Whether you are a stay-at-home mom or working mom, we could all use some slow mornings that fill our cup for the day with meaningful memories. Slow mornings can not only set moms up for a beautiful day, but it also sets the tone for your child’s learning that day.

1. The very first thing your child needs to see as they rub their chubby cheeks and open their sleepy eyes is YOUR FACE SMILING BACK AT THEM.  Don’t make the mistake of our time and grab your phone first thing when you wake up. I would set a rule of 15 minutes on your phone at night while the kid’s sleep. Sometimes, we need to get more work done or want to write or whatever it is. We have to give up something in order to make that happen. Don’t give up time with your children. Some ideas are to have both you and your husband give each other 30 minutes of down time each day, or more for whatever you may need. Scrolling, napping, walking, maybe catch up on cleaning. Just don’t let the inconvenience ruin your mornings with your children. Be their first smiling face, their sunshine for the day.
2. Make your coffee or tea with your little ones, so that you can actually sip it nice and warm. Involving your little ones is special. Not only does it create great bonds but also habits. My little ones know that when I say, “sound!” they smile and know that I’m about to grind the coffee beans. While I grind them, it does get loud, but I smile and dance while counting to 30, and my kids love it. My oldest counts with me. She just turned three and can count to 30 and we are working on counting to 40 and so on. Little things like this really add up in your child’s routine and education. Just think, if we had a special learning opportunity for every part of our day, wouldn’t we want to take part in that? I say yes!
3. Make a special breakfast each day AND invite your little ones to help. It becomes routine in my house when I crack eggs for breakfast, my oldest daughter climbs up on the counter and mixes them up for me. Take the time to thank them for their involvement. Try to teach them something new each day. My husband and I frequently let our daughter help in the kitchen. Since she was two, she’s been helping mix and flip pancakes on the griddle. She knows that it’s hot and does very well helping. She loves it! What I find amazing and impactful is when I’m baking and she helps. She can remember ingredients and even how much to put in! They are never too young to help bake with you. Whether you baby-wear, or toddler counter-ladder, they are little sponges waiting to spend time with you. Talk to them as much as possible! I find that I’m talking all day long. The only time I’m quiet is when I’m eating, and even then my oldest insists I read ten books.
4. Start a load of laundry. After breakfast, I gather all the dirty laundry and head downstairs with my littles to start a load of laundry. The fresh smell of clean laundry boosts everyone’s day! Be sure to use a nontoxic brand like Attitude, or even an eco friendly option like laundry sheets instead of bulky jugs of plastic. If you need help finding a brand to use, type in “ewg.org rating for____” and type your laundry soap. That works for everything from beauty to cleaning products. I highly recommend researching your products. Now, back to laundry. Its so important for little ones to help with household chores. This is how they learn. Not only how to do the chores, but they are actually learning much more, and taking in much more than you may think! Learning responsibility, and self worth are huge here. If we take care of our home and our bodies, our children see that. and will also take care of their home and bodies.
5. As soon as you get up to change diapers, open all the curtains! Have a morning routine like asking how did you sleep? Ask about their dreams, and really be present. The first 15 minutes of little one’s mornings are the most important part of their day. Be there to make it the best! Slow mornings are not actually slow. They are filled with so much. We call them slow because we take our time with each task we do. We don’t rush our mornings along. It takes patience. The number one thing we must have as moms is patience. Patience and grace. Take the time that our little ones need to process and get the tasks done. You will find that if you don’t involve your little ones with daily tasks, you won’t get as much done. Many times, they may just cry and cry. But, if you hold them and talk to them while doing the task, however hard or slow it may be, it does in fact get done! It is possible to do dishes, cook breakfast, start laundry, get the mail, all while holding a baby. It’s slow but it certainly is possible. Don’t let the slow part discourage you. Instead, my advice is to look up!!! As moms, we have our eyes on tasks throughout the day, and yes we do constantly look at what our kids are doing, but in those small moments when your child brings you a drawing, or asks you to “Look at this mommy!” be sure to look up and soak in that beautiful moment. That right there, the ability to look up and see is what slow mornings are. That is the meaning.

Learning to slow down the most important part of our day, the morning, sets the tone for the entire day. It can either fill you or drain you. Be sure to let it fill you. Chose joy, and be present with your kids. Don’t forget when you are elbow deep in dish soap scrubbing pots and pans, look up! Look up and see your children’s eyes when they talk to you, and come to you. Look up and outside the windows during quiet times. Look up and watch the little hummingbirds drink sweet nectar. Because like hummingbirds, our little ones have incredibly short moments of importance, look up before they fly away.