Kids' day planner

Some children like to see a visual representation of the day's coming events. A visual day planner can be particularly soothing to children during hectic times or when new daily patterns are being established, such as at the beginning of a school year. Preschool and kindergarten teachers often use handmade planners to help children understand the calendar as well as the tasks and responsibilities of the day.

By making a simple day planner, your child can refer to his schedule during the day and check off events as they occur.

1. On index cards, have your child draw pictures representing the typical events of a day such as getting up, eating breakfast, going to school, going to swimming lessons, eating dinner, taking a bath and going to bed.
2. Staple plastic bags in rows to a piece of posterboard—one for each typical activity (or more so you can add activities later).
3. Help your child put these event cards in the clear plastic bags so that they show the day's probable events in order.
4. Mount the board in your child's room or perhaps where the whole family can use it.
5. The next day, your child can rearrange the cards as necessary and add or subtract cards from the arrangement on the board. As your child builds a collection of event cards, these can be stored in an envelope affixed to the schedule board.