After School & Done

What this sheet is for

The stretch between the school bell and dinner is when most afternoon arguments happen. This sheet gives children aged 8 to 14 a fixed sequence of steps that moves them from arriving home through homework and a daily chore before free time begins. Having the order written down — with space to record the actual time each step starts — removes the need for repeated reminders.

How to use it

Write the day or date in the Day / Date field at the top right so each completed sheet can be kept or compared across the week. Fill the Time column with the actual or target start time for each of the eight numbered steps under the Step heading as the afternoon unfolds. Tick the Done box when a step is finished. The chore in Step 5 is intentionally left as 'your assigned chore for today' so you can write in the specific job — washing up, vacuuming a room, taking out bins — according to your family's rotation. Use the Notes / Chore swaps today box at the foot to record any swaps made, tasks left incomplete, or times that need adjusting next week.

What is printed on the page

“After School & Done” is laid out as time strip: eight steps in a tall table with a blank time column on the left, the step in the middle and a large tick box on the right, a day field at the top and a notes box at the foot. Under the title it reads “A step-by-step afternoon routine with chores, for ages 8–14.”, and the line at the foot of the page says “Tick each box as you finish it. If a step took longer than planned, note why at the foot.”.

The steps slot holds eight entries — “Arrive home — shoes & bag away”, “Wash hands, have a snack”, “Empty lunchbox, rinse containers”, “Homework at the desk (no devices)” and “Your assigned chore for today” and three more — so the sheet is already filled in for chores rather than left as blank rows to label yourself.

The remaining labels on “After School & Done”, the chores sheet, are “Day / Date” for the day label, “Time” for the time heading, “Step” for the step heading, “Done” for the done heading and “Notes / Chore swaps today” for the notes heading.

Two things about this particular time strip are settings rather than text, and “After School & Done” has them set like this. Notes box is on: include the notes box at the foot. Numbered is on (the opposite of the layout's default): number the steps in a narrow first column.

Tips

Pin this week's chore rotation list above the sheet so the child can write in Step 5 themselves without asking.

Set a recurring alarm for the homework step; the sheet works best when the time column reflects real clock times, not estimates.

Review the notes box together once a week and adjust the target times if the same step is consistently running over.

The other layouts in this set

“After School & Done” is one of three sheets in this set, each a different fixed layout filled for the same topic. “My Morning Helper Chart” uses the step list layout and “Ready & Rested: Ages 5–8” uses the two routines layout. Pick by how you work: the layout decides how much you write and where, not what the sheet is about.