Back to School Activity: Visual Schedule

For so many families, getting back into the routines of the school year can be majorly stressful! This stress can be even more intense for children who already struggle with transitions and changes to their established routines. This is why we recommend working with your child to help them anticipate these changes using a tool like the visual schedule.

We have included a printable visual schedule activity here for you to try out at home with your child!

What is a visual schedule?

A visual schedule is a tool that uses a timeline of icons to represent the different steps in a routine. This can be great for kids who struggle with the executive function skills necessary to plan and execute multiple steps of a routine.

For example, some children may feel overwhelmed when their parent tells them to “get ready for school!” when in reality they are really asking them to get up, make their bed, brush their teeth, change their clothes, eat breakfast, and so on. Instead of making this broad statement, parents can use the visual schedule as a reference point for their child. This allows the child to see all of the steps of the routine that they need to get done, laid out in order so as not to overwhelm them!

Another beneficial aspect of the visual schedule is that, when a parent and child share in the activity of putting their visual schedule together, the child can have input on what order they would like to get tasks done. This allows them to feel more in control and independent when completing necessary self care tasks.

This visual schedule is split into Morning and Evening Routines that will help your child know what to expect before and after school!

How can a visual schedule help my child during the back to school season?

Adjusting from the laid back schedule many kids have during the summer months to the non-stop action of the school year can be a real challenge. For kids who are not yet used to big changes like this, it can feel as though they have no control and are being told what to do without any say in the matter. Thats why it is important to take the time to walk through a child’s expected routines with them.

It’s a good idea to allow them to make small choices, for example, would they like to brush their teeth or get dressed first? This provides kids with a sense of agency while still setting the expectation that they will do everything they need to before leaving for school in the morning.

The same can be applied to evening routines, do they want to do homework before dinner, or after? Scheduling things like playtime as a part of this routine is a great idea as well because it sets the expectation that we will not play all evening, because there are things to do before and after playtime.

A variety of activity icons are included, as well as blank ones so it can be fully customized to fit your child’s needs.

How can I fit this type of schedule into my family’s life?

We have included a sheet of blank activity icons in this printable for you and your child to fill in with specific activities that are important in your life. For example, maybe they would like to say a prayer before bedtime or go to grandma’s house after school. These personal touches can be added to help customize the routines to fit your lifestyle!

You can make these schedules even more practical by opting to laminate and add Velcro to the activity icons. We know that not every day is the same, maybe your child has Speech Therapy one evening and Hockey Practice the next, this is why it is a good idea to review changes to routines with your child each evening as necessary, or create different routine sheets for each day of the week.

It can also be a good idea to send a copy of this visual schedule to school with your child so they are able to reference it throughout their day. This allows them to know what they should expect when they get out of school. This tool is all about setting expectations to avoid disappointment or overwhelm when things are changing!

Download your own Visual Schedule Printable Activity here:

We hope you are able to utilize this activity at home to help with your child’s back to school transition! We would love to hear about your experience using the Visual Schedule, connect with us on our Facebook and Instagram to share! Have a great school year!