First school week for 2026 complete! And some new routines.

This was a big week - O started school for the first time, and E started Grade 3. It was a short week because Monday was a public holiday, so school was Tuesday to Friday.

First day at school together - E in big sister mode

After being fairly excited for weeks about going to Big School, O declared on Tuesday morning when he woke up that he wasn’t QUITE big enough yet and would stay in kindy a bit while longer. We explained that wasn’t an option, and there were tears, and arguments. His school uniform was uncomfortable. He didn’t want to wear socks and shoes. His bag was too heavy. He was tired and wanted to go back to bed! But by the time we got to school the tears were dried, and he was resigned

Look at that expression. I'm here but I'm not sure about this Mum.

By the time I picked him up though, he was happy and the teacher told me he'd had a good day. The best thing though was when we walked to E's classroom and the moment when they saw each other and gave each other a big hug, and then excitedly ran around together like little besties. E had had a good first day too, no issues with her new class or teacher, so that was a relief.

For the rest of the week, every day O has been more enthusiastic than the day before. After refusing to say anything about school for the first couple of days (except a tentative thumbs up when I asked how the day went), on Thursday at dinner he suddenly gave us a blow by blow description of his day... "Then we went and played in the playground, and then we had Mat time, and then we read two books, and then we had our lunchboxes." So adorable, and what a relief. O is quite an academically minded little kid (loves to talk about numbers and letters), so we are pretty certain he will love school, but he's also a bit shy and anxious, so it might take a bit of time.

This week gave us a chance to try out a few of our new routines and houserules. Now that the kids are at the same school and start/finish at the same time it makes it easier to implement consistent routines for them both. And so far, so good. Here are our morning and afternoon/evening routines:

Weekday mornings in our household:

5-6am: I wake up, have coffee and read news/blogs/books. Put on a load of washing most days. Feed the cat, and get myself dressed. Cuddle the kids if they are up already (more likely to be O, rather than E).

6-7am: I work on my novel. Either at home OR I drive to a local cafe, order a coffee and work from there. I would honestly like to write in the cafe 5-6 times a week, but that would be a bit expensive (coffee is at least $5 a cup), and the kids wouldn't love that. So I do this about 3 days per week.

5-7am for Kids: They wake up anywhere between 5.30-7. If they want, they can watch some ABC for Kids (our national broadcaster that has more "wholesome" TV offerings compared to other streaming services), or listen to music (E is getting back into her CD player in her room)!

7am - TV goes off, breakfast and playing. I pack the lunches, a kid chore I really enjoy, and eat my own breakfast. Make sure the kids bags are packed and we have everything we need for the day.

7.45 - I have a shower and get ready. Kids get dressed and do their teeth (Al does this). I do E's hair (she barely tolerates this).

8.20 - Either Al or I drive the kids to school (we alternate days), and then drive into work.

Morning writing routine = bliss

Afternoons (Al and I will alternate):

2.30pm - Kids finish school and have a play together in the playground before going home.

3pm - Home, unpack school bags, afternoon tea, homework (when it starts), chat to parent.

3.30-5.30 - Kids can play, watch TV, amuse themselves (this is a bit of a necessity as I need to work on my afternoons for example).

5.30 - TV goes off (or switches over to the News for the adults), kids play (preferably outside), the parent at home cooks dinner, the other parent arrives home around now.

6.15ish - Kids help set the Table, we sit up to eat, and share about our days. I'd like to add in kids help clear the table, tidy their toys, but we haven't implemented this yet.

7pm - Bath time (most days), get ready for bed.

7.30pm - O and I read together, I put him to bed. E can stay up and do some reading/quiet playing in her room (she's taken to journaling which is very cute).

8.15-8.30 - E and I read together, E goes to sleep. I stay up reading or watch something, then I go to bed around 9-9.30. (Al will stay up later most evenings, but he doesn't get up as early as I do).

So far, this has been working very well. Having very set times for screentime has been good, as the kids know the rules and don't argue. We don't have afternoon extracurriculars so we can structure the afternoon like this. (E has started rockclimbing classes, but its on Saturday mornings. O hasn't yet started anything, though we are looking at soccer once he's settled into school). I know 2-3 hours of screen time is perhaps more than is ideal for the kids, but a) they have a very analog school experience, b) they are very active while they watch (constantly dancing and jumping around the room), and c) they will actually often wander off and play and then come back. E is often using her screen time to make up her own stories. For our house, the best test of if the screentime policy is working is the kids attitudes and moods - which has so far been good. They are not asking all the time because they know what to expect, and when they get off they are happily playing, easy to go to bed etc. So we'll stick to this for now.

Of course, they have been a few small things that need an adjustment - the kids are SLOW to put on uniforms and brush teeth for example, with a silly amount of nagging required. But I have to take a deep breath and remember its Week 1, and things will iron out in time. But overall, its been a good start to the school year, and I feel like we are in a new era, which will be more structured and calm than ever before (here's hoping!).

Anyone else working out new routines for 2026? Anything working well, or needing improvement?