Kids weekly planner: how to use it step by step
What age to start, which model to choose and how to fill it in each week: a simple method so your planner is really used, instead of hanging lifeless on the wall.
You may be wondering how to use a kids weekly planner without it turning into one more chore. "When is Nan coming?", "Is there nursery tomorrow?": those are questions every morning, and a lovely chart will not settle them if it never gets filled in.
Don't worry, it all comes down to three habits: set it up once, fill it in on Sunday and look at it in the morning. All that is left is choosing the format that suits your child's age and your routine, among our kids weekly planners.
The essentials
- Around age 3: when your child starts to recognise pictograms.
- Few cards at first: three or four recurring activities are enough.
- Five minutes on Sunday: you lay out the week together and it becomes theirs.
- A glance in the morning: they see what is on today without having to ask.
What age should you start using a weekly planner?
As a guide, around age 3, when a child starts to recognise pictograms. Before that you can already show a single card in the morning: today is nursery. Later, once they read fluently, a more written diary takes over.
The reason is simple. The youngest find it hard to picture a week: "in three sleeps" or "after the weekend" mean little to them. The planner turns that invisible time into boxes they can point to and count on a finger.
Age is only a guide. A three-year-old who keeps asking what is happening tomorrow is probably ready; a four-year-old may take an interest later. Try it for a while. If they do not even look at it, put it away and try again in a few months, without making a big deal of it.
Which planner should you choose for your child?
The right model depends mostly on the question your child asks most often. Listen for a morning or two and start from there:
- "What's on tomorrow?": they want to see their week, and a model with pictograms is enough to start.
- "Do I have lunch at school?": their days are split up, and the preschool model shows school, lunch and breakfast club.
- "Who is picking me up?": what reassures them are the faces, and the model with photos answers directly.
- "Where am I sleeping today?": they live between two homes, and the shared-care model shows them which one.
That leaves the case people forget: the older child starting secondary school. They no longer need cards but a plain page for lessons and homework.
Six planners to fit your week
These are the six planners in the shop, from the simplest to the one for the oldest, with the family each one suits. All are A4 PDF files to print at home or at a print shop.
1. The pictogram planner, to start without fuss
If it is your first planner and you want to try without overthinking it, start with this one. It shows the big moments of the day and nothing else.
Kids Weekly Planner Classic splits each day into morning, afternoon and evening, with 24 cut-out cards: 16 pictograms and 8 blank ones to draw on. The name is optional.
The blank cards are its strength: the swimming lesson or the neighbour who collects them on Thursdays find their place, drawn by the child.
2. The planner with a name, for the little one who likes handling cards
For a child who loves putting cards down, taking them off and putting them back, the more variety the better. Their name at the top makes the planner feel like theirs.
Kids Weekly Planner with Name lines up the 7 days in soft colours, with 3 boxes a day, 30 pictogram cards and 6 blank ones. An arrow points to "today".
Keep the arrow: it teaches the day without you having to repeat it.
3. The preschool planner, for split days
In preschool the worry is often around midday and the journey home. This model is made for exactly that: school, lunch or breakfast club, and who collects them.
Weekly Planner for Preschool splits each day into morning, midday and afternoon, with cut-out cards such as school, lunch, breakfast club, home, dad, mum, nan and childminder. You can add their class.
It also says who is collecting them, but with words and drawings, without your photos.
4. The planner with photos, for the child who asks who is coming
For the youngest, a "nan" pictogram is still abstract. Her real photo is understood at once.
Kids Weekly Planner Who's Picking Me Up shows place and person across 7 days, with up to 6 cards using your photos and each person's name. You send the photos by email after ordering.
Its limit is deliberate: it answers one question only. That is why it does not replace an activity planner.
5. The shared-care planner, for two homes
When the week is split between two homes, a seven-day chart falls short. This one covers the whole rhythm and gives each home its own colour.
