Moving house visual schedule: free printable for kids

Who it’s for

Children who are moving house, to a new street, a new town or a new country, and find change hard. A move changes nearly everything at once: the bedroom, the way to school, sometimes the school and the friends. The schedule suits children who use pictures to know what comes next, including autistic children and children who don’t speak or don’t speak much.

How to use it

1. Tell your child about the move early enough to get used to the idea, and show page 1: “First we pack the boxes. Then the moving truck comes.”
2. Start the countdown on page 3 two weeks before moving day, or cut off the top row for a shorter one. Cross off one number each night.
3. Pack your child’s things last, and unpack them first. Let them pack one box of their own, with the teddy and the favorite things, and keep it in the car rather than the truck.
4. Fill in the new home together: photos of the new house, the new room, the new school and the street, from a visit or from an online map’s street view.
5. Keep page 2 out during the whole move, and model the words: “I feel sad. I feel excited too.”

Feelings and questions

A child who doesn’t speak may have the same questions as anyone who is moving: Which room is mine? Will my things come too? Can my friends visit? Page 2 has those questions, and room for honest answers. Every feeling on it is allowed, including mad. Point to your own feelings too, so your child sees that grown-ups can be sad and excited at the same time. The keep in touch row is for the friends and neighbors left behind: a call, a message, a letter, a visit.

Keep the steps true

Not every move looks like this one. If movers come, or your child stays with grandparents on moving day, cross out a step and draw or write what will happen; a step that turns out wrong makes the whole schedule harder to trust. Moving by plane? Add the airport visual schedule for that part. The steps also open in the free visual schedule maker, where you can change any step and add photos of your own house.

What’s on the PDF

Moving steps

• pack the boxes
• the moving truck
• say goodbye
• go to the new house
• our new home
• unpack my things
• my new room
• sleep in my new bed

How I feel

• sad
• worried
• excited
• nervous
• mad
• okay

I want to know

• where are we going?
• when do we move?
• which room is mine?
• a new school?
• can friends visit?
• how long is the drive?

My things

• my bed
• my teddy
• my toys
• my clothes
• my books
• my pet

The new place

• new house
• backyard
• kitchen
• neighbors
• the park
• new friends

Keep in touch

• I miss you
• call
• send a message
• visit
• photos
• a letter

Printing tips

• Keep page 1 in the car on moving day, where your child can see it.
• Print two countdowns: one for the fridge, and one for your child’s room.
• For big feelings, the feelings board and the calm down choices board. A new baby coming too? There’s a new baby board for big brothers and sisters.
• Starting a new school? AAC in the classroom: at the start of the year has what to share with a new teacher. Getting ready for changes has more ways to prepare for a big one.