Getting Organized for School - Charts

As permanent houseparents for our foster daughters, we are trying to create structures and routines for their success. One is pretty structured on her own, but the other is a creative, free spirit. She is so much more interested in how she looks than whether she has all her books in her book bag!

After many attempts at creating a routine, I decided to go with a chart - one part for the morning and one part for after school/evening. I've broken it down to individual tasks - getting up with the alarm, getting dressed, doing hair, eating breakfast, etc. in the morning, and homework, loading her book bag, playing, dinner, chores, shower, etc. for the afternoon and evening.

Now our free spirit doesn't have to think about what needs to be done, she just looks at her chart. We tried it out yesterday, and she did so well that she had extra time to read. She wasn't too thrilled about the chore part, though. But it's better than saving chores up until Saturday and having endless work!

I divided her chores up into bite-size pieces: dusting, vacuuming, toilet, counter, bathroom floor, washing one load of laundry one day, drying it and putting it away the next, etc.

I haven't asked her yet if she wants to put stickers on her chart - I won't be surprised either way. She is 13 after all, but she's still a little kid, too!

How do you create routines and structure for yourself and/or your family?


More on routines:
Getting Organized for School - Start the Night Before
Creating Routines and Systems
The Real Problems Behind Kids' Excuses To Get Out of Chores