Back-To-School Morning Routine Charts!

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 game plan to get everyone calmly ready and out the door. So I made these fun and simple magnetic morning routine charts. 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!

Here’s what I used:

• magnetic board (I picked these up for around $7 each on sale at Hobby Lobby- I just checked yesterday and they still carry them!)
• round wood pieces
• wood letters
• magnets
• crazy or super glue
• acrylic paint
• paintbrush
• paint pen (I used white)
• washi tape

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

2. Paint wood rounds and letters and let them dry.

3. Write each routine item on one wood piece with a paint pen. 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!

4. Once the paint pen is dry, use a strong glue to attach one magnet to the back of each wood round. (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!

5. Apply lines of washi tape. 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.

6. Draw or cut out arrows. I cut my arrows out of chalkboard sticker labels.

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.

8. Mount boards on the wall, add your magnets, and you’re done!

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Looking for more back-to-school organization ideas? Check out these posts: