Category: preprep

2018 · domestic engineering · housewife · housework · life · motherhood · mothering · parenting · preprep · tips · video

6 tips to avoid rushed chaos in the morning. 

JustBindyLeave a comment

Hi friends!

In today’s post I want to share some great tips to make your mornings less frantic. A big question I am often asked is how I get out the door on time in the mornings… LuLu has kindy 5 days a fortnight and this term + 1 morning of pre-prep, so lots on for us! So these are the things that work for us…

  • Preparation is the key to success. It truly is! Like the saying “those who fail to prepare, prepare to fail” goes – I truly believe being organised early as possible is how to be successful. The evening before we pack the lunch box, fill the water bottle and set out her bag – making sure it is packed with everything she needs for the following day – excursion/free dress day money, notes are signed and in bag etc… I also lay out her kindy clothes. Making a small effort in the evening means less stress in the morning.
  • Get sleep! Having a good nights sleep makes you more productive in the morning and well rested kids are easier to deal with!
  • Wake up at a reasonable hour. This should be a no brainer. I tend to be up around 6am’ish. This allows us time to calmly get through our morning routine.
  • Get things done as early as possible. As soon as we are done with breakfast I am busy, I put laundry on, LuLu knows to brush her teeth & get dressed, I go and get myself ready for the day and then I dress Tommy and do LuLu’s hair. Usually we then have some time to chill out in the playroom before going to kindy.
  • Set age appropriate jobs for your kids. LuLu knows to put her breakfast bowl in the sink, she often goes out to take the dogs coats off and she brushes her teeth and gets dressed on her own.  This helps me in the morning, while she is doing those tasks I can be doing others.
  • Know your time frames. Know how long it takes to get to the school and know when you have to be out the door, we like to get to kindy a few minutes early so we can chat to the teacher or other parents and calmly see LuLu off… I feel this sets her up for a good day as her morning has been calm and not flustered.

Our morning routine on a kindy day is fairly straight forward, I find having good routines with young children really is beneficial for them. They know what to expect and it isn’t chaos for them…
If you would like to see a kindy morning/day in action please check out my latest video HERE… 
But this is a basic look at how an average/ideal morning runs for us…

6am’ish I wake up with Tommy, LuLu occasionally will be awake at the same time or may wake a little later…
6:15am Unpack dishwasher and start organising breakfasts. The kids enjoy cereal and I have toast and a cup of tea.
6:45am LuLu is usually awake by now and having breakfast or our breakfast is done for the day. I tidy the kitchen, put away the toaster and wipe down the benches and if I need to get meat out of the freezer for dinner, I do it now.
7am I put the laundry on and make my bed.
7:05am I do my hair and makeup and get ready for the day. While I do this LuLu cleans her teeth and gets dressed for the day. I usually straighten her bed for her and then she sets up her snuggle toys neatly.
7:30am I dress Tommy.
7:35am I do LuLu’s hair, sometimes it is just a pony tail, other days she likes more detailed styles…
7:50am I may do a quick vacuum or some light cleaning while the kids play in the playroom.
8am I hang the laundry on the line.
8:10am We hang out in the playroom.
8:30am’ish We leave for kindy.

And that is a very rough guide to our morning. Some days flow smoothly and occasionally we have rushed mornings, but we all really dislike those so we strive to have calm and organised mornings.
How do your mornings go before kindy/school? What is your biggest tip for having a successful morning? I would love to know, comment below or on my social media!

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2018 · preprep · school

Preparing for pre-prep. {What we are using}

JustBindyLeave a comment

Hey friends,
Last post I came to you asking for help about preparing for kindy/pre-prep (you can read that post HERE)
Today I am here to deliver my findings and what products we ended up choosing for LuLu to start pre-prep with…
Domestic Goddess Unboxing... (1).png(If you would like to see me showing you these products, I have filmed a video you can watch HERE.)

First we have her backpack… Which you can find HERE – for some reason I was unable to purchase this online and had to ring around to find the last one left in our area.
After a lot of thought I ended up going with a Mambo one from Big W. It’s pretty, seems decent quality although it isn’t super padded but it’s a good & large size to fit all her stuff in. I did look at Smiggle, but to be honest, those designs are a bit over the top and didn’t suit our girl and those bags are so pricey! So when I saw one with feathers and arrows – I knew it was perfect! (I can hear LuLu in the toy room shooting her toy bow & arrow right now!)

Her lunchbox was the most expensive item. It is a Munchbox, we went with the mix and match set which can be found HERE (her colour is currently out of stock as of the 12/Jan/2017) This lunch box was $65 and when I say that out aloud I am still like “WHAT”!? You spent $65 on a lunchbox. But I had to buy her a bigger lunch box as she is a big eater and I am planning on this lunch box lasting her for a few years. It is a durable and is meant to be leak proof which I think is great. So if lasts us a few years and is durable – I truly think it is money well spent. I wanted to go with a bento style lunch box so not only is it good for the environment but it is motivating for me to create nutritious and fun lunches for her. The delivery was very quick as well on the Munchbox.
(To save some money, google Munchbox discount code – there are a few online, I was able to save 10% thanks to a quick google search!)

