. “Hey what does that sound like when you clank it on the floor?” “Hey, can you stack those?” “Hey what shape is that?” “Hey, that’s a c-c-cup, what does c-c-cup sound like?” I would have them repeat c-c-cup. We would do these things all through practical life. That is practical life. They are learning how to clean, pour, how to zip a zipper, how to tie a shoe, they are learning how to sort. They are learning.

Practical life is giving your kids life skills and learning how to interact with their environment. They are learning how to get dressed on their own, put socks on, how to fold laundry, how to sort laundry.

These things are so unbelievably vital. The sooner you start the more maturity your children are going to have when they go into grade school. Trust me, you will thank yourself for starting this with your kids at an early age.

SENSORY PLAY

Set up some time for sensory play. Whether you do Play-Doh or go all Pinterest on this and you get fancy and do the things because it lights you up. I wasn’t that, we weren’t there. Sometimes we were.

Sometimes we’d get a bowl of rice, sometimes a bowl of beans. Other times it was “Where’s the Play-Doh? Somebody give me the Play-Doh.” Get a sensory bin and have a few things in it and test out what they love. Find one thing that holds their attention for 30 minutes and swap it out.

Sometimes sensory play is water. Sit them in the bathtub, let them play, and give them shaving cream. Schedule how long you will be doing this. It will depend on your kid’s temperament and what you can handle.

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

You might have kids that really need to run and play. For us in Arizona that is really hard in summer because it is brutally hot. For a lot of you in winter that is impossible because you go outside and you are a popsicle. Maybe once a week you have a snow day. Maybe once a week for your entire morning block you are going to an indoor play place. For us once or twice a week our entire morning block was the swimming pool.

LESSON

A lesson will be really vital for those of you that are hoping to do homeschool or preschool on your own. If you have super little ones at home and have no desire to do homeschool or preschool it’s still SUCH a fun time. Notice there is no screen time, and that’s super strategic.

**Listen to the podcast for my full YouTube tangent

I always loved doing my lesson right after my morning routine. I liked having mine then because I was fresh and the kids were fresh. Often this looked like using some type of Montessori manipulative at the kitchen table. They would be in their chair or high chair with bright fresh light, the diffusers on, maybe some classical music in the background. Sometimes they were tracing letters. When they were super small it was just sorting by color or just engaging with them in vocabulary. When they are a little, little baby it can be tummy time.

It doesn’t have to take a ton of time. Don’t put a ton of pressure on yourself. You know what your kids are working towards, encourage it and explore that with them. That’s all the more complicated that needs to be.

After all these things are done you do lunch.

LUNCH

And when lunch is done your morning block is over.

So there you have it, my 6 steps to a fun and productive morning.

• Morning routine
• Practical life
• Sensory play
• Physical activity
• Lesson
• Lunch

This is what I did to make me feel on top of the world. To make me feel like I deserve a gold star from the recognition board. I was proud of myself most days when I showed up to this.

Last tip. Schedule play dates and time outside the house. Schedule friends to come over or you go to their house so your kids don’t get super bored of it either. Some days the schedule will go out the window. It’s ok. This is just a framework for you to pull out of your back pocket, so you can feel like, “Heck yeah I can do this, this is my JAM!”

Please use this. Have fun with it!

Love this because they grow so quickly.

Come find out more details about the Systemize Your Life Academy to learn how to time block your whole day and how to do your very best in motherhood, business, and home all the time.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where can I learn more about time blocking?

Time blocking is such a beautiful way to lead a more productive and intentional life. You can check out my free time blocking workbook to create time blocks that will set you up for success in your day to day life! Pair it with the workshop for even more rewards in helping you to zero in on what you need to focus on in your mornings and everyday routines. If you have any questions come ask the community in our Systemize Your Life Facebook group! You got this!