Creating ease with a flexible schedule for kids

Schedules.I’m guessing you love them or hate ’em.I’m all about having consistent routines with my kiddos, but only recently have discovered the magic of scheduling.I was a skeptic for sure, and I had tried a lot of toddler scheduling techniques that just didn’t work.…and overall we were happy so I didn’t see why we should rock the boat.Creating Ease With A Flexible Block Schedule For Young Kids And ToddlersBut after my husband bought me a laminator for Christmas (nerd alert!!) I decided to try out some scheduling one more time,Let me tell you, this time I found a system that worked and it has been a total gamechanger.Why Block Schedules Work With Young ChildrenThere have been so many benefits to introducing a block schedule in our household. Heres my top 5 benefits:A flexible schedule helps all of the different personality types in our home work together better.Knowing what to expect makes transitions go much smootherA schedule can act like a built-in reward system.A flexible schedule helps me stop saying “just a minute” and actually play with my kidsA schedule keeps me on track in times of laziness or anxietyHow To Block Schedule With Small Kids And Toddlers.Let’s first define what a block schedule is, shall we?A block schedule (or time blocking) is basically the same as your high school class schedule.You set aside a dedicated chunk of time for certain tasks.I find that 90 minute blocks throughout the day work best for my small family.To block schedule I fill each block with 2-3 realistic tasks.I also try to split the fun activities up with the more mundane tasks that my kids are likely to resist so I have those built-in rewards throughout the day.There are 2 keys for making this work with younger children. 1. Pictures2. Making it low maintenance. With this laminated block schedule system, I don’t have to spend time on the computer every day adjusting as our life changes, and I don’t have to sift through a bunch of activities we’ve printed out to find the ones we do. We just sit down and write as a family.(another key to your kids cooperating is letting them help make the schedule).Maintaining this system takes me about 10 minutes a day, but it saves me so much more, and it’s honestly close to zero effort on my part because my 5 year old wants to “do the schedule” before we even eat breakfast.If you want to try my block schedule for free, you can download it below! Just hit the photo to open the link in a new tab and print it out.Then simply laminate it and start scheduling. If you don’t have a laminator, you can get things laminated at staples or other similar stores, but I found it was much more cost-effective to just buy one (and it’s seriously my favorite thing.)You could also just print out a stack and dispose of them every day.I hope this post has motivated you that even if you don’t think scheduling is for you, that you might try it out.