Routine guide

The hour after school, given a shape

Drink, something to eat, twenty minutes where nothing is asked, then the bag. In that order, because the part of a child that answers questions was used up at school.

A child who was fine at the gate and in pieces ten minutes later has not changed their mind about you. They held it together for six hours and the holding stopped when they got home. The hour after school works better as a landing than as an interview, and a landing has an order to it.

What actually helps

Drink first, then something to eat, before anything is discussed. It costs ten minutes and it is the cheapest thing on this list.
Ask nothing for twenty minutes. Not about the day, not about homework, not about the lunchbox. Twenty minutes of nothing is a step, not a gap.
Unpack the bag after the quiet, not before. Letters and a lunchbox can wait twenty minutes; they rarely survive being the first thing through the door.
End the landing where homework begins, and keep homework as its own routine with its own first step. That hand-off is the whole point of the twenty minutes.

What if my child wants to talk the moment they walk in?

Then listen, and skip the quiet. The twenty minutes are for a child who is not ready to talk yet, not a rule to hold a talkative one to. Keep the order fixed: drink, food, bag. The rest bends.

The routine

🏠 After school

Shoes and coat away 2 min
Lunchbox in the kitchen 2 min
Wash hands 1 min
Snack 10 min
Quiet time 20 min

Use this routine

Free for one child and three routines. You can change every step.

Your child sees one step at a time

Not the whole list. The step they are on, big and clear, with the next one quiet underneath, and a count of what is already done. That is the entire child experience, and it is why it works when a chart on the fridge stops working.

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Get dressed

about 8 min

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Other routines

Homework routine for kids Snack, clear the table, first ten minutes, break, finish. In that order, because that is the order that works. Getting off screens without a fight Ten minutes, then five, then a clear ending, then something quiet. The transition, not the task, is the thing that needs help. School bag checklist for kids Six things, in the same order, checked off by the child rather than by you. Visual routine checklist for children Pictures, one step at a time, and progress they can see. Free for one child, with twenty routines to start from.

Flowly supports routines and organisation. It is not a medical, diagnostic or therapy product, it does not assess anybody, and no diagnosis is ever asked for.