ChartKidThe after-school hour
Children come home from school tired, hungry and done with being told what to do. A routine chart they helped write means the order of things is settled before anyone walks through the door.
Food first
Almost every family that gets this hour right puts a snack near the top. Homework before food produces tears; food before homework produces homework. Put "Snack" right after the coat and bag steps.
Decide homework versus play together
Some children need to run around before they can sit down; others want homework finished so it stops hanging over them. Ask your child which they are, try their answer for a week, and move the steps with the arrows if it isn't working. A chart they had a say in gets followed.
The bag steps save mornings
"Unpack lunch box" and "Pack bag for tomorrow" are small steps that remove two of the commonest morning panics. Letters from school come out of the bag and onto the counter as part of the first step.
Screen time as a step
If screens are part of your afternoon, put "Screen time" on the chart as a step with its place in the order (usually after homework) rather than leaving it as the thing that happens if nobody's watching. It's easier to end screen time when the chart shows what comes next.
School days only
The chart is weekly; Saturday and Sunday simply stay blank, or draw a line through them. The ticks are optional. For many families this chart is a reminder on the wall by the kitchen table and nobody ticks anything.
Teachers and after-school clubs
Add several names and you get one page per child. The Classroom theme is set here; Minimal photocopies cleanly if you need a class set.