Home Organization

The 7 Most Beautiful & Easy to Use Toddler Bedtime Routine Charts

By Marnie Craycroft Filed Under: Montessori in the Home, Parenting Tagged With: Chores and Routines, Executive Functioning, Home Organization This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

This post includes the BEST toddler bedtime routine charts. I spent months researching and scouring the internet and beyond to find the most beautiful and most effective toddler bedtime routine charts out there! Why? Because establishing a routine is ridiculously important to child development and your family mental health.

Lauren Tamm of Military Mom and Wife and parenting expert emphasizes in her viral article Boundaries, Routines, and Early Bedtimes: 13 Habits That Raise Well-Adjusted Kids that:

There’s so much of childhood that is new and challenging for kids. Learning self-control and empathy. Learning how to be a friend and interact with others. These are all very BIG things for kids. Using something as simple as printable routine cards can help kids feel grounded and relaxed. In fact, knowing what to expect at mealtimes, mornings and bedtimes can bring a sense of relief to even the most carefree child.

Toddler Bedtime Routine Charts

Custom Personalized Kid Routine Checklist

The author of this best selling bedtime routine checklist makes it easy to customize for your child and your family. She designs the product with cute and simple visual icons to make it easy for a toddler to follow.

Toddler Evening Routine Checklist

The design of this checklist is straightforward and easy on the eye. The illustrations are colorful and simple. This checklist won't overwhelm you or your toddler.

Bedtime Routine Checklist for a Boy

I like the active voice in this checklist letting a child know that it is time to take action on his routine. Plus the colors remind me of superheroes and who doesn't love to think about superheroes especially when tackling an evening routine?

Printable Toddler Bedtime Routine Cards

By the same author a few checklists up, I chose to display this product because of the format. Having cards allows the parent variations on how to use. For example, you could laminate the cards, put velcro on the back, use clips, and so on. There are a variety of ways to implement these handy routine cards into your nighttime system.

Bedtime Checklist for Toddlers

Super simple & colorful. I appreciate the color scheme and the inviting tone of this product.

Magnetic Routine Chart

Kids love magnets and a magnetic routine chart works extremely well in any home. Toddlers can easily keep track of their progress by moving a magnetic card from one side of the routine chart to the other side. Super easy for kids to use!

Adorable Toddler Evening Routine Chart

I couldn't resist this beautiful evening routine chart. So inviting to kids. The colors are calm and peaceful while the illustrations make you want to be a part of the scene.

If you want to keep exploring, check out this list of 12 Brilliant chore charts for kids!

Spring Cleaning Hacks to Motivate Your Whole Family

By Marnie Craycroft Filed Under: Positive Discipline Tagged With: Chores and Routines, Family, Home Organization This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

As the adult in your household or classroom, you might anticipate certain chores with glee. To you, spring cleaning is about more than just getting your life in order. It's an opportunity to reinvigorate yourself with the promise of a vibrant new season to come.

Spring Cleaning Hacks to Motivate Your Whole Family

Unfortunately, your little helpers aren't always so enthusiastic about ticking off items on your spring cleaning checklist. It's inevitable that you'll disagree on doing these chores. How can you elimate the power struggles of doing chores and actually make chores fun?

Many children have their own ideas about their agendas. Other kids just dislike tidying up. Fortunately, these attitudes and preferences aren't set in stone. Rethinking the way you scrub, sanitize, and spring clean your surroundings could make things a lot more fun for everyone involved.

Want to keep your youngsters engaged in welcoming the season? Try these spring cleaning tips to influence your kids' viewpoints so that they look forward to the occasion as much as you do. However, before you get going though, step back fo a moment and think about age appropriate chores and routines. Think critically about how you determine the right chores at the right age.

What is spring cleaning?

Akin to preparing for the arrival of a baby (aka “nesting”) there is something about the spring that inspires us. Spring cleaning gives us a fresh start and allows us time to refresh. There is actually a history behind spring cleaning, however. Back in the day when fireplaces and wood stoves heated the rooms during cold winter months, people spent time cleaning their homes, stoves, fireplaces, and so on of the soot that had accumulated over that time.

