How to make a "Get Ready For School" chart

It would be quite pleasant to get the little ones off to school if you didn't have to worry about: getting dressed, hats, gloves, time, homework, books, lunch money, breakfast, hugging mom, etc. Every parent has experienced the frustration of getting their kidletts off to school. I'll show a technique that will get them going and leave you smiling.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Blank scratch paper and pencil
• Colored paper (child's favorite color)
• Ruler
• Magic marker
• Page protector (clear plastic)
• String (aprox. 24 inches)
• Dry erase marker
• Stickers

1. With your blank paper and pencil, write down the general steps needed to get ready for school. I use 4 steps: Clothes, Homework, Get Ready, and Breakfast.

2. Under the four steps, detail, in bullet form, what needs to be done:
   
   "Homework": Parent/Teacher notes, homework (the actual doing of), homework to folder and folder to backpack.
   
   "Clothes": Shoes, socks, coat, gloves, backpack, etc.
   
   "Get Ready": Make the bed, get dressed, brush teeth, hair, toilet, etc.
   
   "Breakfast": If you need to leave at 7:20, write 6:50 - 7:10; the time when the kitchen closes and they need to be moving towards the door.

3. Now take your child's favorite color of paper, marker and ruler and make a graph that is long enough to list the steps in bullet form and a little box where they can check it off when completed.

4. Title the chart and input the detailed information onto the graph. The order is important as it is logical. "Homework" and "Clothes" are to be done in the evening. "Get Ready" and "Breakfast" are in the morning.

5. This is the fun part. Let your child decorate their own chart while you go over the steps. This will let them see the specific steps.

6. When your child is done decorating the chart and is familiar with the steps. Put the paper in a page protector. Attach the string to one of the holes in the protector. Tie the other end of the string to a dry erase marker and hang the chart where your child can get to it.

7. As they complete a step, have them mark off that step. They will be able to see specifically what they have done and what they need to do.

8. When they've left for the day, go in and erase their marks. Reward yourself with a pat on the back.

Tips & Warnings

• Be patient. It will take a few days for you and your child to get used to the new schedule.
• Once your child is used to the process, you can step back, monitor and guide.
• For most adults these steps are self-explanatory. With children, however, you need to be very specific.
• For children who cannot read, use pictures instead of words.
• To get dry erase marker off the wall, use a magic eraser.
• Make sure they complete each main step before they move on to the other steps.
• If you have a child who is consistently not completing something, be creative. For example: If he knows he has a choice between Banana Foster French Toast and bacon or plain buttered toast for breakfast. He'll probably put forth the effort.