Anyone else starting to think about back-to-school??

As a former teacher, August always gets me in the school mood, so I love all the back-to-school shopping, organizing, and prepping!!

I get the kids drawers organized so they can find their clothes. And I like to make sure all their clothes are file folded in their drawers with the graphic facing out.

I spend Sundays getting the food all prepped by setting up the fridge and freezer.  I cut all the fruits and veggies. And I plan out our menu for the week, and clean out the fridge from any leftovers we didn’t end up eating.

And I clean up the mud room and command center for all the papers and info coming in from the upcoming week. I will take some time to file old papers, take pictures of the artwork, and clean out the backpacks.

Another thing I do to start prepping for back-to-school is making some visual checklists for the kids to keep our mornings running smoothly.

A visual checklist uses pictures and words to create a step-by-step breakdown of everything that the kiddos have to do for a smooth and easy morning!

Where To Start

When it comes to getting kids out the door on school days, it can seem like a total struggle, even for The Organized Mama! 

My kiddos are not morning people, so to keep us on track I pulled some of my favorite tricks from my teacher days.

I try to prep the night before when it comes to outfits. I have fruit and veggies cut up to use when we pack our lunches in the morning.

And we try to pack our backpacks with everything before we go to bed.

I have also used a school morning routine checklist that visually shows the kiddos what they have to do before they can jump in the car for school drop-off.

This school morning routine checklist can be used at any age to help facilitate independence (and you from repeating yourself) every morning!

What You Need

What You Will Need:

• Free Printable in the Life Skills For Kids Workbook
• Laminate
• Cardstock
• Velcro Dots
• Paper Cutter

How To Create

Start by printing off the FREE PRINTABLES of the morning routine checklist and graphics.

Cut out each of the graphics.

You can have each kiddo decorate their school morning routine checklist with markers.

Once they finished decorating, mount the printable on cardstock.

Laminate the checklist and individual graphics. I used my Xyron Creative Station with the laminate refill.

By laminating each square graphic individually, you will ensure the laminate will stick and last the entire school year.

Making It Reusable

Cut out the square graphics.

Add velcro dots to the backs of each square graphic you plan to use. I found these at The Dollar Tree!

Then add velcro to the school morning routine checklist. Make sure to use the opposite velcro strip on the checklist than what you used on the graphics!!

Teaching The Kids

Finally, show the kiddos how the checklist works. For us, each morning their checklist is on a clipboard already filled with each square graphic.

Once the task is completed, they can take off the graphic. I added velcro to the back of the clipboard to use as a holder for tasks completed.

I have also stapled a baggie to the bottom of the checklist to collect finished tasks as well!

Morning Routine Checklist

Once all the tasks are completed, it is time to go to school!

I love how easy the school morning routine checklist is to use and how functional it is for the kiddos!

Using my former teacher skills, the checklist breaks down each step of the kiddos morning routine so they can complete that step to keep the mornings running smoothly.

One thing I would do when I was teaching was use a clipboard to hold the checklists for my students. I would add velcro to the back of the clipboard to store the extra steps for the checklist.

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