School holidays are supposed to be a break from routine.
But for some households, removing the routine is exactly what makes the holidays harder.
During the school term, much of the day is already organised. Wake up. Get dressed. Leave for school. Recess. Lunch. Home time. Afternoon activities. Dinner. Bed.
Then the holidays arrive.
Suddenly, the answer to "What are we doing today?" might be "I'm not sure yet."
For someone who relies on predictable routines, visual information or knowing what happens next, that freedom can feel much less relaxing than it sounds.
The answer is not necessarily to turn the school holidays into another school timetable.
It is to keep enough structure that the day remains understandable.
The practical answer: keep a few predictable anchors in the day, such as the morning routine, meals and bedtime, while making outings, home days, changes and free time visible. A holiday visual schedule does not need to plan every 15 minutes. Its job is simply to help answer: What are we doing today? What happens next? And is anything different?
Make the holiday plan visible
A shared visual calendar or routine hub can give home days, outings, appointments and changes one consistent place to live.
Shop digital calendars and routine hubs View the DayNest PlusWhy school holidays can feel so different
School provides more structure than we sometimes realise.
The school day does not only tell a student where to be. It creates predictable points throughout the day.
There is a familiar time to arrive, a sequence of lessons or activities, known breaks, lunch, home time and usually some idea of what happens after school.
During the holidays, many of those external cues disappear at once.
During the school term
- Wake-up time is usually predictable
- There is somewhere specific to go
- The day follows a broad sequence
- Meal and break times have familiar anchors
- There are cues for when activities begin and finish
- Home time is predictable
During school holidays
- Wake-up times may change
- Some days have outings and others do not
- Plans may depend on weather or other people
- Activities can happen at different times
- There may be long periods without a defined next step
- Plans can change at short notice
None of this means school holidays are a problem.
It simply means the information that was previously built into the school day may need to be made visible somewhere else.
Do not recreate the school timetable at home
Routine does not have to mean scheduling every minute.
In fact, a holiday timetable that says:
9:00 breakfast
9:30 drawing
10:00 outside play
10:30 snack
11:00 puzzle
11:30 reading
can create more work than it removes.
It gives somebody another detailed schedule to maintain, and every small delay can make the rest of the day appear "wrong".
A lighter structure is usually easier to live with.
Keep the anchors and loosen everything between them
Instead of scheduling every activity, identify the parts of the day that are already useful anchors.
| Part of the day | Possible holiday anchor | What can stay flexible |
|---|---|---|
| Morning | Wake up → breakfast → get dressed → check today's plan | The exact wake-up time or morning activity |
| Late morning | Home activity or outing | Which activity is chosen |
| Middle of day | Lunch | Where lunch happens |
| Afternoon | Home time, outing or free choice | The exact activity |
| Evening | Dinner → wind-down → bedtime routine | What happens during free time |
The anchors provide enough information to understand the shape of the day without making the holiday feel like another school day.
Put "nothing planned" on the schedule
This sounds strange at first.
If nothing is happening, why put anything on the calendar?
Because a blank space can mean different things.
It might mean:
- nothing is planned;
- somebody has forgotten to update the calendar;
- a surprise is coming;
- the decision has not been made yet;
- the person is expected to work it out themselves.
If the intention really is to stay home, make that visible.
Useful holiday schedule labels
- Home day
- Free choice
- Quiet morning
- No outing today
- Family time
- Outside play
- Choose an activity
- Rest time
Free time can still be predictable.
The schedule does not need to decide exactly what somebody does. It can simply make it clear that there is nothing else they are expected to prepare for.
Show the big things first
When creating a holiday visual schedule, start with the information most likely to affect the day.
For example:
Monday: Home day
Tuesday: Grandma's house
Wednesday: Swimming
Thursday: Zoo
Friday: Home day
That may be more useful than filling the calendar with every meal, shower, chore and small activity.
The person can see that Thursday is different from Wednesday before Thursday arrives.
If more detail is useful, you can then add it.
Make outings a sequence, not just a destination
"We're going to the zoo" describes only one part of the day.
There are several transitions around it.
A visual sequence might look more like:
Breakfast → Get dressed → Car → Zoo → Lunch → Zoo → Car → Home → Quiet time
That tells a much more complete story.
For some people, knowing that an outing ends and that home appears later on the schedule can be just as useful as knowing where they are going.
Use "first, then" when the whole day is too much
Not everybody benefits from seeing an entire day or week.
Sometimes the useful amount of information is simply:
First: shoes
Then: playground
Or:
First: car
Then: Grandma's house
A visual system should show enough information to be useful, not as much information as the screen can physically hold.
Some people prefer a weekly overview. Others may be more comfortable with today's plan, the next two activities or one step at a time.
Make changes visible before they happen
Holiday plans change.
It rains.
Somebody becomes unwell.
The swimming lesson is cancelled.
A relative changes the time they are visiting.
An attraction is closed.
A visual routine cannot stop those changes.
What it can do is show the new version of the plan.
Less useful
"Swimming is cancelled."
