I had been toying with the idea of making a Toddler Routine Chart for my daughter for some time now. She is only 3 years old, but she loves to help around the house and those checkmarks give her SO much satisfaction!
If you are looking for more ideas check out these other Toddler Friendly Kid Craft Ideas: How to Make Finger Paints for Toddlers, How to Make Felt Faces for Kids Quiet Time and Fathers Day Craft ideas for preschoolers
When I sat to make this, I was thinking to myself, how do I draw breakfast? I needed pictures because she can’t read or spell yet and I wanted this to be something she could use independently. Then it struck me! I could use photographs instead of pictures! Finding photos of our everyday routine was very easy for this instagram junkie…
Toddler Routine chart dIY
I made this simple and fun chart to help my little girl understand how her day was going to pan out. My daughter is still a toddler, and doesn’t really do many chores around the house as of yet. I basically needed to establish the everyday routine- brush your teeth, only half hour cartoon time, quiet play time, craft time, reading time and meals. The same chart concept would work if you have older children and you needed to assign chores to each of your kids.
Once I had the idea of this Toddler Routine Chart, I first looked for some kind of chalkboard. I found these chalk wall tiles that worked perfectly for my project. If you can’t find these easily, you can always use some chalk paint instead.
Since my daughter is too small to read words yet, I printed photos of our daily activities.
Next I trimmed my photos to size, each photo measures 2.5 by 2.5 inches here. I also trimmed my chalk tile into 2.6 by 11 inch strips.
I used a cream cardstock, trimmed to 8 by 24 inches as my chart base here. I then added the chalk tile. I used washi tape to adhere the photos right above the chalk. Using washi tape is an easy way to switch out photos. You can use any kind of removable/ repositionable adhesive here.
I added a title using some green alphabet stickers
My toddler loves this routine chart already! She loves that she gets to check things off as and when they are done. This is also a great way for her to know what is coming ahead of the day. On the days she has some classes (like soccer, or swimming) I switch out one photo and add a photo of her being in class. As she gets a little older, I can already see that I can add photos for small chores around the house- make the bed, help with the dishes, etc.
Tools used:
- Fiskars paper trimmer
- Scissors
- Chalk tile/ Chalkboard paint
- Cardstock
- Washi tape
- Adhesive
- Chalk
- Alphabet Stickers- thickers
She has so far enjoyed having this chart. One thing I learned quickly- I had just printed two pictures for food, and that didn’t work. If I had a chicken nugget photo, then there better be chicken nuggets on the plate! Since our girl is a very slow eater, this chart has helped her at the dining table. She loves knowing what is coming next, and I love that I have her meals planned already!
What a fun idea!
Great idea. Mine are barely two, but they are already loving to ‘help’ me. Maybe I could do something similar with very simple ‘chores’