family command center (kitchen, photos, door, room)
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I'm really struggling in trying to decide WHERE to set up a family command center for our family; our young boys will be in 1st grade and preK this fall, and so i need to set up a central spot for them to hang their backpacks, take out their daily folder, and put up reminders for permission slips, art, etc on pin board.
I have 2 potential spaces to put a system in place; but neither is really ideal hence my advice from people/parents who BTDT with school aged kids! if at all possible, show me your system too with photos.
1st spot:
it's a empty wall space by 9 feet tall and little over 4 feet wide on far end of my kitchen. It's immediately near our daily eat in area of kitchen, den and around corner from front foyer/door. The boys would have to gather there every morning to put folders, etc in their backpacks, get backpack, and walk all way across kitchen stepping down into hallway where our entrance to mudroom/garage is. That is where they get their coats and shoes on before leaving via door into garage. Right now, it's where my oldest son keeps his backpack since it's just a small one for one kid so far in our mudroom.
2nd spot:
i have another empty wall space that is between the garage wall/mudroom but it is narrow hallway too. The wall is about 7.5 feet, maybe 8 feet tall with little less than 4 feet wide across to put up a whiteboard and pinboard. Since the boards is relatively flat and hung up on wall, not eating in space for people to walk by that hallway, it is more of the fact it's clear across from kitchen and main action/hangout for my family. If i were or my boys want to see whats happening on calendar, collect something from pinboard, etc we have to walk across kitchen, stepping down the hallway to see/collect from it. However, it would be near the coats/shoes/exit every morning though and more central for the purpose of keeping everything in one spot.
which spot would you put yours in? I'm attaching sample pics from pininterest of what i want to create my command center to give an idea.
My daughter has a command center much like the ones in your photos but it's right off the kitchen. Not near a door, but near the kitchen. Honestly, I think it may be because she simply doesn't have a convenient sized wall near the door used most often, but anyway, adjacent to the kitchen really works well.
In their previous house, it was down a hall to the garage, which was where they came in most of the time. It was less convenient to the kitchen and like you describe, to read or fetch anything was sort of a trek. This seemed much less convenient than the kitchen area one she uses now.
The fact that your son already uses the kitchen area for his backpack implies it's a sort of natural thing to do - it feels natural. I mean, he could leave his backpack by the door but he's not doing that.
My daughter has a command center much like the ones in your photos but it's right off the kitchen. Not near a door, but near the kitchen. Honestly, I think it may be because she simply doesn't have a convenient sized wall near the door used most often, but anyway, adjacent to the kitchen really works well.
In their previous house, it was down a hall to the garage, which was where they came in most of the time. It was less convenient to the kitchen and like you describe, to read or fetch anything was sort of a trek. This seemed much less convenient than the kitchen area one she uses now.
The fact that your son already uses the kitchen area for his backpack implies it's a sort of natural thing to do - it feels natural. I mean, he could leave his backpack by the door but he's not doing that.
Actually my kindergarten son leaves his backpack in our mudroom. He just throws it on the floor, hangs up his coat and takes off his shoes there before trekking up to the kitchen. Now I'll have another son in PreK going daily this fall as well big brother. Another backpack and it won't work leaving theirs in my mudroom cuz it also doubles as our laundry room. It's getting cluttered now as it is. Hence the idea of near my kitchen or near the wall OUTSIDE our mudroom. Another factor is spot #1 would be near our pennisula for my first grader to work on his homework while I cook dinner.
Make sure it's on the way. I put in a mud room with lockers shoe bins for each kid that was on the way to the car. I didn't factor in we didn't drive to school. All the stuff ended up in the front hallway, just inside the front door.
Make sure it's on the way. I put in a mud room with lockers shoe bins for each kid that was on the way to the car. I didn't factor in we didn't drive to school. All the stuff ended up in the front hallway, just inside the front door.
oldest will take the school bus and probably exit from my garage, as bus stop is at corner of my house. I'll be driving youngest to his prek school 5 mins away. The command center, if put in spot #1 is definately on way to exit/car. But so is spot #2, hence my dilemma.
i think i've decided to put it in first spot as outlined in my OP. I won't be setting this up until sometime over the summer though, so may very well change my mind in meantime!
but couple of things have led me to arrive at my decision:
spot #1 is really the hub in my house; we usually hang out in the kitchen immediately after school/work, etc and move towards to our den which is only behind the kitchen.
spot #1 is also closer to the foyer and front door, i realized my rising 1st grader bus stop will literally be at the corner of my house on left side of driveway. It made more sense for my son to actually leave via front door to catch the bus. As normally we exit into our SUV parked inside the garage to do drop off this year, that would be where spot #2 make more sense.
i'll probably experiment and change things around a month into the new school year this Fall.
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