Guides
Keep the family week straight
Plain, practical guides to the school emails, team apps and shared calendars that run a family’s week. Useful whether or not you use Dottie.
How-to
The everyday jobs: school email, the shared calendar, practices and pickups.
How-to5 min read
Carpool scheduling without group-text chaos
Set up a carpool rotation that survives the school year: one source of truth, simple swap rules, a night-before confirmation, a pickup order and safety basics.
How-to6 min read
How to get school emails onto your calendar automatically
What Gmail and Google Calendar can do on their own with school email, how to subscribe to the school’s calendar feed, and what still needs a person (or an assistant).
How-to6 min read
How to organize kids’ sports schedules (TeamSnap, SportsEngine, GameChanger)
Put every team’s TeamSnap, SportsEngine and GameChanger schedule into one family calendar, colour it by kid, and catch reschedules before you’re at the wrong field.
How-to5 min read
How to stop missing deadlines buried in school newsletters
A 10-minute weekly scan for school newsletters: what to look for, Gmail searches that find it, reminders that fire in time, and how to share it with the other parent.
How-to5 min read
How to track picture day, spirit days and early dismissals
Where picture day, spirit days and early dismissals hide (newsletters, district calendars, teacher apps) and a simple monthly routine so none of them surprise you.
How-to6 min read
Sharing a family calendar between Google Calendar and iPhone
One parent on Google Calendar, one on iPhone? Set up a shared Google calendar that both can edit, add it to Apple Calendar, and avoid the pitfalls that split events in two.
School & team apps
How the apps schools and teams use actually send things, and how to keep up.
School & team apps6 min read
How to get your TeamSnap schedule into your calendar
Subscribe to a TeamSnap team or all-team schedule in Google, Apple or Outlook, set availability and reminders, and cut the noise from alerts and chat.
School & team apps5 min read
How to handle ClassDojo messages, stories and events
How ClassDojo notifies parents (push or email, never both), what Class Story and School Story are, how events and reminders work, and how to set it up.
School & team apps6 min read
How to handle ParentSquare messages without missing anything
How ParentSquare’s Instant and Digest settings, email, text and app alerts, calendar subscription and sign-ups work, and how to set them so nothing slips by.
School & team apps5 min read
How to handle SportsEngine schedules and messages
Sync a SportsEngine team schedule to Google, Apple or Outlook, set up RSVPs, texts and reminders, and know which SportsEngine emails you can and can’t turn off.
School & team apps6 min read
How to keep up with Brightwheel messages and daily reports
How Brightwheel’s push alerts, text messages, Daily Report emails, paperwork reminders and calendar sync work, and how to set them so you see what matters.
School & team apps5 min read
How to set up Skyward and PowerSchool notifications
Where the grade, attendance and balance email settings live in Skyward Family Access and the PowerSchool parent portal, what the options mean, and what to pick.
Comparisons
Honest side-by-sides, including where the others are the better pick.
Comparisons6 min read
Best family organizer apps in 2026: an honest comparison
Free shared calendars, all-in-one family apps, wall displays and an email-reading assistant, compared by what each does best and what it costs as of October 2026.
Comparisons6 min read
Dottie vs Cozi: which family organizer fits your family?
Cozi is a shared family calendar, list and meal app you fill in. Dottie is a text assistant that reads school email for dates. What each does better, and who should pick which.
Comparisons6 min read
Dottie vs Skylight Calendar: a screen on the wall or a text?
Skylight puts the family calendar on a touchscreen in the kitchen. Dottie texts you what’s coming from school and team emails. What each does best, and how they work together.
About Dottie
How Dottie works, and why it works the way it does.
About Dottie5 min read
How Dottie keeps your family’s email private
What Dottie reads in your inbox, what it keeps, who in your family can see what, and how to switch it off. Plus questions to ask any app that wants your email.
About Dottie4 min read
Why a text-message assistant instead of another app
Family apps pile up. Here’s the case for an assistant you simply text, where it falls short, and how to decide which kind of tool fits your family.
Looking for quick answers about Dottie itself? See the FAQ.