Her water bottle is by Camelbak, we got ours from Woolworths. Her water cup is from OMGosh .
Name labels were ordered from TinyMe, they arrived quickly and are lovely! We will be ordering a hat from Bedhead hats. We love this brand of hat and she currently has one that is swim hat. It’s lasted so well and I love the fact it has a pony tail hole for her hair – she has a lot of hair, so this helps her hat sit on more securely and comfortably.

For rest/quiet time they need a “swag” – which is just a yoga mat and a towel. I got both of these from Big W, she proudly picked the towel herself. (Yoga mat & towel.)  

Uniform wise she can wear anything, but LuLu will be wearing the official kindy shirt and black pants which are the “uniform”. They don’t have to wear red & black & the kindy shirt is mainly for excursions, but I think it’ll make our lives easier if she has some dark coloured pants and red tops to rotate through.

To keep our immune system strong now that we have a “school kid” – I have a good stock of On Guard and Easy Air oil by doTERRA. On Guard is a protective blend designed to help assist in strengthening the immune system and Easy Air helps to maintain clear airways and I love to diffuse it at night. If you want more info on that click HERE or reach out to me!

And we are organised, pre-prep orientation is this Thursday and I honestly cannot believe we are at this point. It feels just like last month I was filming videos updating you all on baby Rexy or sharing fun crafts we did together while she was a little toddler and now here we are… I’m about to send her off to pre-prep. Gosh, I am preparing my heart everyday for this – I know she will thrive and be great, I however will probably be at home sobbing over Tommy telling him to stay little and not leave Mumma yet! LOL!
Oh the bitter sweetness of motherhood, we want our babies to grow and flourish but we long them for them to stay tiny… It’s rough on our hearts!
Hugs to you if you are about to send your little one off this year too!
What products are you using this year?

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2018 · preprep

Preparing for pre-prep {Advice wanted – HELP!}

JustBindy2 Comments

2018. A year for big things.
The first big moment for our little family this year is our little love LuLu is off to pre-prep this month. (In 18 days!)
Now, LuLu has never attended day care or been regularly cared for by any one other than Trent & I. I’m her constant, with her 24/7 – so this is a HUGE change for both her and I – personally I feel she’ll handle it much better than I will!

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She is a fun loving, active & very clever little lady who I know will flourish wonderfully. She loves to learn, she is so inquisitive and does not stop asking questions – EVER!
We carefully selected a beautiful kindergarten centre for her. They are big on outside play, nature and it’s child led play based learning – perfect for our LuLu…
We have done a handful of stay & play sessions at the end of last year, so LuLu is aware of the teachers, the centre and how things work.


Now I have to prepare, I have ordered a bunch of name labels from Tinyme  – but now I’m stuck… I’ve never done this before, so I need help…
I need a backpack, where do you buy good quality kid back packs? She has a cute Bobbleart one but I feel it’s too small.
What’s the best type of lunch box for kindy age kids? Those bento/yumbox/I don’t know what they are, it’s like a box with a bunch of sections/you know the ones… Are they worth it?
What are your go to kindy lunches?
Experienced Mumma’s I’m calling on your help… Give me suggestions and advice please!
I don’t mind spending a little bit of money on a good quality back pack as it’s always handy to have one, she’ll most likely get a proper school bag next year with the school’s logo on it, so this one would become a back pack to have in the car for trips away, carry on etc. And same applies for the lunch box, I don’t mind investing in a good one because it’ll be used next year at prep & hopefully in primary school.
Now onto another thing I need help with, how do you be ok? Like as a Mumma, how do I handle the separation? I know, don’t cry in front of her & be strong but gosh, I’m almost crying writing this… Pretty much every single day, she’s been with me for the past 4 years… And now, my little shadow has to go off. How do I handle the first day/week/weeks? I feel like it’s going to hard.
I think she’ll adjust ok, we have had a few “I don’t think I want to go to kindy anymore, I want to stay home with you Mumma.” moments, but 97% of the time she is very positive about it and super excited to go to “school”. I realise after the novelty wears off, she may get a little sad/over it, but hopefully she just keeps loving it. We currently don’t have a sand pit at our rental house, so she’s very excited to get back to pre-prep to play in the sand! I talk very positive about the centre and all her teachers, so I hope that helps her too.
She is very self sufficient, she can open food (muesli bars, biscuits etc), wash her own hands, put her shoes on, get dressed – all those basic things she needs to know how to do, she can… So I feel she is prepared in that sense. She is also confident doing arts & crafts, is very active and strong and loves to play on play equipment, and she can identify her own name. I know every Mumma thinks their kid is smart, but this girl – she is too smart for her own good somedays, she is wise beyond her years with what she understands and her ability to learn makes me proud. I know she’ll do great. Me though, gosh I’ll miss her and her baby brother who adores her and rarely leaves her side will also miss her!
I know I often try to write posts with tips & advice for you all, and maybe next year I can write a post full of advice on sending little ones off to pre-prep/prep, but right now I need the help.
Help me, comment below or connect with me on social media. Any advice, suggestions, tips, tricks – anything is appreciated.
It’s going to be a big adjustment, but I think she’ll thrive and it is all for the greater good.

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