Nowadays, we take the same approach by opening windows, breathing in the fresh air, and taking advantage of warmer temperatures. On the other hand, spring cleaning is less of an intentional effort now that we have digital apparatices and Marie Kondo to help us stay on track of our homes. With that said, the sentiment of “in with the new, out with the old” still rings true.

Spring Cleaning Hacks for Parents

Establish a Spring Cleaning Routine

Set a schedule first. Following a routine lets you make any event feel doable, and big cleanups are no exception.

Give each person something to do. Including yourself can help show that the spring cleaning checklist isn't one-sided or a punishment. Since the adults usually do most of the heavy lifting, it's also easy to make the point that you're trying to be fair.

Make Goals Together

Motivating a child is way easier when you consider their interests. Instead of simply making them clean because you said to, come up with bigger objectives together. For instance, you might let a child know that if they clean up their personal space, they'll have more room to play and do their favorite hobbies. In other words, involve your kids in the systematic approach to cleaning.

Including your child in the goal-setting process makes them more excited to participate. It's also a great learning lesson on how planning makes it easier to tackle big tasks. Spring cleaning can look like an overwhelmingly massive affair from a younger perspective. Therefore, you must break it down to make it appear more attainable. Work those executive functioning skills!

Spring Cleaning with Kids

Gamify Cleaning

What's guaranteed to be more appealing than being responsible and doing chores? It's playing games. In other words, make doing chores fun and competitive!

Chores and fun might seem like complete opposites, but it's all a matter of attitude. On the other hand, the widespread popularity of chore apps suggests that many families have good experiences with transforming housework into a game. Some research on gamifying chores also makes a case for the combo approach.

If more apps and screen time aren't your cup of tea, then invent new games that don't need tech distractions. Some parents like keeping dry-erase boards on their refrigerators to track which children complete their daily chores each week. Even if you don't do this all year, it can make a fun spring cleaning game.

Sometimes, doing a common chore in a new way makes it more enjoyable. For instance, you could try the Japanese T-shirt folding method and have a race. Competition is definitely a motivator for my boys!

Keep Things Age-appropriate

As I mentioned above, maintaining age-appropriate expectations can help your kids view to-do lists with less dread. If you go too fast and overload them, they won't want to join in. You have to find a way to allow them to lead the process based on who they are and what motivates them.

Talk to them about how their help benefits the family. Remind them that everyone else has to work harder when one person decides not to work.

Inspire Your Kids: Connect Chores to Creativity

Most children understand the concept of a chore as a necessary job. Letting them be more creative about how they complete a task makes it an easier pill to swallow.

Get together to watch a video of sand mandalas being built and erased right before going outside to clean up the garden. Chop down all the old dead plants, and make designs with the debris. Mulch it all into the garden bed, or rake it away for a clean slate.

Is it looking like a rainy spring? Stay indoors to clean up your old office supplies. Shredding old bills and magazines is always lots of fun. Or recycle whatever you find cluttering up the house. Many of the leftovers from these spring cleaning hacks could become precious creative keepsakes.

Reward Effort & Progress

Make chore charts and cleaning progress visible with a chore chart. Also, make your system rewards based. With that said, don't take away from the effort the child put into the chores. Focus on efforts, not reward. Think: Carol Dweck. Still, we're all human and certain things do motivate us! So, surprise your kids when you've finished. Do something that you know they'll like and enjoy. It doesn't have to be huge, but making it something rare or special gives kids a reason to look forward to spring cleaning next year.

One of the best rewards that a kid can receive for helping out is a parent who appreciates their assistance. Let yours know that you're glad to have their spring cleaning help.

Create a Daily Schedule for Kids that Works for Your Family

By Marnie Craycroft Filed Under: Positive Parenting Tagged With: Chores and Routines, Home Organization, Parenting This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Time is one of life’s most precious resources. If you waste an hour, you can’t get it back for any amount of money. That’s why teaching your kids priceless time management and organizational skills early and often are top priorities. Accomplishing this is hard if you divide your time among multiple children and a job outside of the home.

