Take the Terrible out of the Twos

There was a time when my house was run by a 3ft tall dictator. OK, who am I kidding, 50% of the time my house is still run by a 3ft tall dictator.

Yes, my 2.5 year old had taken over and I as the parent needed to take charge. In the morning getting ready for school and in the evening getting ready for bed had become a power struggle. We had no structure and we simply wanted to get our son off to school with clothes on in the morning (no shoes and Thomas the Train underwear outside of his clothes counts, right?)

I looked toward my inner kindergarten teacher and decided we needed to create a routine and I needed a visual aide that was interactive so he could feel involved. I turned to the bible for all things crafty, Pinterest, and started to create a plan.

I saw several different ideas which I was able to combine into two routine charts, one for morning and one for night.

The green chart is for the morning when we get up and go! The blue chart helps before we say goodnight.

What you will need:
2 file folders (different colors help distinguish between the different routines)
icons for each step of your routine (our morning routine includes: potty, diaper, pick out clothes, get dressed and brush your teeth) (our evening routine includes: potty, take a bath, diaper, pajamas, and brush your teeth)
laminating sheets (optional)
velcro strips
glue or double sided tape 
the word DONE printed as many times as the number of icons you have

1. Use google images to find icons for each step of your routine and print them (you may have to adjust the size so that they are all close in size
2.Start by cutting out each icon and glue/tape it to the folder near the fold.
3. Next cut your folder down to size so it is slightly taller than your icons
4. If you have a laminator, laminate the folder open
5. Cut flaps on the front cover so each icon can be opened and closed individually
6. Secure a piece of velcro to each section so the flap will be secured when closed
7. Tape or glue the word DONE on the outside of the front flap

Since implementing the chart about a month ago we have had less meltdowns in the morning and evening and things run more smoothly. We are far from things being perfect but our batting average is improving.