This tells the person what is no longer happening, but not what happens instead.
More useful
"Swimming has changed. This afternoon is now a home activity."
Update the visual schedule so the replacement activity becomes visible.
When possible, show both pieces of information: what changed and what is happening now.
This is particularly useful during school holidays because plans may be less fixed than during the school term.
Read: When Plans Change – How to Make a Visual Routine Flexible Without Starting Over
Use countdowns for transitions that need a clearer ending
"We're leaving soon" is not a very precise amount of time.
Neither is "five more minutes" if five minutes is difficult to picture.
A visual timer or countdown can make the remaining time easier to see.
For example:
- 10 minutes until shoes on;
- 5 minutes until leaving;
- 15 minutes of tablet time remaining;
- 20 minutes until lunch;
- 10 minutes until the playground visit finishes.
The objective is not to put a timer on every activity. Use it where seeing time pass is actually helpful.
Keep the morning routine even when the destination changes
One of the easiest ways to preserve some predictability during school holidays is to keep a familiar morning sequence.
The destination after the routine can change.
The preparation does not necessarily need to.
A simple holiday morning routine might be
- Wake up
- Toilet and wash
- Get dressed
- Breakfast
- Brush teeth
- Check today's plan
On Monday, the plan after that might say Home day.
On Tuesday, it might say Grandma's house.
On Wednesday, it might say Swimming.
The routine provides a familiar starting point while still allowing the holiday itself to be flexible.
Read: How to Build a Visual Routine That Actually Works
Do not forget the transition home
A lot of holiday planning focuses on getting out of the house.
But coming home is another transition.
After a long outing, the next question may immediately become:
"What happens now?"
Consider showing the return home as part of the plan rather than treating the outing as the final event.
For example:
Wildlife park → Car → Home → Quiet time → Dinner
This can make the end of the outing easier to understand and gives the person somewhere to look for what comes next.
What if your child or family member keeps asking what happens next?
Repeatedly answering the question can accidentally keep one person as the only source of information.
If there is already a visual system available, try using the system as part of the answer.
Instead of only saying:
"We're going swimming after lunch."
you might say:
"Let's check the calendar."
The objective is not to refuse reassurance or support.
It is to gradually make the schedule another reliable place to get the answer.
Read: Why Visual Calendars Work – Reducing the Mental Load of Remembering What Comes Next
Visual routines for autistic people and people with ADHD
There is no single holiday routine that works for every autistic person or every person with ADHD.
Some people may want to know the whole week's plan in advance.
Others may find a large amount of future information distracting or overwhelming and prefer to see only today.
Some people benefit from pictures. Others prefer written words. Some like colour coding. Others find a simpler display easier to scan.
Depending on the person, consider
- showing fewer activities at once;
- using larger text;
- using familiar words for recurring activities;
- adding images or icons where they are useful;
- keeping colours consistent;
- making the next action obvious;
- showing changes before the affected activity;
- including deliberate home or free-choice periods;
- keeping the display in a predictable location.
The best visual routine is not the most detailed one.
It is the one the person can actually understand and use.
Paper schedule, whiteboard or digital calendar?
You do not need a digital screen to create a useful school-holiday routine.
A printed schedule or whiteboard may work perfectly when plans are relatively simple and somebody can keep it updated.
A digital calendar becomes more useful when plans change regularly, several people need the same information or appointments and activities already live in online calendars.
| Option | May suit | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Printed visual schedule | Simple routines and stable sequences | Needs reprinting when the plan changes |
| Whiteboard | Flexible handwritten planning at home | Someone needs to keep it manually updated |
| Phone or tablet | Personal and portable schedules | Information may not remain visible to the whole household |
| Digital routine hub | Shared calendars, changing plans and household visibility | Requires setup and suitable placement |
Read: Digital Calendar vs Whiteboard – Which Works Better for Visual Routines?
Why a shared digital calendar can work well during school holidays
School holidays can involve more moving parts than an ordinary week.
One day might be spent at home. The next might involve grandparents. Another might include an appointment, holiday program, support worker, swimming lesson or day trip.
A shared digital display can bring those different types of days into one visible place.
The main benefit is not filling every hour with activities.
It is allowing the household to see which type of day today actually is.
A larger display can be particularly useful when several people need to refer to the same plan from around a shared room.
Using DayNest as a holiday routine hub
The DayNest Plus 24-inch Smart Calendar provides a large, wall-mounted display that can run compatible calendar, routine and Android applications.
That means a household can use it to create a shared visual reference for appointments, home days, outings, reminders and routines using compatible applications that suit the person.
A larger display also provides room for clearer text and spacing without necessarily putting more information on screen.
The goal should still be simplicity.
A 24-inch screen does not need 24 inches worth of information.
Keep the holiday plan somewhere everyone can see it
The DayNest Plus can provide one visible place for compatible calendars, routines and reminders in a shared area of the home.
View the DayNest Plus 24-inch Smart Calendar Compare digital calendars and routine hubsCan NDIS funding be used for a digital visual calendar?
