Simple, Daily Family Calendar

As the kids get older, our schedule gets busier and we need a daily family calendar. I like our dry erase monthly calendar to prepare and plan ahead. The monthly calendar isn’t very useful for my in-the-moment kids, though, so I made a simple, daily family calendar with a 5 minute set-up, under $15 cost, and no craft skills required.

When I say simple, I’m not kidding around. My goal in our new home was to just get a daily calendar up with a small budget and tight schedule. I skipped Pinterest this time and hit Target instead. I found a dry erase board on clearance and hung it in a prominent, high traffic area of our house. For us, that is at the top of the stairs leading to all bedrooms.

That’s it. 5 minute set-up, under $15, and no craft skills required.

Simple, Daily Family Calendar

Supplies

• Dry Erase Board
• Dry Erase Markers and Eraser

Directions

1. Hang dry erase board in a high traffic area in your home.
2. Each night, write the next day’s activities with times.
3. Remind family to check the calendar
4. Erase and repeat daily.

Tips for Success

1. Involve your family in deciding on calendar items. For example, my daughter and I decided on 5 pm as homework time. This gives her 1 hour of free time and ensures homework is complete before other activities, like soccer.
2. Make it a habit. Everyone in my family depends on this daily calendar now. It helps us prepare for the next day, recognize weekly patterns, and plan for variations in our schedule.
3. Decorate it. One night, I decided to do some bubble letters and squiggly designs. Now my kids look forward to what the board will look like the next day. This could be as simple as using different colored pens. If this isn’t fun for you, don’t do it. This is supposed to be simple.
4. Use it on Weekends. I am tempted to take days off from the calendar, but I discovered that the kids love seeing a relatively empty day ahead of them. If they see 1 hour play time, Saturday chores, then a day of fun, this feels good.
   

I could kick myself for not starting this habit sooner. Our daily family calendar has become a contract of sorts. If there is resistance or disagreement, we simply say, “It’s on the calendar.” The calendar keeps me committed and on schedule too. I feel much more relaxed and less stressed. And everyone is happier for it.

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