Morning routine for kids: a before-school checklist
A good morning routine for school-age kids is short, always in the same order, and something they can follow without being reminded. For most families that's six steps: get dressed, eat breakfast, brush teeth, pack your bag, pack your lunch and put on your shoes. Everything else can usually be done the night before.
Here's the checklist we use in Little Streaks, how to adapt it for younger and older kids, and what helps it stick.
What should a before-school routine include?
Before School
- Get DressedFirst, before breakfast, so it doesn't get forgotten once the TV or a toy appears.
- Eat Breakfast
- Brush TeethAfter breakfast, not before.
- Pack Your BagReader, homework, hat, whatever goes to school that day.
- Pack Your LunchOr put the packed lunch in the bag, if it was made the night before.
- Put On ShoesLast, because shoes on means ready to go.
This is the Before School routine that comes with Little Streaks, so you can use it as is, or change any step.
We built Little Streaks for our own kids. It started with toilet training, teeth and bedtime, and when they started school it grew to cover the morning rush too: the same list every day, ticked off by them instead of called out by us.
Why does the order matter?
Kids don't need to think about what comes next when the order never changes. After a couple of weeks the routine becomes the reminder, rather than you.
Putting shoes last gives the morning a clear finish line. Getting dressed first means the hardest step for many kids is done while they're still fresh.
What can you do the night before?
Most morning stress comes from things that could have been ready earlier: a missing shoe, a library bag, a permission note. A short school night routine fixes a lot of it:
- Pack your bag for tomorrow
- Lay out your clothes
Little Streaks has this as the School Night routine, which also covers bath, teeth, a book and lights out. See the bedtime routine for kids.
How do you adapt it by age?
- Ages 4–5: Start with three or four steps (get dressed, eat breakfast, brush teeth, put on shoes) and add more once those are automatic. Pictures matter more than words at this age, as many children can't read the list yet.
- Ages 6–8: The full six steps. Most kids this age can pack their own bag if it's always the same bag in the same place.
- Ages 9–10: Hand over more: making their own lunch, checking the weather and choosing a jacket, or feeding the pet before school.
For younger children who aren't at school yet, Little Streaks has a shorter Wake Up routine:
Wake Up
- Make The Bed
- Open The Curtains
- Wash Face
- Get Dressed
What about weekends?
On weekends, a different list helps, so the weekday one keeps its meaning. Little Streaks' Weekend Morning routine looks like this:
Weekend Morning
- Make The Bed
- Get Dressed
- Help Make Breakfast
- Brush Teeth
- Plan Something Fun
How do you make a morning routine stick?
- Let them tick it off themselves. The point is that the list, not a parent, says what's next.
- Keep it visible. On the fridge, or on an iPad or phone they can reach.
- Celebrate finishing, not just each step. A star, a sticker, or a small reward at the end of the week.
- Change one thing at a time. If mornings are a battle, fix the step that causes it before adding new ones.
How many steps should a morning routine for kids have?
About four to six. Younger children do better with three or four steps they can manage on their own, and school-age kids can handle six. Anything that can be done the night before, like packing the bag, makes the morning list shorter.
What order should a before-school routine be in?
Get dressed first, then eat breakfast and brush teeth, then pack the bag and lunch, and put shoes on last. Keeping the same order every day means your child knows what comes next without being told.
Is there a printable morning routine chart?
Yes. There's a free weekly chart (PDF) for Before School, Wake Up and Weekend Morning, with a box to tick for every task and a star to colour in for each day. Or use Print the checklists for a simple list.
How does it work in Little Streaks?
In Little Streaks, the Before School routine has its own moving scene (a sunrise, by default) and each task has an icon, so it works for kids who can't read yet. Your child holds a task to tick it off, gets a celebration for each one, and a big finale when the routine is done.
Each day a routine is finished earns a star. Kids save up stars for rewards you choose, like 15 minutes of screen time or picking dinner, and ask for a reward when they have enough.
The free version includes one child, up to two routines and one reward, which is enough for a morning and a bedtime routine.
Little Streaks is a routines and rewards app for kids, for iPhone and iPad. Free to start, with up to two routines.