Potentially, depending on the participant and the applicable NDIS rules.
A smart display, tablet or digital calendar does not automatically become an NDIS support because it is helpful during school holidays or useful for organisation.
The relevant question is whether the item is an appropriate NDIS support or approved replacement support for that participant, relates to their disability support needs and fits their plan and available funding.
Smart devices can also fall within the NDIS rules relating to everyday items and replacement supports.
Being useful for routines does not by itself make a device claimable.
If the funding pathway is unclear, check the participant's plan and current NDIA guidance or seek advice from their plan manager, support coordinator, allied health professional or the NDIA before purchasing.
Read: Replacement Supports Explained – Tablets, Smart Devices and Everyday Items Under the NDIS
A simple school-holiday planning method
If the school holidays are approaching and the idea of creating a visual schedule feels like another job to add to the list, start small.
Try these five steps
- Add the big events first. Put in appointments, visits, holiday programs and outings that already have a date.
- Label the empty days. Use "Home day", "Free choice" or another phrase the person understands.
- Keep a few familiar anchors. Morning preparation, meals and the evening routine may be enough.
- Show the next important transition. Add more detail only if it is actually useful.
- Update changes visibly. When the plan moves, change the schedule rather than relying only on a verbal explanation.
Then use it.
A perfect visual schedule that nobody checks is less useful than a simple one that becomes part of the day.
What if the first version does not work?
Change it.
If nobody looks at the schedule, consider its location.
If there is too much information, remove some.
If the whole week is difficult to process, show today.
If written tasks are unclear, consider compatible pictures or icons.
If plans change too often to maintain a printed version, consider whether a whiteboard or digital system would be easier to update.
If the person keeps checking the schedule but cannot find the answer, make the most important information more obvious.
The visual routine should adapt to the person.
The person should not have to adapt to a badly designed routine.
When do the 2026 spring school holidays start?
Australian school holiday dates vary by state and school.
For the 2026 spring break, Queensland government school holidays begin on 19 September. Victorian government school holidays begin on 21 September. South Australian and Western Australian government school holidays begin on 26 September, while NSW government school spring holidays begin on 28 September.
Always check your own school calendar before adding the dates to a visual schedule, particularly for non-government schools and schools with local pupil-free or development days.
Our practical recommendation
Do not try to make the school holidays completely predictable.
They will not be.
Instead, make the important parts understandable.
Keep a few anchors. Put outings on the calendar. Label home days. Show what happens after the outing. Make changes visible. Use timers when seeing time pass is useful.
And leave room for the holiday to still feel like a holiday.
The goal is not a perfect timetable
School holidays do not need to run like school.
A useful visual routine simply gives someone a reliable way to answer the questions that matter:
What are we doing today? What happens next? And has anything changed?
When those answers stay visible, the day can remain flexible without becoming completely unpredictable.
Shop digital calendars and routine hubs View the DayNest PlusNeed help choosing a visual routine solution? Contact LowCost AT
Frequently asked questions
Should children keep the same routine during school holidays?
Not necessarily. School holidays can include more flexibility while retaining a few useful anchors such as the morning routine, meals and bedtime. The right amount of structure depends on the individual person and household.
How do I create a visual schedule for the school holidays?
Start with major outings, appointments and visits, then label otherwise empty days as home days, free choice or another familiar term. Add daily routine steps only where they help the person understand what happens next.
Should I schedule every activity during the school holidays?
No. A visual holiday schedule does not need to account for every minute. Too much detail can make the system harder to maintain. A few predictable anchors and clearly visible major activities may be more useful.
What should I put on the calendar when nothing is planned?
Consider explicitly showing a home day, free choice, quiet morning or similar label. This makes it clear that the blank space is intentional rather than missing information.
How can I show a change of plans on a visual schedule?
Update the schedule as early as practical and show what will happen instead. For example, rather than only showing that swimming is cancelled, replace it with the new home activity or alternative plan.
Can visual timers help during school holidays?
They can be useful for some people when a transition has a defined ending, such as leaving the house, finishing screen time or leaving a playground. They do not need to be used for every activity.
Are visual schedules useful for autistic children during school holidays?
Some autistic children and adults find predictable visual information useful for understanding routines, transitions and changes. The amount and type of information should be adapted to the individual person's communication, sensory and information-processing preferences.
Can visual schedules help people with ADHD during school holidays?
They may help some people by making plans, next actions and important transitions more visible. People with ADHD have different needs, so the schedule should be adjusted around the individual rather than assuming one format will work for everyone.
Is a digital calendar better than a printed school-holiday schedule?
Not automatically. Printed schedules and whiteboards can work well for simple plans. Digital calendars become more useful when activities change regularly, several people need the same information or the household already uses online calendars.
Can I buy a digital visual calendar using NDIS funding?
Potentially, depending on the participant and the applicable NDIS rules. A digital calendar or smart display is not automatically an NDIS support simply because it is helpful. It must meet the relevant NDIS support or approved replacement-support requirements, relate to the participant's disability support needs and fit their plan and available funding.
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