Routine and chore charts help you to quickly set expectations for your kids regarding their personal activities, school work, and household chores. These activity charts for kids feature simple designs that are engaging enough to spark interest in even your most jaded teen. Don’t waste a second. Dive right into these daily schedules for kids ideas!

Daily Schedule for Kids – Age by Age

Toddlers (Ages 1-3 years old)

Morning routine charts save the day for parents who have toddlers. Your routine charts, however, should include both morning and evening activities to get your little ones happily moving in the right direction.

Morning Routine for Toddlers

This picture-based chart uses plenty of colors to guide your toddler through his or her day. The title shows a bright, yellow sun that your child will associate with day time and waking up in the morning. Personalize the chart by putting your toddler’s name in the title. Since your toddler’s activities are relatively limited, this chart shows a short list of tasks using fun graphics.

Go potty
Make the bed
Get dressed
Eat breakfast
Brush teeth
Comb hair

Graphics of a potty, a cartoon character making its bed, some clothing, some plated food, a toothbrush, and a comb let your toddler know the sequence of events in his or her morning. Whether you use pictures that you snapped from your smartphone or computer-generated clip art, associate the visuals with words. This gets your child ready for reading later.

Evening Routine for Toddlers

Easy to understand visuals also dominate the child’s evening schedule chart. The title shows a crescent moon and stars, which signals bedtime for your toddler. These activities and their associated pictures are included in the chart.

Pick up toys
Go potty
Brush teeth
Put laundry in the hamper
Get bath
Put on pajamas
Storytime

Customize the morning and evening chart with Velcro tabs and fabric. Cut out yellow stars and green dots from pieces of felt from your local fabric store. Place them in a small pouch that you can hang from a thumbtack. Let your child press a green dot next to tasks as he or she finishes them. If your toddler does a particularly good job on an activity, praise him or her by pressing a yellow star near the task. This will keep your little one engaged and motivated.

Daily Schedule for Preschoolers (Ages 4-5yrs)

Preschoolers are known for their growing independence and their willingness to help around the house. With this daily schedule for kids, you’ll encourage them to be creative while they learn life skills.

Morning Routine for Preschoolers

Have your child create his or her own activity chart with your help. In this chart, morning tasks are a mix of routine activities and age-appropriate household chores.

Here are some example activities:

Use bathroom
Brush teeth
Wash face
Make bed
Get dressed
Eat breakfast
Pack school bag

Evening Routine for Preschoolers

Here are some examples of evening routines:

Pick up toys
Dust or tidy up
Set the dinner table
Brush teeth
Bathe
Put away laundry
Pull on pajamas
Read story

While your child is likely capable of accomplishing these tasks without constant help from you, he or she often gets sidetracked. This activity chart consists of a sturdy poster board that has Velcro tabs and colorful cards for each activity. Print out pre-scripted cards from the internet, or you can make your own from scratch. Work out the ideal numbered sequence of tasks with your child; put the tasks’ numbers on the back of the cards.

When your child finishes a task that’s in his or her stack of cards, he or she will stick the card on the activity board’s Velcro tab. Getting chores done becomes a game. If your child doesn’t remember what he or she needs to do next, refer them to their cards.

If this sound daunting to you, check out these printable morning & evening routine cards!

Grade schoolers (Ages 6-12yrs)

As kids enter grade school, they have more classroom work and less of a desire to help around the house. To keep them organized and useful at home, you’ll need more than morning routine charts with Velcro stars and creative card tricks. This activity chart shows a typical daily schedule for kids who are between 6 and 12 years old, and it has a hook to keep them engaged in their work.

Morning Routine for Elementary

Here are some sample morning tasks.

Make bed
Brush teeth
Wash face
Get dressed
Eat breakfast
Pick up packed lunch & snack
Get school backpack

Evening Routine for Elementary

Here are some sample evening tasks.

Do homework
Eat dinner
Load dishwasher
Take out trash
Help prepare lunch box
Pack school bag
Set aside school clothes
Bathe
Put on pajamas
Read or quiet time
Lights Out

This schedule board needs a sturdier surface than the previous charts. Use a cork bulletin board to hold printed tasks that are individually held in place by Velcro tabs. Since your child has more schoolwork and limited time, it’s important to associate each task with a time reference. You and your child decide when those activities and chores need to be done and create time cards for each task.

