Daily Routine Cards for Toddlers

Ah, toddlers. I use to be one of those naive teachers. I taught before I had P and I remember thinking, "If I can handle 22 nine & ten year olds, Motherhood should be easy." Yeah, let's all get a good laugh at that one. And as fate (or maybe divine intervention) would have it, I was blessed with the most rambunctious, stubborn, bright, kind, and loving boy you could ask for.  Porter loves life. Every day is a new day for something great, and he is going to find that great thing. But the child is exhausting. He can wake up at 5:30 A.M., party all day until 9 P.M. (with only 45 minute nap during the day) and start the party over the same time tomorrow.

He does. not. stop. 

Nap time can be a struggle some days. Getting him to transition between activities can be a struggle. And honestly, some days I have to fight the deep desire to throw on the T.V. all day long while I recover from the day before. We are trying to find a balance in this house.

Basically, Motherhood was kicking my butt. Until this.

I think that every teacher can agree that a schedule in the classroom is extremely important, especially in the elementary grades. As a teacher, it helped me pace out my day, kept me engaged, and on track. It also helped the students who seriously will ask you, "What are we doing today?" every. single. minute. if you don't have a schedule posted. That is not an exaggeration. 

Each night before I go to bed, I put a loose schedule on the refrigerator. When we wake up we check the fridge and start our day, slowly checking things off. Don't get me wrong. It's not a perfect system. There is definitely downtime between cards, or even times when we can't fit it all in. But that's life.

Here is the beautiful thing. After I had these cards, transitions became way easier for him. All I have to say is, "Let's go check the schedule!" And to Porter, the schedule is law (most of the time). Nap time is an easier transition now. And today, he came to ME and told me it was time for a nap. I heard the angels sing to me in that moment. And the T.V. is on less during the day because we are scheduling some sunshine instead, or doing some school activities.  

Give it a try. And give yourself a while to find that perfect schedule for yourself. It took me about two weeks. I even left some blank cards that you can fill in if you want something specific for your family.

And because you guys were SO awesome to support us during that giveaway last week, these schedule cards will be FREE until Thursday morning! Just download them here.

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