Shared-Care Weekly Planner covers 2 weeks, with the names of the 2 homes and, if you wish, your own rhythm. The child sees at a glance which home they sleep in each night.
Print it twice, one for each home: that way the reference is the same in both places.
6. The planner for teenagers, for secondary school
By secondary school, drawings no longer convince. A teenager wants a tool, not a game, and will fill in the page only if it really helps.
School Timetable and Planner for Secondary School has no childish drawings and gives each day lines for lessons, sport and homework to tick off. At the bottom, two areas: tests and things not to forget.
Print one sheet a week and let them manage it, even if it goes badly at first.
The six models compared
To decide, look at the third column first: the way time is divided should look like your week.
| Model | Made for | Layout | Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Classic | From preschool | Morning, afternoon, evening | 24, of which 8 blank |
| With name | Little ones who cannot read yet | 7 days, 3 boxes a day | 30, plus 6 blank |
| Preschool | Preschool | Morning, midday, afternoon | Not stated |
| With photos | The youngest | 7 days, place and person | Up to 6 with photos |
| Shared care | Two homes | 2 weeks | Cards for the homes |
| Teenagers | Secondary school | Lessons, sport, homework | Not stated |
With the youngest, cards make the difference, because handling them helps them understand the week. If you run short, our 65 pictogram cards to print complete any model.
How to use the planner: 3 key moments
Once the model is chosen, everything is decided in three moments. The first happens only once; the other two soon become habit.
1. Set it up once
Print it on thick paper, 160 gsm or more, laminate it if you like and cut out the cards. With a few self-adhesive strips or reusable putty you can move them all year.
Hang it at your child's eye level, where the family passes in the morning: the hall, the corridor or their bedroom.
If you are changing their room, our guide to kids bedroom ideas helps you set aside a spot for it.
2. Fill it in on Sunday
Take five minutes on Sunday afternoon. Start with what does not change, such as school, and add what varies: after-school clubs, swimming, the afternoon at Nan's.
Let your child place the cards, even if they end up crooked. A child looks more willingly at a chart they filled in themselves, and will tell you the plan without being asked.
3. Look at it every morning
In the morning, just one question: "What's on today?" Point to the day's column and they tell you. A few seconds are enough, there is no need to go through the whole week.
In the evening, take away the day's card or put a mark on it. That way they see what has happened and what is left, and the days start to make sense.
When a week is out of the ordinary, because of a trip or a move, put the card down a few days ahead. They get time to get used to the idea, and you get time to answer their questions.
The planner says which day; the routine says in what order. For how each morning unfolds, see our guide to the morning routine for kids.
Which days is preschool open?
Monday to Friday in most settings, but check with yours how it is organised. For the planner, it is the first reference to put down.
Place the school cards first, add lunch and breakfast club if your child uses them, then the after-school activities. The weekend has its own cards: home, grandparents or the park. In the holidays, take away the school ones, and your child will understand at once that the week has changed.
Does your child need to be able to tell the time?
No. Every child learns to tell the time at their own pace, and a planner does not need it: it works by moments, morning, midday and afternoon, which your child already lives without looking at a clock. If your child likes dates, our perpetual calendar to print adds the day, date, month, season and weather.
Mistakes to avoid
Four slips quickly turn a planner into plain decoration, and they can be fixed in a week.
- Putting everything up from day one: a chart full of cards no longer tells them anything. Start with three or four activities.
- Filling it in without them: it becomes your tool rather than theirs, and they stop looking at it.
- Hanging it at adult height: they must be able to see it and touch the cards without help.
- Leaving last week up: a chart that is not updated stops being a reference.
Going further
A useful planner comes down to very little: the right model, few cards and five minutes together on Sunday. To complete the wall, see our kids routine charts and our kids wall art.
- If mornings are still the hard moment, read our guide to the morning routine for kids.
- If a childminder collects your child on some days, show her the chart, and to thank her, see our ideas for gifts for a childminder.
To discover all our prints, visit Les Affiches Douces.
