Crafts | Kids | Organization

Morning Routine Charts for School!

These magnetic morning routine charts for kids will help everyone get ready for school. They’re great for both preschool and elementary kids!

Back to School Morning Routine Charts! girl moving magnet from "to do" to "done"

Mornings have never been my favorite time of day… and once I started trying to get two young kids up, dressed, teeth brushed, shoes on, fed breakfast, packed up, and out the door for school and preschool, I began to truly dread them. The combination of my low-blood-caffeine level, bleary-eyed kiddos, and time crunch just never seems to end well!

B started Kindergarten last Fall, and I knew I needed a morning routine game plan to get everyone calmly ready and out the door. So I made these fun and simple magnetic morning routine charts for the kids. I included bedtime routines on here too. Now everyone knows exactly what is expected in the morning (and before bedtime) and I don’t have to give 50 gazillion reminders!

And as you can see, these can be customized for different aged kids. B has words written on her magnets, and for E, I drew very simple pictures.

close-up of navy blue morning routine chart magnets. One has a picture of a toothbrush and another has a teddy bear

How to Make Morning routine charts

I’m going to show you exactly what I used and how I did it, and you can customize yours any way you like. Sound good?

supplies:

1. make a list of routine steps for each child- morning and evening

two post-it notes with lists of children's morning routine and bedtime routine activities

2. Paint wood coins.

Mine took two coats. Be sure they’re completely dry before moving on to step 3!

wood coins being painted with acrylic paint and laid out to dry

3. write or draw each routine item on a wood coin.

For B, who can read now, I just wrote them out. E isn’t reading yet, so I drew a very simple picture for her instead. If you mess up or your paint pen runs, just paint over it and try again. No big deal!

painted wood coins- some navy blue and some coral pink, with words and pictures written with a white sharpie paint pen for kids morning routine charts

4. Glue the magnets on.

Once the paint pen is dry, use a strong glue to attach the magnets to the back of the wood coins. (I used hot glue the first time around and the kids enjoyed pulling them apart- no good!) This year I’m using Super Glue. Be careful with this stuff… gluing fingers together is for real!

wood coin turned over to be glued to a magnet. small tube of super glue
magnets glued to painted wood coins drying on a plastic trash bag

5. apply washi tape lines.

Last year when I made these charts, I just drew dividing lines with a white paint pen. That didn’t show up very well against the galvanized metal, so this time I’m using washi tape to make the lines more pronounced. Apply the tape in a straight line down the center, and another straight line dividing the top and bottom halves of the magnetic board.

sideways image of completed morning routine chart. Front magnets say "bed" "potty" and "teeth"

6. draw & cut out arrows.

I used some of my favorite chalkboard sticker labels to make arrows.

arrow shape cut from a chalkboard sticker label with a pair of scissors nearby

7. draw or make “to do” and “done” labels.

I used these chalkboard sticker labels– they’re my favorites and I use them all over the house. You’ll see them in pretty much every organizing post I do! Use a paint pen rather than a chalk pen- otherwise, you’ll be constantly having to re-write it.

chalkboard sticker label with the words. "To Do" written and underlined in white paint pen

8. mount the boards on the wall.

Add your magnets, and you’re done!

little girl moving using her morning routine chart by moving a magnet from left to right

Did you enjoy this post? Please share the love and pin it!

Back-To-School Morning Routine Charts text layed over magnets that say "brush teeth", "clean room" and "PJ's"

more Family organization ideas…

Create a Family Command Center

family command center with chalkboard background

Create a School Lunch-Prep Station!

school lunch packing-station in bottom of pantry closet with plastic drawers

Get Your Home Back-to-School Ready!

small blue supply caddy full of school supplies-scissors, pencils, glue, crayons, etc. with label "homework" on the front

       

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28 Comments

  1. This is so awesome! Seriously, this not only looks awesome and super cute, but I’m sure the kids would love using it, (and maybe the adults, too. I know I would at least!)

  2. This is a really neat idea and a fairly simple diy. Anything that males the morning easier is sooo worth it! Mama has to stay sane somehow right?

  3. I have 3 children all of them of school age so I know how important keeping organised in the mornings is. All of them have different activities too, so I have a bog calendar on the wall.

  4. This is such a great idea! My boys are too old for stuff like this, but this would prevent a lot of me yelling the same things at my first grader every morning!

  5. I’ve always wanted to create something like this in my house. Thank you for laying it out for me. Now I just need to decide where to put it.

  6. This is really creative indeed. I really like the idea of a school morning chart to keep the household in routine!

    1. Thanks Linsey! I have ADD and have really struggled with organization all my life, so I have to be really thoughtful and stay on top of things or chaos will reign in my house and life!

  7. Aw, this routine chart DIY is super cute! I’d love to have one in my room to keep me organized! Love it. Pinning it!

  8. This is such a cute idea! I am saving this so that when we do have kids, we can use this to help stay organized with a routine. I love the pictures idea for kids that are not reading yet, too!

  9. We severely need help with our morning routine. I love this idea and it still looks nice in the home, not one of those cheesy chore charts.

  10. My 89 yo mother has some cognitive issues and we’ve been looking for ideas to help her maintain some independence. This chart looks like just the thing! Gentle reminders without nagging and embarrassing. I’m making her one ASAP! Thanks for the tip!

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