As dedicated teachers, we know the benefits of using visual schedules in the classroom and wider school environment – they help our students understand instructions and tasks, they reduce anxiety and can model appropriate social skills just to name a few!
And while ALL our students benefit from using visual schedules, (I need a billboard that says this!), they can be particularly helpful for students with Autism, ADHD, developmental delays or language difficulties (This post gives a great summary).
But if we want our students to really thrive in our classrooms, we need to be thinking beyond the 9am-3pm period that we see them and consider what happens in their wider life – specifically, your students home routines, activities and expectations.
Why Do Students Need Visual Schedules at Home?
Home life is busy (believe me, with two primary school-aged children, I know!). Our home life is filled with spoken and unspoken rules and expectations, non-preferred activities, routines, events and social interactions. Sporting events, visitors popping in, friends to visit, house rules to remember, the list goes on.
And whilst a lot of our home life may feel like common knowledge for us, for our students who require extra support with language, home life may feel very unpredictable and stressful at times, particularly if unexpected changes occur.
If your students arrive at school already heightened from an anxious morning, it’s going to be very challenging to support them to calm down, regulate and participate in the teaching day.
Visual Schedules Need to be Consistent
For visual schedules to REALLY be effective, they need to be consistent across environments. What does this mean? It means that if you’re implementing visual supports and visuals schedules in your classroom and teaching day, they are going to make so much more sense if they are also used in other environments that your students go to – and what environment does your student spend most of their time? Home of course!
If your students have access to visual supports and visual schedules at home and in all their environments, they will then be SUPPORTED in all environments which can help to:
- reduce anxiety
- reduce overwhelm
- reduce unpredictability
- improve regulation
- support understanding
….no matter where they are!
Helping your Students Also Means Helping Their Family
As dedicated teachers and educators, we want to help our students. It’s in our blood. And part of helping our students includes helping our students’ parents and caregivers – not just with academics but also with visual supports.
By providing parents with accurate information and ready-to-go visual schedules and supports to easily slot into their daily home routines, you can empower families to start supporting their children at home, reducing (everyone’s!) anxiety and overwhelm.
Using Visual Schedules at Home: 3 Ways to Help Your Students
So where do we start when it comes to supporting our families to implement visual supports and schedules at home? At the beginning of course!
1. Weekly Routine Visual Schedule for Home:
We all benefit from a calendar of some sorts – I’ve had a kitten calendar every year for over 30 years and now my husband rudely wants to change it to Labradors next year! I would be lost without my calendar – not knowing when things were coming up, counting down to things like school holidays, Christmas, family get-togethers, the list goes on.
And our students are exactly the same. Being able to show our students what is happening across their whole week at a glance is a great first step at introducing visual supports at home. Our students can instantly begin to prepare themselves for the week ahead, particularly if there are any unexpected changes such as a school excursion (field trip), visitors coming or a special event like a birthday.
2. Morning and Night Routines Visual Schedules for Home:
Home Morning Routines Can Be Hectic
I haven’t met one parent who doesn’t agree that mornings with kids are HECTIC. Everyone is racing against the clock to get ready for Daycare, school or work. And there are a LOT of steps in morning routine, including:
*packing school bags
* making lunches
* brushing teeth
*getting dressed
*having breakfast
*brushing hair
*morning chores
Remembering these steps and following through can be very overwhelming for our students.
If your students then come to school already heightened from a busy morning routine, they enter your classroom heightened and it can be really challenging to help them to calm down – there goes your teaching morning!
Supporting your families to use a morning routine visual schedule for home can help to clam the chaos, increase predictability and reduce overwhelm, helping your students to arrive at school regulated and ready to learn.
Bedtime Routines at Home Can be Exhausting
At the business end of the day, when everyone is exhausted, getting through the evening routine can feel never ending. And keep in mind that our students and children are exhausted too, which can make it even more challenging for them to follow all the instructions needed to get ready for bed, including:
*having a bath
*dinner
*brushing teeth
*evening chores
*packing away toys
*story
*bed
And THEN, if this bedtime routine doesn’t go smoothly and your students end up getting less sleep than they need, they wake up the next morning already dysregulated… and the chaos starts again!
Visuals schedules for bedtime routines can be an easy way to start to create smooth routines at home, helping to increase understanding and support their regulation.
Keen to see morning and night visual schedules for home in action? WATCH THIS SHORT VIDEO CLIP to learn more.
#3: First-Then Visual Schedule for Home Routines
Sometimes, showing your students a long visual schedule of 5-10 steps can be too overwhelming. Sometimes we need to start small and just introduce the first two tasks or activities that need to get done.
First-Then Visual Schedules for Home is the perfect tool to help your families can started.
First-Then Board is one visual support that you will use ALL day in the home. Here are just a few examples:
- First CAR, then PRESCHOOL
- First TOILET, then WASH HANDS
- First LUNCH, then BRUSH TEETH
- First STORY, then IPAD
- First SOCKS, then SHOES
Remember, part of being a dedicated teacher means supporting your students not only in your classroom but also at home. By keeping visual schedules consistent across school and home, you can help your students to thrive in all environments.
Ready to help your parents get started using visual schedules at home? Explore our Home Routines Visual Schedules Resources Right Here.
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