Family Command Center {Staying Organized During the School Year}

Life with kids can be a bit chaotic.

We all know this.

That's why I like to take pages from my teacher's playbook to help with the chaos.  Next time you walk into your child's classroom, take a look around.  Most teachers are well organized and have things in their place.  At first you probably think the teacher does all of this by herself/himself.  Well, I guess some teachers do it by themselves, however, I always had the students help.  I've tried to make sure that my kids help around the house. 

Now, my kids are still quite small and their participation involves me a LOT.  In order for my son(3) to make his bed, I not only have to remind him, remind him, remind him, I also have to help him and correct him in order to ensure it is done properly and to my standards of clean.  I know that if I just keep up what I'm doing, eventually he will be able to just get out of his bed and make it quickly and neatly.  We are a few years off of that, however, I am proud of his accomplishments thus far.  He has been making his bed since he was 2 and already we are seeing improvement. 

Another thing I expect my kids to help out with is homework/paperwork they bring home.  Once your child is in preschool/kindergarten they are able to empty out their backpack and go through their homework and paperwork with a parent/responsible adult.  One of the things that really bothered me while teaching were students who stuffed their backpack full of homework and paperwork and went off home only to return the very next day with their backpack still stuffed with everything.  I didn't really blame the parents, it was the child's responsibility to empty their backpack and take care of their things.  I also saw kids that would walk ten feet out of my classroom only to throw away all of their backpack's content into the closest trash can.  You can bet I dug those out for them and put them on their desk the next morning.  :)  This is why kids think teachers have eyes in the back of their head. haha!!

I know that there can sometimes be TONS of paperwork coming home.  Now if you have 2 or 3 kids, you can just multiply that paperwork.  Teachers send home past assignments with grades(so you can get a sense of how they are doing), old art projects, flyers from the office, monthly and sometimes weekly newsletters, and of course homework.  This can all add up quickly.  That is why before my oldest started kindergarten I decided I better get my FAMILY COMMAND CENTER set up.

I started with one large magnetic board and went from there.  I added what I thought my family needed and a few fun cutesy things as well.  If you are interested in making a command center for your home, may I suggest that you 'google' command centers, take a look at what others have done, and then decide what will be needed by your family and what will work for the space you have in your home.   Might I add, that my favorite thing about this command center is the key rack.  That alone is a life saver for me and my forgetful brain.  :)

Our Family Command Center

In addition to this wall I have printed out Mique's Family Binder Printables at Thirty Handmade Days to keep more information in a smaller location.  I use that binder every single day.  I also added our cleaning lists and my child's daily responsibilities so that if I am not home, someone else can take the reins and lead the house for the day.  This really came in handy while I was in the hospital after my c-section with my youngest.  My husband stepped right into my spot and everything still got done with my checklists.  :)

Some of my favorite parts of the command center are those pictured above. 

I got the magnetic board at Roberts, which has gone out of business in my area, however, I'm sure you could find something similar at Hobby Lobby or Michaels or another craft store.  I made magnets for each family member with their initial.  This is where I keep a weekly schedule for each person.  It helps me remember important times and days for everyone in the family.  It also makes it easier to not over-schedule our week.  I like to use small post-its for each day and make special days a different color.  Their back to school nights are something special we are doing this week.

The rail, basket, and pencil bucket came from IKEA.  I wanted to put real greenery in that basket, however, I knew that I would ultimately kill it with neglect, so I opted for tissue poms in a bright green color.  :)  The pencil bucket is high enough that my kiddos can't access it, but I can! 

The monogram letter came from Michaels and it was already white - SCORE! 

The letter organizer was bought on Amazon.  I really use it to collect sunglasses, receipts, and odds and ends.  I also stick bills in it for my husband to pay.  (That is one of his many jobs)

The magazine rack is from IKEA, though I bought it on Amazon.  I just stuck some puffy sticker numbers on the side and assigned everyone in the family a number. This is where everyone is held responsible for putting their paperwork and homework. 

The printables that are framed came from multiple places.  I love us came from Eighteen25.  The calendar came from TomKat Studios.  Choose Happy came from Paper Coterie.

Here is a closer look at those printables along with our chore boards.  I just bought plaque boards from Michaels, painted them white, and epoxied sheet metal on top.  Then I used rub-on letters to put their names and to do and done.  I also bought small wooden discs, painted them white, and mod podged the chores onto them.  You can also buy them here, in case you would rather not DIY.

So, if you are dreading the upcoming school year due to the overwhelming amount of paperwork you will soon be receiving daily, then take a page from a teacher's book and organize that paperwork with the help of your kids!  Once my kids are a bit older I am going to put them in charge of writing out their weekly schedule so I don't have to.  I see this command center growing with us as my kids slowly take it over. 

What do you do to keep organized during the school year?