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Morning routine chart for kids: morning and bedtime on one printable page
This morning routine chart has a bedtime column beside it, so one page covers both ends of the day. It comes as two sheets: 16 picture steps for ages 3 to 6, and blank Time, Step and Done rows for ages 7 to 12. Print it free in US Letter or A4, blank or fillable.
- Sheets
- Two, one page each: ages 3 to 6 and ages 7 to 12
- Paper
- US Letter and A4, portrait, print at 100%
- Versions
- Blank PDF and a fillable PDF you can type into
- Designs
- Minimal, Warm and Color
In short
Pick the sheet by age: a child of 3 to 6 follows the pictures, a child of 7 to 12 first writes the steps and times.
When every step in a column is checked, circle the day in the Whole routine done row. A missed day stays blank, and the sheet says “Tomorrow starts fresh.”
Two daily routine charts: picture steps or the child’s own
Most free routine charts suit one age: pictures for preschoolers or a checklist for readers. These two sheets split where a child can write a step down.
| Ages 3 to 6 | Ages 7 to 12 | |
|---|---|---|
| Printed steps | 16 with pictures, 8 per column | None |
| Empty rows | 1 per column, with a box for a drawing | 10 per column: Time, Step, Done |
| Top line | Name, Week of | Name, Week of, Wake up at, Lights out at |
| Fillable PDF | 36 fields | 78 fields |
Both are morning and bedtime routine charts: Morning on the left, Bedtime on the right, the week below.
Beside the bathroom mirror, where six of the sixteen steps happen.
Ages 3 to 6: a morning routine chart with pictures
A child who cannot read yet follows the icon at the start of each row. The subtitle on the sheet sets the rule: “Picture steps for ages 3 to 6. Check each one as you go.”
Morning
- Use the toilet
- Wash my hands
- Get dressed
- Eat breakfast
- Brush my teeth
- Shoes on
- Grab my backpack
- Wave goodbye
Bedtime
- Toys away
- Bath time
- Pajamas on
- Brush my teeth
- Use the toilet
- A drink of water
- Story time
- Lights out
The evening follows Brush, Book, Bed, a routine from the American Academy of Pediatrics: teeth, a story, then bed at a regular time. The AAP adds that young children need an adult’s help with brushing.
Source: HealthyChildren.org (AAP), Brush, Book, Bed.
Row nine of each column is left for a step of your own, with a dashed box to draw in. Our example adds Feed Bubbles with a fish, and Goodnight call to Grandpa.
Story time, checked at his own door just before Lights out.
Ages 7 to 12: the child writes the steps and the times
The older sheet prints no steps: “Write your own steps, in your own order. Made for ages 7 to 12.” The parent only checks that the list fits between Wake up at and Lights out at.
The AAP backs 9 to 12 hours of sleep for ages 6 to 12, so count back from the wake-up time. In the example, Sofia, ten, wakes at 6:45 am and has lights out at 8:45 pm. Her tablet goes on the kitchen charger at 7:40, over an hour before lights out, as the AAP advises for screens.
Source: HealthyChildren.org (AAP), Healthy Sleep Habits: How Many Hours Does Your Child Need?
The times go in first, then the steps between them.
A missed day is just a day that isn’t circled
Under the columns sits the row Whole routine done: Monday to Sunday, one circle for morning and one for bedtime. Circle the day only when every step in that column is checked.
If a step was missed, the circle stays empty and nothing else happens. The last printed line ends with “Tomorrow starts fresh.” There are no crosses or sad faces on the sheet, and no word like bad or late.
Morning and bedtime count apart: in the 3 to 6 example, Wednesday morning is empty and Wednesday bedtime is circled.
In the 7 to 12 example, Tuesday bedtime stays empty and Wednesday is circled again.
Download the free printable daily routine chart
Pick the age first, then the design. Every morning routine chart printable below is free, with no email, in US Letter and A4.
Print it and hang it where the child can reach
Hang it where the steps happen, low enough for the child to check a box: by the bathroom mirror, on the fridge or on a bedroom door.
To reuse one sheet for weeks, laminate it or slide it into a plastic sleeve and use a dry-erase marker. A paper morning routine printable works too if you print a fresh one each Monday.
The color design, just above the bathroom door handle.
How to start a daily routine chart without a morning fight
The usual mistake is to hand a child the full morning routine chart on a Monday and expect all eight steps to happen. Start with the steps your child already does without help, and add one more each week. That way the first week is mostly checks, and the chart earns its place on the wall.
On the ages 3 to 6 sheet, pick the few pictures you will use first and leave the others for later. Walk through the routine together once on Sunday, with your child touching each picture as you go. Do the same at bedtime, using the picture steps in the Bedtime column in the order they are printed.
For the ages 7 to 12 sheet, work backward from the time the child has to leave.
If the bus comes at 7:50, write that down first, then fill in Wake up at and the steps in between. Ask the child to guess how long each step takes, then time two of them on a school morning. The measured number is the one that goes in the Time column.
When a morning goes off the rails, do not redo the whole sheet. Look at which step ate the time.
Often it is one step, like getting dressed, and the fix is to move it earlier or put clothes out the night before. The Bedtime column is the natural place for that, because it is the one that sets up the morning.
If your child is also working on chores, keep that on a separate page. Mixing the two makes the routine chart too long to read at a glance. The chores by age list helps you pick what belongs there, and the behavior chart works for one-off goals that are not part of a daily routine.
Questions people ask
What is a good daily routine chart for a 4-year-old?
One with pictures, a few steps and the same order every day, like the ages 3 to 6 sheet. The AAP puts preschoolers at 10 to 13 hours of sleep a day, naps included.
What is the correct order for a morning routine?
Any order that stays the same. HealthyChildren.org: “Children do best when routines are regular, predictable and consistent.” Our sheet ends with Wave goodbye, since the same article asks parents to end each morning with a goodbye.
How do I make a daily routine chart?
Write the wake-up and lights-out times, then the steps between them in order, each with a time. The ages 7 to 12 sheet asks for exactly that, and the child does the writing.
Is there a free editable morning routine chart?
Yes, each design comes as a fillable PDF. On the ages 7 to 12 sheet every line is editable; on the ages 3 to 6 sheet you type the name, the week and one step of your own per column.
Other free printable sheets
Save this routine chart to Pinterest
Pin it now and the chart is waiting the evening you write the steps together. Two charts, ages 3 to 6 and 7 to 12, blank or fillable, US Letter and A4.
When the routine moves to a phone
Alpacto is our own app, where a routine is a repeating habit with check-ins and a streak, and coins stay inside the app and are never money. Accounts start at 13, so a younger child’s routine stays on this sheet or on the grown-up’s screen.