A few years ago when my oldest son started TK, I remember our mornings being COMPLETE CHAOS!! I would have to follow his tail around all morning asking him questions and making stern requests just to get him out the door on time for school!
I would say, “Did you eat your breakfast? Did you go potty? Where are your shoes? Hurry up & let’s comb your hair!” I was on repeat like a broke record EVERY SINGLE MORNING!! Does that sound familiar to you?
While he gradually got better at things, I still had to be his constant reminder of everything else. I needed things to be easier! So that’s when I created my back to school routine cards!
download your free routine cards now!What are back to school routine cards?
These back to school routine cards are like flashcards to help kids get into a groove with their morning, afternoon & bedtime routines once school starts. They include 24 pre-printed routine cards (and 8 blank ones for you too) that say things like…
- Wake up happy
- Go potty
- Eat breakfast
- Brush your teeth
- Get dressed
- Put socks & shoes on
- Feed the pets
- Comb your hair
- and MORE!
I set them up for my son using a teacher pocket chart organizer like this one from Amazon, and attached it to our fridge with the cards facing up & every morning he would run to go check out his chart & start his routine, flipping the cards backwards once the tasks were complete. He loved it!!!
How the back to school routine cards help
Not only did my son love these cards, but it made my life so much easier too!! I wasn’t having to chase him around the house trying to make sure he was getting everything done. It helped him get into a routine & it help me relieve that invisible mother mental load that so many of us carry as mommas! You know what I’m talking about right??
And the bonus part is that after only two week of using the routine cards, he had pretty much memorized the cards and was able to do everything without them, so we were able to put them away! SCORE!!!!!! Not to mention the fact that kids thrive off of routine. He was more self-sufficient which allowed this momma to get her make-up done before drop off!! DOUBLE BONUS!!!
Get started with your FREE back to school routine cards NOW!
Here’s how it works….
1. Download your FREE back to school routine cards via the link below.
Download your FREE routine cards here2. Print your routine cards
3. Cut out each routine card individually
4. To make them last longer, use a small thermal laminator like this Scotch one from Target to laminate your routine cards, or take them to your local office supply store to get them laminated.
5. Cut out your laminated routine cards individually
6. Place them in a teacher pocket chart organizer like the one I mentioned above from Amazon
7. And get through your kids back to school transition with ease!! 🙌🏼
What to do if your kids isn’t good at keeping time
While my son got really good at using his back to school routine cards, and took loads of mental weight off my shoulders, the fact was that he was only 4 years old and wasn’t so great at understanding time.
So later I found myself having to follow him around keeping time for him. “You have 15 minutes. You only have 10 minutes left! We have 5 minutes and we need to be out this door!” Also sound familiar?? Yeah, the joys of school mornings!
So to help out, I bought him a visual kid’s timer like this one from Amazon, and he was able to see how much time he had left, on his own, while he worked through his daily routine cards. PROBLEM SOLVED!!
click here to download your free routine cardsWhat to do if you have multiple kids to get ready in the morning
Now that my oldest son is going into 3rd grade this year, I realized that my little one will be in school by next school year, and the thought of having to print and cut and find space for 2 full routine card charts just sounds silly!
So I had the idea to use colored clips (one full colored set for each child) and clipping them one each at the top of each routine card. So as they finish their tasks, instead of flipping the card over, they can just remove their clip. ANOTHER PROBLEM SOLVED!
Share how these back to school routine cards work for you!
I hope these routine cards help you ease into your back to school routine with your kiddos the same way they have done for me over the past few years!
If you try them out though, please make sure to share them with me!!! Tag me @MomtrepreneurPlanner on Instagram. I’d love to see how you set them up & I’d love it even more to hear how they work out for you!
Until next time mommas….keep hustlin!!