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My Simple Wild

a motherhood & simple living blog

May 14, 2018 / homeschool, kids

Visual Schedule for Children- Morning and Bedtime Routines

Visual Schedule for Children

Do your children struggle with getting up and ready for preschool in the mornings? Is bedtime a fight every single night? We have all heard that setting a routine can help our children, but how can you teach that routine to young kids?? Toddlers and even preschoolers sometimes need that visual aid to take the surprise out of what will happen next. Kids love being able to check things off their list and if you stick with it, you will find mornings and evenings will go MUCH smoother.I have made a visual schedule for children for both morning and bedtime routines that you can print off for FREE. Laminate them or put them in a sheet protector so that you can use a dry erase marker and use them over and over again.

This post contains affiliate links. To read my full disclosure click here. 

For Children with Sensory Needs:

If you have followed along with My Mountain Wild for awhile, you will know my son Liam was in OT and speech therapy for over 2 years. We had gone through several therapists, routines, and weekly schedules. Sometimes I just wanted to quit. When Liam was not showing signs of improvement for so long, I was exhausted. We had three different therapists a week, on different days, at one point! But now, because of therapy, Liam is a happier and healthier little boy. Our entire family works better together and understands each other.

SPD or Sensory Processing Disorder is a vague term for the issues that my son had. He was very easily overstimulated and under stimulated and would burst out into a screaming rage, sometimes trying to harm me or himself. He could never sit still, not even to go to the bathroom. He was aggressive and wild and we had no idea what to do with our little toddler that was shaking every time we went into Target because of the bright lights.

One of the things that his therapist had done for us was make a visual schedule for Liam. We had one for morning, night, nap time, diaper changing time, dinner time, going to the grocery store… it at first was extremely overwhelming and it was hard for me to remember to be using these schedules all the time. But if you start with just one or two, it’s much easier.

Things to keep in mind:

  • Even if your child does not have any sensory issues, toddlers are just difficult. Even if you think they are too young to understand, explain each step of the routine and why you are doing it.
  • Make checking off those boxes a big deal! If you make the routine seem exciting, they are more likely to do it.
  • Be consistent! If you skip the checklist even once the first couple of weeks, it can be so easy to just forget about it later on. Plus, consistency gives children a sense of comfort.
  • Eventually your child will be pointing to or asking for the schedule and want to check off those boxes without you asking them to do so.
  • Keep those markers up high so the kids can’t reach them. I made the mistake of leaving mine within Liam’s reach when he was younger… his dresser got a lovely makeover.
  • Your child will start to gain confidence, independence and gives them a sense of accomplishment each time they finish checking off their list.
Visual Schedule for Children
Here we put our son’s visual morning schedule right next to his bookshelf in his bedroom using a display pocket. The dry erase marker sits right on the shelf so he can easily check off his list himself

I hope that you enjoy these printables and I look forward to creating more soon!

I WANT MY FREE PRINTABLES

Have you used a visual schedule with your child before? How did they like it?

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Comments

  1. Sahar says

    May 15, 2018 at 12:40 am

    Love the idea of using visual checklists! I’m planning on making one for grocery shopping, so that my LO has her own list of items to buy. Not the same category as morning and bedtime routines, but I’m kind of excited about it ๐Ÿ˜‚

    Reply
    • Natalie Aubele says

      May 16, 2018 at 7:37 pm

      That sounds like a great idea!!

      Reply
  2. Kristal says

    May 15, 2018 at 10:05 am

    Love your charts! Great read.

    Reply
    • Natalie Aubele says

      May 16, 2018 at 7:37 pm

      Thank you!

      Reply
  3. Monica Brigham says

    May 15, 2018 at 1:38 pm

    What a great visual schedule for children! I will have to save this post for later when my little gets older. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
    • Natalie Aubele says

      May 16, 2018 at 7:37 pm

      Thank you so much !