An Idea for a Routine Chart for Elementary Kids

Attach small plastic cups with Velcro next to each activity.
Fill a small sack with marbles.
Hang the sack by a tack from the bulletin board.

As your child finishes each activity on time, he or she puts a marble in the cup. You count the marbles daily. If the child reaches a certain amount of marbles at a week’s end, he or she gets a special reward such as a game app, ice cream treat, or a day of no chores.

Teens (Ages 13-18yrs)

Opportunities to shape your child’s time and money management abilities abound when your kid becomes a teenager. While most charts for kids feature physical boards only, this example activity chart goes digital.

Morning Routine for Teens

Example morning activities and age-appropriate housework for teens.

Make bed
Shower and groom
Make breakfast and eat
Pick up lunch
Get school backpack

Evening Routine for Teens

Sample evening routine and chores for teens.

Do homework
Participate in sports
Shower
Help prepare dinner
Eat
Vacuum or tidy up
Do laundry
Set aside school clothes
Pack school lunch
Gather books into a backpack

An Idea for a Routine & Chore Chart for Teenagers

The schedule and activity list for teens should include lists of chores that can be switched out and modified as your family’s needs change. Include a QR code on the poster board so that your child can sync work activities on the physical board with extra instructions about chores on his or her smartphone.

Have your child send a notification when he or she completes tasks. If your teen completed each activity in a timely and effective manner, load a prepaid Visa debit card with the teen’s allowance money. When activities are not done properly, deduct a percentage from his or her allowance.

Why I Threw Away Our Routine Charts & What We’re Doing Instead

By Marnie Craycroft Filed Under: Positive Parenting Tagged With: Chores and Routines, Home Organization, Parenting This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

One of the most popular posts on this blog is Daily Routine Charts for Kids. It is a roundup of the coolest designs and ideas to help parents and kids move through the days' activities and chores with fewer tears and more success.

Do you want to know a secret?

I'm done.

Done with chore charts.

Done with routine charts.

Done with implementing systems without success.

Done with trying to get my family to fit the mold that works like a charm…for another family.

My point? I missed a critical point in bringing those beautiful, magnificent household management tools to light. I failed to include a simple, yet vital step in preparing systems for your family.

Related Read: How to Create an Allowance System

If you want a system to work, you have to get buy-in from the people within the system. And how do you do that?

Include those people in the planning.

Observe what motivates those people.

Instead of saying, “Voila! This routine system is going to change our world. Now, let's get after it…”

I would not have learned this finite point without attempting the myriad of systems (all well designed and beautiful to have in your family's command central) and failing to succeed. Trial and error is an important piece of the puzzle, too. Don't underestimate it.

So, what are we doing instead?

My family includes three young boys between the ages of 9 and 3. Each child is motivated differently.

How to Create a Routine & Chore System that Works for Your Family

Observe your child. What motivates him? Is he competitive? Is he a rule follower?

Ask your child about the best approach for working together as a family to get through the day and the week with more time to spend playing or doing something other than fighting about chores and brushing teeth. Involving the people in the system is huge.

Handwrite your system – I know this point seems trivial but having my handwriting or my son's handwriting on the dry erase board or piece of paper makes it more personal and thus increases the investment in the system. Plus this approach makes the system changeable. Having the ability to shift the system around is key to success. Flexibility in creating the system will help identify a system that works for your family.

Use visual cues – Again, handwritten, these reminders are placed on post-it notes on the mirror and on the door heading out to the garage, for example, and serve as passive reminders (not an “in your face” reminder) to do the things that make our family stronger (such as remembering to brush your teeth on your own rather than having your mom nag you).

Work as a team – no man is an island. Make it about family time and family contributions. We're all in this together. Mom and Dad don't get to sit down and watch you clean toilets.

Lean into strengths & work on weaknesses – My older son needs to work on his executive functioning skills while my younger son needs a plan to follow (and, man, will he follow it closely). So, my older son works closely with his younger brother on creating and then writing down their plan together.

