As a teacher, I used a daily schedule with my Prep students. Not only did it give them visual cues to support them through their day, it also helped them to know what was coming next and really solidify some of our classroom routines.
This year our eldest daughter Lilly started school for the first time. We often struggled with our morning routine especially when our third little one came along. This is when we started using daily routine cards at home!
So what are daily routine cards? They’re basically visual cues used to represent different parts of our day. We have cards for our morning routine such as getting dressed, packing our bag and brushing our teeth.
Our daily activities are also included with cards for arts and crafts, visiting friends, going to school and visiting the library. There are even cards for our daily chores like tidying up, setting the table and feeding pets.
These cards feature a picture and a label explaining the routine. These visuals give our little learners cues as to what to expect from their ay. Not only do they allow our children to be independent in their routines (like getting ready for school or our after dinner routine), it also gives them so much confidence being able to see “what’s next” – taking away any anxieties and a lot of questions!
I’ve printed out our daily routine cards with 8 cards to a page. This makes them the perfect size for home use! I laminated each card and attached magnetic tape to the back. We have them displayed on a magnetic whiteboard under our kitchen bench!
Right now, we use the cards for our morning and after school routines. These are the parts of our day that I find trickiest so having these routines displayed with images in a central part of the home has relieved a lot of that stress – especially before school!
Lilly will often wake up and work through her morning routine by herself, totally independently! It’s pretty magical!
Some families like to use the cards to give their little learners a part in the decision making for their day! They’ll work together to plan out their morning using the cards as a guide for outings or special activities at home like reading books together or painting.
Below you’ll see some examples of how my customers have been using the cards in their homes!
As you can see, these Daily Routine Cards can be used in SO many different ways! I’ve purposefully designed them on individual cards so you can adjust them to suit the needs of your little learners.
If you’d like to support your little ones in becoming independent in their daily routines, I’d love for you to try the cards in your home too! Don’t forget to tag me @littlelifelonglearners and #LittleLifelongLearners so I can see how you’re using them!