Thursday, August 27, 2015

Family Command Center

For teachers and families with school-age children, the new year begins in September, not January. So it's time to set some resolutions for the new school year to help keep the fmily organized and less stressed. The first thing to do is set up a Family Command Center. This is were everything that your family needs on a daily basis is located: calendars, files, school menus, chore lists, weekly dinner menus, call lists for children's after-school activities, information for babysitter, in-boxes for all family members, bills, backpacks, and anything and everything your family needs.

STEP ONE: Where will you put your command center?

Most families put theirs in the kitchen, but you should ask yourself where members of your family come to when they walk through the door...put it there!

STEP TWO: What kind of calendar would work best for your family?

Do you want a month by month paper calendar (see link to the left)?

Do you want a dry erase calendar that only gives you one month at a time (you will need another calendar to keep track of upcoming events)?

STEP THREE: Will each member of your family have his/her own file on the wall or on the
desk/table?

Each person in the family should have an in/out box/folder where all paper such as school flyers, notices, and homework goes each day. Make it a habit for the children to empty their backpacks each day in this area and make sure all paper that needs Mom and Dad's attention goes in this file. You can then check it every night, sign what needs to be signed or add events to the family calendar. You can then return whatever needs to be sent back to school to the children's backpacks. If there is an area near the command center for the backpacks to be left, then it will be easy to return all items back there. It also keeps children from running around the house in the morning looking for his/her backpack.

STEP THREE: What kind of filing system will you use?

Will you have a separate file cabinet? One that sits on the desk/table at you command center? Will the files be covered or open? For items that need to be kept and filed, having a well labelled set of files is essential. You can have a file for each person or have files labelled "phone lists" and "sports calendars."

STEP FOUR: Do you need a bulletin board?

If you decide to use one, decide how it will be used. Will it be used to house emergency contact numbers, flyers for upcoming events, family photos? This decision early on will keep your bulletin board from being so crowded that nothing on it can be seen.

Next Week: Setting up a homework center