Include a variety of ways to contribute to the family. For example, we have “being a leader”, “being a good role model”, “making a hard decision”, “standing up for a friend”, “being purposeful”, and “being disciplined” as a way to earn goodwill and to go above and beyond the simple task list. We talked about what each of these acts means before launching the approach. Definitely important to define big words like “purpose”, “meaning”, and “discipline”.

Allow your child to take responsibility and ownership for his contributions.

What do you think?

Marnie

P.S. I do love these routine cards for kids if you are inclined to make it happen!

Your Go to Resources for Creating a Routine

Small whiteboard for visual schedules
Moleskin notebook for your observations, thoughts, & conclusions
Post-It Notes

Who is this Alexa & How to Easily Outsource Your Parenting to Her

By Marnie Craycroft Filed Under: Positive Parenting Tagged With: Home Organization, Living, Parenting This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

“Alexa, play ‘Ice Ice Baby', please,” I stated politely from across the kitchen.

“Ice, Ice, Baby by Vanilla Ice”

{Take a listen below.}

Bam.

Oh, and because I love you, here is the little 90s gem for you.

How I Use Alexa to Be a Better Parent

My five-year-old snaps out of his grumpy mood. He can't resist the opportunity to “collaborate and listen”. We start dancing around the kitchen and his impending massive meltdown is mitigated by a long shot.

As you know, I have an explosive child on my hands. We've worked hard over the past two years to modify his behavior and help him manage his rigidity and anger in healthy, productive ways. For many of you in the same situation, you understand fully just how intense moments and days can be with a challenging child. My husband and I vow to bring humor to our lives but not at the expense of our children's development. We always validate, acknowledge, and work positively with our children's emotions. Still, sometimes we need to be super creative about how we approach communication and parenting our kids, generally.

And Alexa is a part of that parenting.

This example is one of many parenting hacks Alexa manages for me every day. Below are ten more.

10 Ways I Outsource Parenting to Alexa

#1 – Avoiding Clothing Power Struggles: “Sweetheart, you may want to consider your rain boots today,” I say to a lollygagging 7-year-old getting ready to head out the door to school. “Mom, it's not raining. I'll ask Alexa about the forecast.”

#2 – Meal Planning & Developing Executive Functioning: “Guys, we're getting low on groceries, go ahead and ask Alexa to add a few things you might like for lunches and dinner to our shopping list.” I know this one sounds crazy. I won't lie to you we do occasionally get strange items in our shopping cart, but we have complete control over the end purchase. So, we give our kids the chance and the opportunity to think about and to plan meals (and to make good decisions around this thinking). Not only does this work their budding self-regulation skills, it also helps them become better planners, which is huge for any human being. Oh, and she will also order pizza for you.

#3 – Shifting the Mood from Chaos to Peace: “Alexa, play easy listening music.” Not only does the mood change in our home but now this one sentence alone triggers my kids to calm down. Insane, right? It is a signal that Mom is about to make dinner and we all need to take it down a few notches.

#4 – Making Sure Humor is a Part of Our Every Day: “Alexa, tell us a Knock Knock joke.” As you might guess, my 7,5, and 2.5-year-olds love this one.

#5 – Keeping Me Secure & Balanced in the Midst of Kid Craziness: “Alexa, am I beautiful?” Just listen to her awesomeness to this one below:

#6 – Allowing Me to Be Nag-Free: “Alexa, Simon Says, ‘Jack & Wyatt, please come and put your dinner plates in the sink.” Now this one is a bit tricky because you need to master the art of not having your kids hear you speak to Alexa, otherwise you're nagging them twice. So, get close to Alexa, turn up the volume, and whisper.

#7 – Bringing Reading Seamlessly into our Living: “Alexa, play Audible,” and she will automatically play the last audio book at the position you left off. You can also request a specific book.

