Unpack the backpack

#backpack#school#unpack#school bag#after school

The backpack lands in the hallway exactly when the last of the day's energy runs out, and the lunchbox, the papers and the gym bag each demand a decision. The visual support below splits unpacking into four short moves that can be taken one at a time.

A girl lifts a notebook and an apple out of her red backpack.

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Girl unpacking a red backpack

A girl lifts a notebook and an apple out of her red backpack.

Books, an apple and a water bottle come out of a large blue backpack.

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Girl emptying a blue backpack

Books, an apple and a water bottle come out of a large blue backpack.

About this visual support

Coming home is rarely the start of something new; it is the end of a long day. That is precisely when the backpack has to be emptied: lunchbox to the sink, the weekly letter to the kitchen table, gym bag to the laundry, water bottle out of the side pocket before it starts to smell. Four decisions at the hour when the head only wants the sofa.

With the moves shown as pictures, the child does not have to hold the list in mind. The picture points to the next item and the body can work almost on autopilot, which asks far less of a tired child than listening to a spoken list in the hallway. Many children manage the whole unpacking alone once the order always looks the same.

A practical tip: give every picture a fixed spot in the hallway, so the lunchbox literally has a hook or a surface to travel to. In Routined you can place unpacking as its own short block right after the school day, and test the app for 14 days at no cost.