Creating a Morning Routine
Our mornings are BUSY! Thank goodness we are early risers as we have so much to get done before we leave for school in the morning! Add to that, the fact that we will have two children, at two different locations in opposite directions! Thankfully we are easing into the routine with Little Miss A only attending Kindy on a 5 day fortnight roster.
WE have always had a before school routine, but whilst Master O was little, I still had to assist him with each task so i didnt think there was a need for any charts or printed reminders. Last year however, his uniform became simpler for him to do and he became more independent so i found myself sending him upstairs to get ready by himself.
Let me tell you, distraction is the art of 6 year old boys. I found myself constantly reminding him of what he had to next, what had he done already, and generally being a yelling, nagging mother. Not pretty. So this year I am determined to change things. Little Miss A is less distracted and a real busy bee who loves to be in the midst of everything. She is extremely independent, determined and self sufficient and always has been! She even toilet trained herself! This also means she knows what she likes and what she doesn’t which will be very interesting when this year, with a uniform, there will be less flexibility in what she wears or how she does her hair. Tantrums they are a coming. Be afraid, be very afraid.
This year, I don’t have time for chaos! With a new baby arriving there will be many morning when I am stuck feeding, changing, dressing, settling a baby and My Pigeon Pair will need to get themselves organised the best they can! We need a routine and a CHART!!!!
We need an illustrated, MORNING ROUTINE CHART and it needs to be;
- Visual (especially for little Miss A as she is a pre-reader)
- Timed (for Master O as he needs very specific timeframes)
- Can track progress (what have you done already?)
- Easy to reach and read.
- Simple
I have made a MILLION routine charts in time but always for Preppies in a classroom! Visual routines are of particular benefit to any child that likes routine and structure (which quite frankly is all children) but particularly children with ASD.
How to create your own routine chart.
- MAKE A LIST. Firstly I wrote out what order I needed each thing done in the morning. This may be different for each family depending on circumstances. We have a two story house, with living areas downstairs and bedrooms upstairs. So we tend to group activities together depending on wether they are performed upstairs or downstairs.
- HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE? I then gave each activity a time reference (how long it should take to complete)
- DON’T BE LATE. Then I worked backwards from the time we need to leave the house. This varies each day as it depends on whether we need to do two drop offs or if their are before school activities. The earliest we need to leave is 7.30 so I worked from their. If on other mornings we have extra time, BONUS!
I then made a simple 3 column table in Word. One column for Master O (with clock faces) a middle column for the activity in written form and the last column for visual reminders for Little Miss A.
Add your routine and print!
SIMPLE!!!!!
I then printed out the routine and attached it to a clipboard.
Using a 3M hook (that of course I had to washi tape) I attached it to the wall just inside their bedroom.
I used a coloured peg for each child attached to the outside of the clipboard. As they complete each activity, they move the peg to the next one, to help remind them of what they have already done and what they need to do next!
A closer look at our routine! The arrows are to symbolise, go upstairs or go downstairs.
This is a very simple routine and we only just started using it yesterday, as we wean ourselves out of holiday mode and into back to school mode!
Would this routine work for you? Would you like me to make it available to you?
DUE TO POPULAR DEMAND! It’s yours to print for free!
[download id=”13″]
This a free printable and I am more than happy for you to share the love with a friend!
This printable is not to be sold in any way.