      Reply
  4. sarah camille says

    June 1, 2018 at 11:47 pm

    This is such a great checklist for little ones. It seems great for that 4-7ish age range when kids sometimes want to do things on their own but don’t always know how or when to do things. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
    • Natalie Aubele says

      June 3, 2018 at 6:26 pm

      Thank you! And yes, totally! My son is Mr. Independent but gets easily distracted haha

      Reply
  5. Mariel Mcleskey says

    June 22, 2018 at 4:08 am

    Hello.This post was extremely interesting, particularly because I was browsing for thoughts on this matter last Monday.

    Reply
  6. The Red Tea Detox says

    December 26, 2018 at 6:21 am

    Pretty! This was a really wonderful article.
    Thank you for supplying these details.

    Reply
  7. Octopus says

    January 5, 2019 at 6:44 pm

    My spouse and I absolutely love your blog and find the majority of your post’s to be just what I’m looking for.
    Would you offer guest writers to write content in your case?
    I wouldn’t mind creating a post or elaborating on some of the
    subjects you write concerning here. Again, awesome blog!

    Reply
  8. kayribbons says

    March 16, 2019 at 10:02 pm

    Greetings from California! I’m bored at work so I decided to check out
    your site on my iphone during lunch break.
    I love the info you present here and can’t wait to take
    a look when I get home. I’m amazed at how
    quick your blog loaded on my cell phone .. I’m not even using WIFI, just 3G ..
    Anyhow, very good site!

    Reply
  9. Amelie says

    June 14, 2020 at 12:45 pm

    Routine Charts is really work.
    I have three children under the age of 5. The eldest child I raised with printable charts. But you need a lot of them. Now I use the Manini app for three children. These are the same printable morning routine cards and evening routine cards but in the phone. They are not lost and are always at hand, even on a walk. In the app, you can mark the completion of tasks and children like it very much. They actually ask for tasks themselves to make a mark the task. I felt much better. And I’m not nervous and it’s easy for children to become independent.

    Reply
  10. Kristofer says

    September 15, 2020 at 5:40 pm

    3 stars
    Hello, just wanted to mention, I liked this blog post. It was practical.
    Keep on posting!

    Reply

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Welcome! I’m Natalie. I am a western mountain mama who just recently relocated to the coast! Here I share all things motherhood, homemaking, homeschooling, and slow living. I hope you follow along as we share this next chapter of our lives. I am so glad you are here! Grab a cup of coffee and stay awhile

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Happy Memorial Day ! Thank you to those who courag Happy Memorial Day !
Thank you to those who courageously gave their lives for our freedoms. ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ
Whew what a week ! Thank goodness for church and t Whew what a week ! Thank goodness for church and the good Word to renew and fill me with hope. Last week was a doozy and felt like it wouldn't ever end. Good & bad things happened, but more bad than I'd like. My grandma passed away and then we were in a stressful scramble for 2 days trying to figure out who could take care of our animals and dogs and garden & afford flights, a hotel and rental car to go to Chicago for the services(we ended up just having to book a flight for me & Liam and my husband and Theo will stay behind to hold down the homestead). We had a big playhouse we bought off FB marketplace delivered that Nate and Liam have been repairing and painting. It's turning out great ! I know many memories will be made in there, and I can't wait to share the before & afters. Though my poor husband has way too many projects going on at once again. ๐Ÿ˜ฌ 
 My dog tried to eat baby bunnies. Twice ๐Ÿคฆโ€โ™€๏ธ Liam got some kind of poison ivy or poison oak rash all over and now today it has gotten pretty bad. His poor little cheek is all red and swollen and he's miserably itchy. Last night while driving home from a restaurant, I hit a coyote that jumped across the highway. Our brand new car's bumper is wrecked. 
The other day I went to the garden to find all the marigolds I planted next to my tomatoe plants died out of nowhere, and something is eating my pole beans. ๐Ÿ™ƒ 
How I've been coping ? 
1. Finally cracking open a prayer journal I got for Christmas from my best friend and pouring my heart out. 
2. Spurts of intense deep cleaning that makes me utterly exhausted 
3. Trying to plan a couple fun things while Liam and I are in Chicago for a few days. Liam was SO excited it would just be us two going on this trip because we don't get much time just the two of us since Theo was born. I want to make the best of it and think it will be nice for the focus to be on Liam for a few days. 

