With the start of the new school year, my girls always have trouble getting into their new routine. Our summers are slow, like really slow, so now that we actually have to get out of their pj’s before lunch it’s a struggle. I wanted to really help make this transition easier for my girls and I knew having a consistent daily routine would do the trick. Here are some things we implemented to help our days run a bit smoother and why we think it’s so important to have a routine chart for kids.
Even though my girls don’t have a traditional school setting I still like to have them start their day with routine. I feel it helps them start the day on the right foot, with a good attitude and I really think it helps with focus.
Our homeschool schedule is pretty flexible but completing their tasks (without me having to nag them) helps us stay on track and leaves us extra time for more fun later.
How many times do you have to ask your kids to brush their teeth a night?!? A million, right? No matter how many times I ask they still can’t remember.
That was when the routine chart came into place. I was getting frustrated for having to ask the same thing over and over. My kids weren’t listening. It just wasn’t working. So I thought, “why not give them the responsibility?” Let them be accountable for their own daily tasks and possibly even tie it into an incentive.
So here is what I came up with.
I really tried to think about my family and our needs while also thinking about what your family might need.
I divided the list into 3 parts, Morning, Afternoon and Evening.
My goal was for this chart to not be homeschool specific. We have our own routines there. I wanted this daily routine for kids to be adaptable for all family types.
These are divided based on the routines that work in our household. We want our girls to be involved in helping around the house. Being creative, going outside and showing kindness are so important to us. We wanted to show the significance of those things and help our girls feel accomplished when they do complete them.
So here is how it works.
We printed our sheets. laminated them (here is our favorite laminator). and hung them up with a clipboard in their room. We are using dry erase markers to check off a completed item but you could also use stickers. If you wanted to grab a magnetic clipboard you could even use magnets!
Whenever we are trying to promote participation in something new, we tie incentives in. Once it becomes a habit then the incentives happen less and less. For now we decided that the girls can have a small treat if the entire sheet from the day before was complete. If they complete a week they can have a dollar.
My hope is that this routine chart can help my girls feel independent and responsible for themselves. I want them also to feel accomplishment and pride in doing a great job. Checklists have a way of making you feel good, especially when you see everything checked off.
I hope sharing this routine chart for kids can be a blessing for your family.
I plan on sharing more on our daily routine very soon with more specifics on what our homeschool day looks like.
Do you have a specific daily routine put into place? Do your kids like it? Is it easy to implement? Let me know in the comments below.
Read more about our homeschool journey on our homeschool page
