It’s back to school next week and I find it can be hard to swing back into the school-run routine – for me and the children. One thing which has worked really well for us is to have a pictorial ‘Get Ready’ chart to help the kids organise themselves more, ready to head off to school. It also saves me having to ask / remind / yell so much in the morning, which everyone is happy about! It also encourages the children to be more independent and take responsibility for themselves – good life skills.

It’s easy to make:

1. Make a list of the individual tasks the children have to do each morning – in the order which you’d like them to do them. (After all, there’s no point them putting their coat on if they aren’t yet wearing their jumper)

You can include things they need to do (brush their teeth) things they need to put on (socks and shoes) and things they need to take (lunch bag) – whatever suits your routine.

2. Take photographs of each item / action. My kids think it’s so cool they have their own personal chart featuring their own items.

3. Make a poster of the photos in the right order. (You can add a word description too, even if the children are young, as it’s always good to promote reading and letter recognition).

4. Put your chart up somewhere prominent and at the kids’ eye level, so they can use it easily each morning.

We’ve been using ours for over a year now and it’s definitely made our mornings run more smoothly. Hope this works for you!