Open the curtains

#curtain#window#room#home#morning

When the curtains part, the room changes shape: dark turns to light, night turns to morning. The visual support below turns that switch into a clear signal, a small step that says the day has begun.

Two blue curtain panels hang closed on a rod with rings.

Curtains

Two blue curtain panels hang closed on a rod with rings.

Blue curtains are open and tied back with tiebacks on a rod.

Open curtains

Blue curtains are open and tied back with tiebacks on a rod.

About this visual support

When the curtains part, the room fills with light and night becomes morning in an instant. For a child that switch is more than a handful of fabric, it is a signal that the day has turned and started. The body gets a cue that it is time to wake up.

Visual support helps by making that signal concrete. A picture of open curtains next to a closed one shows the difference between sleeping time and waking time, and your child gets something to link the fresh feeling of morning to. The visible step also makes getting up less vague, because it starts with something to see and touch.

A tip: let your child pull the curtains apart and compare with the picture, so opening them becomes a small step of its own rather than a passing chore. Talk about the light coming in, so the image ties to a feeling in the room. In the Routined app you can place the curtains first in the morning routine as a start signal for the day, and you try it free for fourteen days.

Use this image in a schedule

Build your own visual schedule with this image and download it as a print-ready PDF. Completely free.