Today's free printable is a visual packing checklist for toddlers and pre-readers. It is a Canva template that I created to make heading out the door with your toddler easier. I designed these to help our family when leaving the house each day and hope that they will help you, too.
I know that mornings with toddlers can feel overwhelming. Instead of reminding, prompting, and repeating yourself, your toddler can see from the photos what they need to find and pack, so they can take part in the process more (and free up some of your mental load too!). You can add your own photo of your child to the top of the card and then snap quick photos of your most used items + drag and drop them into the Canva template.
You can make more lists if you need by duplicating the page on Canva, for example if you have a set of things you regularly need for: nursery, swimming class, the park, visiting grandparents, ballet class, etc. And then you just display the relevant one each day, somewhere that your toddler can easily see + access.
✨ How this helps your family
• Encourages independence and confidence in toddlers
• Reduces repetition and morning overwhelm in the household
• Helps children understand what they need to pack in a simple and visual way
• Takes the mental checklist out of your head and onto the cards
Perfect for families who want smoother mornings, fewer forgotten items, and a more peaceful transition out the door.
📋 What’s included
• A 5x7 inch visual packing card template a 6 pre-made card for you to edit
• Designed specifically for pre-readers
• Fully editable in Canva
• You can add your own photo of your child or the activity at the top. Great to tell apart who's card is who's if you have multiple children
• You can snap a quick photo of their most used items and then drag + drop them quickly and easily into the Canva template
• There is text along the bottom for the adult to read which outing it is for
• You can select, copy + paste the item photo squares if you want to add more to your card
• You can resize any of the photos to suit you
Advice and Tips:
• You can involve your child in finding and packing the things the night before
• Or on the morning that you are leaving the house
• You can have a large bag that they carry each item and put it inside
• You can take turns in locating and packing the items• For younger children, they are quite literal so I would aim to have a photo of their exact hat, etc. For slightly older children just a photo of a hat should work, they would understand that it represents a hat and doesn't have to be the exact one in the photo
• Place the card somewhere that your child can easily reach and at their eye level. We use a clear acrylic document holder for ours
• If you create several cards, them all in a different place and only display the relevant card for the day
• Laminate it for extra durability
Feel free to use and edit them whenever you need to. Enjoy!
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