What is in this guide
Copy the picture chart below into a document and print it for your child’s school morning. It includes a cue, a short instruction and a tick box for each step, plus a blank row you can change before printing. Use it as a starting sequence and rearrange it to suit your household.
Copy this morning routine chart
MY MORNING
Name: ____________________ Date: ____________________
We leave at: ____________________
| Picture cue | What I do | Done |
|---|---|---|
| 👕 Clothes | Get dressed | ☐ |
| 🥣 Bowl | Eat breakfast | ☐ |
| 🪥 Toothbrush | Brush my teeth | ☐ |
| 👟 Shoes | Put on socks and shoes | ☐ |
| 🎒 School bag | Check my bag with my grown-up | ☐ |
| ✏️ My extra step | __________________________ | ☐ |
| 🚪 Door | Meet my grown-up, ready to leave | ☐ |
Today’s extra item: ____________________________________
I want help with: ______________________________________
Print just the chart
Select from MY MORNING through I want help with, then copy that section into a blank document. Set the page to A4 portrait and check the print preview before printing. You can also save your document as a PDF for another carer to print.
Keep the writing large enough for your child to read from where the chart will hang. If the table spills onto another page, reduce the blank space or remove an unused row before shrinking the lettering. Print one copy first to check the result.
The picture symbols may look different across devices and printers. If a symbol appears as an empty box, replace it with a simple drawing after printing. The written cue beside each symbol identifies what belongs there, so the chart does not depend on colour printing.
This is a copy-and-print template within the article, rather than a separate PDF download. No account, purchase or email address is needed to copy it.
Make each picture mean something to your child
Raising Children Network recommends displaying a school morning routine where everyone can see it and adding pictures to help children follow it. That is the basis for this picture-and-action layout.
Before using the sheet, ask your child what each picture means. Replace any unclear cue with a drawing or a photo of their own item. For example, use a photo of their school bag if the generic bag picture is unfamiliar.
Read through the actions together. Change “get dressed” to a more specific instruction if needed, or split it into separate steps. Keep adult help available wherever it is needed; a tick records that the step is finished, including when you did it together.
Fit the sheet to your morning
Breakfast before clothes may suit your household better. Move the rows into your usual order before printing, rather than asking everyone to follow the sample order.
Use the blank row for a regular missing task, such as brushing hair. Use the extra-item line for a library bag or sports gear on the relevant school day. Check your school’s arrangements rather than assuming the same equipment is needed every day.
For the bag check, decide together what you are checking: lunchbox, drink bottle, hat and that day’s extra item, for example. Write your own list beside the chart if a single bag cue is too broad.
Raising Children Network also suggests separating tasks that can happen the night before from those needed in the morning. Keep evening preparation on an adult note if it would clutter this child’s sheet.
Change the part that gets missed
If your child skips a row, look at that row together. Is the picture unclear? Is the item somewhere else? Does the action need help? Change that specific instruction or location and try the revised version.
For siblings, print a named sheet for each child if they need different steps. For children moving between homes, make a version that reflects the items and order in each home.
Keep household jobs on a separate chore chart if you need one. This sheet’s job is simply to show the next morning step.
Start today: edit the extra row, check the print preview and put one copy where your child can see it during the morning.
How we checked this
Checked on 22 September 2026 against Raising Children Network’s school morning guidance. The chart is an original editorial template. It has not been tested with families or across printers.
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