Hocus Pocus Slime

Now that Summer is officially over, you might be struggling with How to Get Your Kids Back On a School Routine.

Don’t worry, I am right there with you (or at least I was).

It’s no secret that many of us get rid of our normal eat, work and sleep schedules during the Summer.

I personally believe our kids deserve a break from all the school schedules and routines at least for a few months. Yes, I know that just means when it comes time to start a new school year, it will be that much harder to get them back onto a schedule. But I like kids to be kids as long as they can.

I get this is one of those tricky situations. Do you or don’t you allow your kids to get on and off their routine? That is the million-dollar question.

But here’s the thing, you probably are already at the point where you allowed it and your kids are off their school routine schedule or you wouldn’t be reading this. That also means you are most likely struggling with the constant “why do I have to go to bed?” questions. Am I right?

So, here is what you have to do, you HAVE to get your kids back onto a regular school routine.

Well, duh *insert eye roll* is what I am sure you thinking/doing right now.

How do you do it, you ask?

It’s simple…

Create an atmosphere that makes them excited to complete tasks on their schedule. Get them to bed on time every night, up on time every morning and allow them to leave the house feeling refreshed and ready to take on another school day.

Our oldest son just recently started back to school and is attending the 3rd grade this year. Part of getting him back into his routine was to set timed schedules for everything. Here is what an example of our schedule looks like:

• 3:15 PM – arrive home from school and unwind for an hour (typically he plays video games or hangs out outside)
• 4:15 PM – enjoy dinner with family and catch up on what happened at school that day.
• 5:30 PM – head on a walk with the family and dogs
• 6:30 PM – work on homework, get daily night reading in and make school lunch.
• 7:30 PM – Take shower, get school clothes picked out and hang out until bed time.
• 8:30 PM – Brush teeth, turn lights out and get into bed.

Obviously, some days are different if we have events or other things in our life going on but for the most part, we try to stay within this routine. We allow enough “down time” in the schedule but also time to ensure he is productive and ready for the next day.

Recently, one thing that has really helped bring back not only the school routine but also the excitement for school, is by adjusting the lighting within our home. Sounds strange, right? But hear me out.

Lighting can have a huge impact on our mood and behavior. It affects how productive we are, how we feel and how well we sleep.

Makes sense because how often do you fall asleep when the lights are off even if the TV is on?

That is why we decided it was best to adjust the lighting to reflect the school schedule to which our son is on. We did this by trying out smart lighting: the Philips Hue White and Color Ambiance starter kit. The kit gives you everything you need to get started; this includes:

• A bridge, which is the heart of the Hue system. It allows for the app-based control of the Hue lights.
• An Ethernet cable to connect the bridge to your wireless router, and a power cord to plug the bridge into any standard outlet.
• Four A19 standard-size LED light bulbs capable of emitting 16 million colors or 50,000 shades of white light. You can install the bulbs in any standard, indoor light fixture.

With Philips Hue, you to have full control over every aspect of your home lighting. Use the Hue app on your smartphone or tablet to personalize your lighting; choose from 16 million colors or every shade of white light to match your mood, support your routines and activities, or create your desired ambiance for any moment in the day. You can also control your Hue lighting with your voice – just ask Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant or Siri with Apple HomeKit.

When it comes to doing homework, we have our son sit in my office using bright white lights. It helps keep him focused and alert. We turn on the pre-set “Concentrate” scene, a crisp, white light that can help with this.

When it comes to having him complete his nightly reading, we adjust the lighting to the “Read” light scene, which is more of a comfortable ambiance light.

And when all is said and done, and he just wants to relax, there is lighting for that too. Fun, colorful lighting.

We had a ton of fun playing with the different lighting options within the app.

We made it feel cold using the “Arctic Aurora” scene.

Then we recreated a “Savannah Sunset” scene.

There is so much you can do with Philips Hue. The smart use of the smart lighting can help your family not just adjust to a new school-night schedule but keep up good homework habits, sleep better and more all year long.

Discourse: This post was sponsored by Philips Hue via Momtrends Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions of Philips Hue or Momtrends Media.