With school starting back up in just a few weeks, we’ve been slowly working on getting the kids back on track with earlier bedtimes. As our boys have a particularly intense case of summer fever, it’s been a challenge getting them to wind down at the end of the day.

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Mrs. Bee had the great idea of a customizable routine chart, and I can see this being an easy-to-follow visual for my boys as they get ready in the morning and clean up for bed. Below are instructions and printables for your own child’s routine where each step gets “checked off” by drawing in a happy face. Using wet erase markers on this laminated chart makes it reusable for each day of the week. The lovely illustrations are by Oana.

You will need:
laminating sheets
four sheets of white cardstock
1 inch paper punch
glue
wet erase markers (dry erase markers don’t wipe off laminate sheets very well)
decorative tape (for hanging)
print-out of routine illustrations and backgrounds

Step 1: Download and open up the file Hellobee Toddler Routine (PDF) in Adobe Acrobat, and type your child’s name in the fields on pages 2 and 3, labeling each for day routine or night routine. Print out onto three sheets of white cardstock.

Step 2: Cut out illustrations (you may not need all — depends on your family’s routine) and punch out as many 1 inch circles as you have illustrations from the fourth sheet of white cardstock.

Step 3: Lay out the illustrations in the order of your routine. There are 7 for morning, and 7 for bedtime. Below each illustration, place a circle. When everything is laid out to your liking, glue down.

Step 4: With your design face-up on a flat surface, prep to laminate. This particular laminate sheet instructs to remove the small strip of backing at the top of the sheet. With this strip of backing removed, you now have a very thin area of exposed laminate. Press this down over the left-most edge of the chart and smooth down. Grab the rest of the backing from underneath, and simultaneously peel it off, pulling right while smoothing down the laminate from above with your left hand.

Step 5: You can fold back the excess laminate along the edges as I did, but you would need to bevel the edges and use extra tape to keep it down on the backside — I don’t recommend this route! Alternatively, you could laminate the backside with another sheet, and just trim off the excess along the edges.

Now that the chart is finished, hang in a convenient place (ours is on the boys’ bathroom door) and have a wet erase marker handy.