Sticker Chart for bedtime

I get up before 5 AM during the week. I wake Lovie up at 5:30 AM. It's not easy, but doing so allows us more time together after work/school before she has we have to go to sleep. That said, bedtime for Lovie is 7 PM. Yes, that's early but did you see what time I have to wake her?

Anyway, we've always been pretty strict with a bedtime routine... but that doesn't make bedtime always fun. In fact, the older and more defiant she gets, the harder and longer the routine lasts. And mama needs her sleep!

Enter the Bedtime Routine Sticker Chart:

It's absolutely nothing fancy, and it's only been part of her routine for three nights but if all goes well, it may stick around for some time.

I threw it together in minutes and it's cheap, cheap, cheap.

Supplies
* Poster board
* Clip art printed on regular paper
* Washi Tape
* Marker
* Stickers
* Reward (I got a package of Princess erasers)

I picked up the poster board, stickers, and erasers at the Dollar Tree on my way home from work. Then I searched for Toilet, Wash Hands, Brush Teeth, Bath (wash face), Pajamas, Clothes (picking out clothes for next day), Bedtime Stories, Sleep in a Word document clipart. I printed each one out, cut, then taped (with Lovie's help) onto the poster board with Washi Tape ($1.99 a roll from Downtowntape.com). Then I made rows and columns with more tape. Then I wrote the days of the week on the left column. This all took maybe 10 minutes tops.

I asked Lovie what she saw in each picture and told her that after she did each of these things before bed, she would get to take a new sticker and place it in the box under the picture for doing a good job. If she fills a whole row with stickers, she gets to choose a reward (and I showed her the princess erasers).

She got super excited and kept asking, "OK now what's next?"

It's only been three nights but so far, it's going OK I think. It's really helped with the stall tactics because she's got visual prompts to guide her. And it's helped with her staying in bed while I read and hopefully getting her more comfy and relaxed. But it's far from perfect, of course (she has yet to get a reward).