The following is a guest post from regular contributor, Rachel at Useful Beautiful Home.
Vacation days are dwindling down as I’m gearing up for an organized school year. I recently reviewed a back-to-school bundle which greatly inspired my new command center. Today I’ll highlight the kiddie section of our family command center, which is designed to organize the upcoming school mornings.
The bottom third of my kitchen command center is child-focused to assist with morning readiness and daytime responsibilities. At my daughter’s young age, we only need the basics when it comes to smooth mornings; a simple checklist of the morning routine, an outline of age-appropriate household tasks, and a fun writing utensil. Of course, there are always other helpful hints like setting out clothing the night before, but I’ll save those for another post.
Incorporating a child-friendly morning routine checklist was important to me, but I couldn’t imagine printing a new one every single week. So, I created a reusable version.
First, I printed the morning routine checklist (similar ones can be found on Pinterest) on heavy cardstock paper and then laminated it for durability.
In keeping with the colorful aspect, I painted (see how-to HERE) a $1 clipboard and clipped the laminated page to the front.
Next, I embellished a plain dry-erase marker with a flower and some washi tape (read about this easy DIY project next week at UBH).
As for the marker, it’s perfect to check-mark on the laminated page and then wipes off at the end of the week. I keep it next to the clipboard at 5-year-old height. It’s attached to the command center wall by a piece of hook-and-loop (what most of us call “velcro”) because it’s uncomplicated and kid-safe.
I also added a reminder list (pictured below) of everyday “jobs” for our 5-year-old. It’s glued on the frame with nothing other than a glue-stick. I used a non-permanent glue because I need room for flexibility as the school year progresses.
I say “flexibility” because I want this to be a family command center, but it’s no good if I don’t plan for future re-arranging. It needs to be versatile because schedules change, kids’ learning styles grow, and new children are added to the family. A growing family is a changing family and a command center must keep up with us to be effective for the long-haul.
We also plan to teach money management skills to our daughter soon, so I expect this goal sheet below will find it’s way onto our command center sometime this fall…
I hit my target of creating a kid-friendly command center, complete with a fun flower. Our wall of reminders is happy to look at and {hopefully} will keep those school mornings cheerfully running like a well-oiled machine (and maybe a cup of coffee for me).
Read more about my colorful Kitchen Command Center and how I’m getting ready for the new school year (HERE). Click over to Useful Beautiful Home a few times next week because I’ll be adding several more blog posts about my colorful Kitchen Command Center!
In the professional world, I’m a nurse by trade. But, around our house, I’m known as Mommy to our young daughter. My two worlds collided and began shaping into a blog. Useful Beautiful Home represents the hours I’ve dedicated to managing my household as efficiently as possible. I offer you motivation to keep your home healthy, organized, and welcoming. My goal is to share what I’ve implemented in my home to inspire you with fresh ideas and to encourage you to keep up the good work in yours! Learn more about me HERE or visit me at UsefulBeautifulHome.com.
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