An evening picture sequence can be a way to show the routine your family has chosen. Start with a few familiar tasks, rather than building a perfect schedule. The pictures give you something to point to and talk about together as the evening unfolds.
Try this simple arrangement with the Moonlight task pictures below, or use your own drawings of your household’s evening.
Choose three familiar moments
Think about three tasks that already belong in your routine. For example, Moonlight includes Tidytail with “Tidy up toys”, Pyjamoo with “Pyjamas on” and Brushbeam with “Brush teeth”. Select only pictures that describe what you actually plan to do.
Look at the pictures together earlier in the evening. Name each one in ordinary language: “This is our tidying picture. This one is getting into pyjamas.” Invite your child to show what they notice or put a picture where they think it belongs.
You do not need to offer a choice about every household requirement. An adult can explain what the evening includes, then offer choices within it, such as which toys to put away first or which pyjamas to choose. Keep those choices real enough that either answer can be accepted.
Make a simple place for the pictures
- Lay the selected pictures in the order you intend to use them.
- Point to the first picture and describe one next action.
- After the task, invite your child to move that picture to a “done” space you have drawn on paper.
- Look at the next picture together, or pause if you need to change the plan.
Draw a “done” space on a piece of paper. A tray, envelope or empty place beside the row can serve the same purpose. Choose an arrangement you can put away easily, rather than making preparation another evening job.
Leave room for an ordinary evening
If your routine changes, move or remove a picture and say what is different. A late trip home or a visiting relative might mean your usual row does not describe tonight. You can show the smaller plan without pretending the evening is following every step you prepared.
A child may enjoy moving the pictures but not want to explain them. They might prefer pointing while you speak, or watching you move the finished task. You can also let them be the person who shows the next picture to the adult.
Finish the activity without a score
When you reach the end of the selected row, put the pictures away together. Another day, ask whether the same three still describe your evening. You can keep a useful picture and replace one that was unclear, without treating a changed plan as a failed routine.
Moonlight is a 50-card set. Start with these three task pictures, then choose any others that describe your family’s evening. The set includes its printable files and app access to the purchased cards. Other card sets are separate purchases.
Explore the card sets and choose Moonlight to preview it. For paper use, select the supplied PDF matching A4 or US Letter paper, follow its printing instructions and let an adult help with cutting or laminating.