Family Dashboard

Common patterns in our daily life

When we relocated to Switzerland with little ones, the usual relocation stress was compounded by the need to rebuild our daily routines and adapt to new schedules.

We noticed recurring friction in our routines. Things like:

Shared family activities – doctor’s visits, local recycling days (Karton?)
School/kindergarten prep – forest days, gym clothes, library books
Weather surprises – Swiss weather changes fast, and kids’ outfits depend on it.

We needed local, up-to-date information exactly when we were about to leave.

The Solution

A wall-mounted dashboard right by the entrance door, where we naturally pause before heading out.

Kindle Fire tablet mounted on wall next to entrance door displaying the family dashboard interface

Tech Notes

Kindle Fire HD (bought on Ricardo, a local eBay alternative, for $50)
Built with SvelteKit + Node.js
Hosted on Raspberry Pi (future-ready for smart home integrations)
Mounted via custom 3D-printed holders

Common use cases

What’s the weather like today?

We show the next few hours, always rolling. Mornings show today’s weather; evenings show tomorrow’s.

Animated backgrounds convey info at a glance. Even little ones can “read” it.

Shared Google calendar for the whole family

We started using a shared Google Calendar to manage family events. The dashboard displays upcoming entries and shows how many days or hours remain until each one.

Events sync instantly from any device.

It keeps everyone aligned without needing to check phones.

Family calendar view showing daily schedule and upcoming events for family coordination

Live Swiss Transport

Real-time departures from our local tram stop. 3 minutes vs. 13? It completely changes how fast we put on shoes.

Real-time tram departures showing multiple routes with color-coded transport types

School routines

Each morning, our daughter taps her profile to see her day: “Do I need sports shoes or swimming gear today?”

Evenings show tomorrow’s schedule: “Wake up earlier—school starts at 7:30.”

School schedule interface showing daily subjects and activities for kindergarten planning

Reflection

After 18+ months of daily use, this has become one of the most helpful tools in our home.

It doesn’t control smart devices (yet). But it:

Removed morning stress
Helped our kids gain independence
Made our transition to Swiss life smoother

Built for our needs. Runs every day. And it just works 🤌