Even though life has been busy and crazy and sad, I still just feel incredibly grateful and blessed for what the Lord has given me and my family. I'm ready to be home and hug my family and celebrate the beautiful life of my Grandma Alice.
Do you have plans to go camping with your kids thi Do you have plans to go camping with your kids this Summer ? I have a blog post from a few years ago that has a free printable kids packing list. This checklist gives kids an easy to follow list to be independent and responsible for their own pack for a weekend camping trip. 
I don't know if we'll get to camping before baby gets here in July, but we plan to camp this Autumn for just short weekend getaways. 
Now that Liam is 3 years older since creating that checklist, I may even add a couple more things. A tick remover to be added to his first aid kit would be helpful, and having his own bug spray. 
Head ro the blog (link in my bio) to see the list and let me know if you'd add anything to it ! ๐Ÿ˜Š 
Tell me about your camping trips this Summer ! I'd love to know โ›บ๏ธ
Yesterday Bowie brought home a limp baby bunny tha Yesterday Bowie brought home a limp baby bunny that I'm guessing was about 10 or so days old. His eyes were barely open. I had to scoop him up and push my dog out of the way who was super confused as to why I was so mad at him. I kept him warm and he snuggled into my arm and belly and fell asleep ๐Ÿ˜ญ Liam searched and searched the thick brush at the edge of the forest, and deep into a thorn-covered bush, there was the little burrow with a few other little baby bunnies. He snuggled right back in next to them. 
Bowie got into their burrow again today ! ๐Ÿ˜ฉ Liam was devastated, but I think they're alright. 
Then we realized a finch made a beautiful nest with 3 little eggs in our shed, so we have to find a new home for the sweet nest as we're having our shed moved soon on our property to use as a chicken coop and to make way for building a garage. Any tips on how to safely move a bird's nest? ๐Ÿ˜ฌ 
And before anyone comes at me for not wearing gloves to pick this little babe up, there was no time. And it's a myth that a mama rabbit will reject their young just because they smell weird. We've had baby bunnies before and I'm guessing mama just gave them a good bath.
One of the most important people in my life made h One of the most important people in my life made her way up to heaven yesterday. My grandma Alice, my boy's GG, I imagine is slow dancing with Grandpa John and he's smiling with his blue eyes and saying "about time, Alice". My Grandma raised 5 children, was  devoted to her church, gave to charities that were close to her heart, had many friends, traveled all over the world, and loved her husband fiercely. She was an amazing mother and THE best grandmother. I never went to her house without a proper tea time complete with cookies and little snacks. She took care of my family when my mom was diagnosed with stage 4 acute Leukemia when I was just 3 months old. 
She was one of the first people I would call with good news, like when Nate proposed or I found out I was pregnant, or we were buying a house. She gave the best warm sincere hugs. Her laugh was contagious. I like to think my love for singing, roses, history, birds, and hosting comes from her. She made holidays so fancy and special. If I close my eyes I can hear the crackle of the fireplace at an Aubele Christmas party with a house full of Aubele's talking louder and louder with the smell of coffee and sweets in the dining room on the buffet. Laughter & warmth filling every inch of that house. I have always dreamed of a large family because of her. She was an amazing storyteller and often told me stories of our ancestors. And we have some pretty crazy family stories! She was proud to be Ojibwa and often reminded me to be proud as well. She was an amazing seamstress and made her grandchildren dolls & dresses & teddy bears. Family was the most important thing to her, and I knew at a young age that serving my own family someday was also what I wanted to do. 
Even though she passed yesterday, I have been mourning my grandma for over a year. Dementia took hold of my sweet Grandma Alice and I couldn't call her on the phone anymore. When I saw her this April, she had no idea who I was or who my Dad, her own son, was. I couldn't call to tell her I was pregnant with my 3rd son. I couldn't call to tell her I moved from MT to VA and that we bought a homestead. My grandma has been gone for some time๐Ÿ‘‡๐Ÿผ

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