With Half Term finally here, I thought I’d share this poem as part of Victoria’s Prose For Thought linky.
It was inspired by the frantic, often repetitive morning rush to school with Little Chap. Please rest assured (before you send round social services!), that Little Chap doesn’t start his school day on banana and vitamin pill alone! This scenario is more typical of the rush to his school Breakfast Club, on the three days I work, where he can choose from a range of cereals and toast when he arrives (more than I do – a cereal bar on the Tube to work is about my lot!). The rest of the week we have the extra half hour to get through breakfast at home – but that’s a whole other ditty!
Wake up Sleepy Head,Wake up Sleepy Head,
Time to
Go to school. To the toilet now,
To the toilet now,
Don’t forget,
To wipe and flush. Off to the bathroom then,
Off to the bathroom then,
Wash your hands,
And brush your teeth. There’s no time to play!
There’s no time to play!
You must learn
The time and place. Now your uniform,
Now your uniform,
Button up
And try that tie! Have I closed the windows?
Have I closed the windows?
Bang! Lock.
Now we’re done. You are doing well!
You are doing well!
Grab your book bag,
Find your shoes. Here’s a vitamin!
Here’s a vitamin!
Don’t forget
You’ll need a snack. Fill his water bottle!
Fill his water bottle!
Quick! quick!
From the tap! Are the curtains drawn?
Are the curtains drawn?
Pull, pull
Tie them back! Whoops! Forgot my lunch!
Whoops! Forgot my lunch!
Fridge, fridge
Grab some fruit! “Mummy, I’m hungry!
Mummy, I’m hungry!”
I’d like
A banana please! Think we’re ready now.
Think we’re ready now.
Coats, bags
Lock the house. Open up the car,
Open up the car.
Climb in
Strap in safe. Start the engine up,
Start the engine up.
Oh dear,
All misted up. Put the heaters on,
Put the heaters on.
Quick, leap
Out to scrape! Don’t forget your lights!
Don’t forget your lights!
Switch on
The radio. Drive off safely,
Drive off safely,
Traffic lights
Are always red! Phew! We made it.
Phew! We made it.
Hug me tight
Enjoy your day.
If you didn’t get the picture clearly enough from my version, let me share Little Chap’s own shorter version. He fired this off in response to me reading the above out loud to him to check for authenticity. He can (and does, less frequently now, thank goodness) throw these lines in at any time during the above routine for pretty good results every time. It goes something like this…
“Wind your Mummy up!Wind your Mummy up!”
Cheeky much…?!?!?!
How does this compare to your morning routine? Any other early morning poets out there?
Mayfair Mum 
Love this – it truly does sum up that manic time of the morning. We are always chasing the bell 🙂 x
Thank you Ellie. I love your poems so am chuffed you stopped by to read my humble outpourings. Glad you enjoyed it x
Oh dear – our nursery routine is a bit less hectic but I can see it coming…. It was fun to read 🙂
Yes…each year is stressful in its own way. Hope you enjoy that special year in Nursery while it lasts! Thanks for stopping by.
Great poem and one I can really relate to 😉 x
Thank you for the compliment. Nice to know I’m not alone 🙂
This is just like me- I have to ALWAYS repeat myself in the morning!! I love the structure of the poem – it’s as if its trying to hurry everything up! Thanks for linking to Prose for Thought again
– so glad you came back 🙂
Pleasure to join in again V. Glad you liked it. Perhaps I should record it to play each morning as an aide memoire! Ha ha!
Haha, I love “wind the mummy up”! And I also often write posts that make me worry someone will call social services…
Thanks for commenting Judith. Glad you enjoyed it. Will pop by soon to read more!
Another hectic house I see, thought you might like this old one of mine. Mums everywhere have the same issues, http://theuncheshirewife.wordpress.com/2013/07/25/a-mothers-day/ : )