#8 – Starting a Spontaneous Dance Party: This one I basically mentioned above but it is worth repeating for in times of joy or stress, this one will make or break your parenting career. You can make your kids laugh, introduce them to music you love (or hate), have them show you dance moves, and have a family dance party (this one my husband is not so into)

#9 – Scheduling Made Easy: “Alexa, what time is Moana playing?” She will tell you where and what time a movie is playing close to you. “Alexa, what time does Bartells close today?” She will tell you the hours of stores and services in your area. “Alexa, what time do the Seattle Seahawks play today?” Planning your commute can make or break a day. “Alexa, what is traffic like heading to Seattle?” Also, being able to spend time doing things you love like listening to a podcast or audiobook or getting a sports update is a constant struggle and conflict when trying to parent.

#10 – Teaching Kids Emotional Intelligence: This one takes the cake both for my kids and my husband {do not tell him I wrote that}. With Alexa, you have to be kind yet firm with your tone. I am not kidding. Shouting at her doesn't work. Trust me, my five year old tries it all the time. She doesn't understand, or, quite frankly won't respond to the request. I use these moments as teaching opportunities, “You know you're more likely to get what you want by being kind to someone (or something in this case).” I won't ever forget when my son apologized to Alexa, “Oh, I'm sorry, Alexa, will you please play Caspar Babypants?”

How do you satisfy your needs as an individual with your child's needs for your to be present in his life? I know it sounds a little far-fetched, but Alexa helps us create more space in our days and our minds for our kids. “Alexa, set the alarm, please.” “Alexa, set the thermostat to 67 degrees.” Connecting Alexa to Smart Cloud-Based Devices is a big one. Sounds overwhelming and a bit daunting but it is so worth it.

That is all for now. Now, stop, collaborate and listen. Alexa is back with a brand new invention.

Hugs and kisses,

Marnie

Learn 13 Simple Ways to Decluttering Your Life

By Marnie Craycroft Filed Under: Positive Parenting Tagged With: Home Organization, Living, Simple Living This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

I feel like I am always in the decluttering process. As a parent and a teacher, I struggle big time with clutter. I know I'm not alone.

Download my FREE Begin with YOU Simplifying Worksheet!

Right? (Gulp followed by a whimper.)

I want simple. I need simple.

For lots of reasons.

Can you relate?

One of the main reasons Montessori attracted me immediately was her emphasis on neat and orderly environments. In brief, clutter has no place in the classroom. Montessori environments should exhibit calmness and serenity.

Getting “rid of” things scared me for a long time. I began following Becoming Minimalist a few years ago. I'm inspired by the writing and the advice offered on how to lighten life. Joshua Becker is the author. His guidance does not include organizing 101 tips. That's why I like his writing so much.

I knew that living life in a simpler, more meaningful way meant changing my behavior.

So I opted to sign up for Joshua's online course: Uncluttered. The course is a 12-week journey.

We're in Week 5. So far, I am blown away by my transformation.

Here is what I've taken away from the learning and the community. Some points I've gathered from Joshua and the group, other points I've concluded entirely on my own.

Decluttering 101

Defining your ‘why' is the critical first step. Actually, write down this statement & tape it to a wall or mirror so you will be reminded every day.
Touch everything you're considered of throwing away, or not
Throw away anything broken
Adopt the one in, one out rule.
Study a space before bringing a trash bag in to empty it.
Take a picture of things that don't bring you joy but cause your heart to ache to give or throw away, then discard the item.
Homeless shelters are a wonderful place to give extra toiletries.
There are loads of organizations that accept shoes.
The startup Gone is an intriguing “sell on demand” tool
The decluttering process takes a long time. If it doesn't take a good while, think about stepping back and defining your ‘why' again.
The process can be unexpectedly heart wrenching. I spent an hour going through jewelry tangled and spread all throughout a drawer in my closet. I had no idea the memories that would come firing at me. Out of nowhere I could hear my grandmother's voice, remember the moment I lost the amethyst gem from a favorite ring, and the meaning of a necklace my sister had given me years ago. I touched everything and soaked it in.
Prepare to get down on yourself, your motivation, and your lack of progress.
Celebrate the small victories. Honor your successes.

How's that? 13 lucky tips for beginning your journey to simple.

What are your tips for staying organized and uncluttered in today's crazy, fast-paced world?

You should totally check out Becky Mansfield's eBook: Freed from Clutter (Click here to view more details). She gives fantastic guidance on how to create a simpler home.

Enjoy!

Marnie