Many of you have written in to ask: “Are the cards magnetic?” “How do I set them up?”

Here’s an answer and some inspiration for how you can set up pictograms in your home.

No! The cards are not magnetic. And why not? 

Because if they were, we would also have to make and sell a magnet board. And since all of our routines and plans vary, we would have to make many different sized boards. Can you imagine how expensive that would be? We have a feeling that might be money you’d rather save.

What are the cards made of? They’re made of solid cardboard featuring a nice, matte print and beautiful colours on both sides.

Feel free to watch this video, in which I show you how we use pictograms in our home:

Setup #1: Loose

Since there’s print on both sides, you can choose to use the cards simply lying down on the table in a row, and turn each one over when the task is complete.

Setup #2: Blu tack

Blu tack is fairly cheap to buy. It’s gentle on the cards, the wall or your cupboards – depending on what you choose to attach the cards to. This makes it easy to change the cards without damaging them.

The downside, however, is that the kids aren’t great with it. If the blu tack is taken down too often, dirt gets in and it loses its stickiness. Therefore, this solution is best if the pictograms and the routine for their use are fixed and the cards do not have to be changed too often.

For example, this solution works well for us in our bathroom, where the cards are used as reminders to wash your hands after going to the toilet.

And in our utility room, where they show the kids what they need to have on when they go out the door in the morning.

Setup #3: Velcro

Velcro is great! It adheres well to the wall as well as to the cards and can withstand the kids changing the pictogram cards again and again.

However, the tape can be difficult to remove again, so you ought to consider this before putting it up on walls or cabinets. You can test it out with a small piece and see whether it tears the wallpaper or plaster off, before putting up long strips in several places around the home.

We have also seen one family who made a portable pictogram board. This was simply a piece of cardboard with a velcro strip on it. That way, the family could take the schedule with them around the house.

The same family also used one of the reward cards (the star) as a marker for where in the schedule they were. This was a really smart way to give the kids joint responsibility in the routine, as they felt rewarded when they got to move the star up to the next level.

Setup # 4: Magnetic tape

If you already have a magnetic board or space on your refrigerator, you can choose to purchase magnetic tape.

However, this limits the setup to only these locations. For which reason I personally think the other options are more flexible, as you can place them exactly where it’s relevant for the children to see the schedule.

After a quick google, I managed to find a number of different magnet tapes. You can buy it at your local DIY centre or hobby shop. It’s fairly cheap and you only need small squares, which are placed on the cards. It is easy and simple to make.

But you can also buy whole rolls, which might be a cheaper option if you have to do a lot of schedules or change the cards often.

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If you’re in need of cards, you can download extras to print out yourself. Find them here:

• Pictograms animals and sports
• Pictograms holidays and vacations
• Pictograms daily routine

If you have any creative ideas for setups, feel free to send me an email at rikke@ciha.dk