Many of us may wish that we could turn back the clock and do elementary, middle or high school a little differently especially when it comes to how organized we were or how seriously we took our studies.
While that may not be possible, we can learn from our past mistakes and pass those lessons on to our children. And the earlier the better.
Use these tips and suggestions to help your elementary student get organized for school. These are habits that will serve your child well in school and beyond.
Create a School Zone in Your Home
Help your child get organized by first getting organized yourself. Set up a school zone in your home:
- Pick a central location in your home such as the kitchen or your home office;
- Within this area, select a permanent location for your school zone. Make sure it’s a space devoted to school and not just your kitchen countertop or kitchen table.
- Create a place to store and organize school papers. Consider using this step-by-step method for organizing school papers.
- Include a pen and paper for signing school forms and writing notes to your child’s teacher.
This will be the spot you and your child will use each day to meet and review any items needed for the next day.
Introduce Your Child to a Daily Planner
Many schools provide students with a daily planner or agenda book. If yours does not, purchase one for your child prior to the start of the school year. For younger children, it’s simply a communication tool between the teacher and parent. For older children, it’s a tool for listing daily homework assignments and test reminders.
Your child will use some sort of daily planner, agenda or calendar for the rest of his life. Help him use his school one properly and effectively. Each afternoon after school, sit down with your child in the school zone and review his agenda. Ask him questions about his day, what’s due tomorrow and what’s coming up in the days ahead. Does he have a spelling test on Friday? What should he be doing each day to make sure he is prepared come Friday?
Help Your Child Remember What to Bring Home Each Day
The end of the school day can be a stressful time for your child as he rushes to get his book bag packed and get out the door to the bus line or carpool line. In the midst of this hustle and bustle, it’s easy for your child to forget what he needs to bring home that day.
Help your child develop a system for remembering what to bring home each day. Give him removable colored stickers and tell him to put one on the front of each book or notebook that he will need that evening. At the end of the day, he simply looks for everything with a sticker to put in his book bag.
Or coach him to divide his desk storage space in half and to keep everything he needs to bring home on one side (either the left or the right.)
Make Checking the Book Bag a Daily Event
Establish a set time each day when you and your child meet in the school zone to check his book bag:
- You can start by reviewing his daily planner or agenda;
- Ask for any papers or forms he needs to give you or get you to sign;
- Make sure your child is keeping his papers organized in binders or folders as opposed to simply shoving them in to his book bag. It’s much easier to stay on top of this daily than to try and correct weeks of disorganization and clutter.
- Review your child’s homework assignments for the day and for the week.
The Homework Hub
Create a specific spot for your child to do homework. Depending upon how much help and supervision your child needs, this spot might be in the kitchen, the office or his bedroom. Whatever spot you choose, it should:
- Be quiet and free of distractions and clutter;
- Be well lit; and
- Include the proper tools such as pencils, pens, paper, dictionary, index cards, etc.
Establish a routine for doing homework. Some children do well coming home from school and immediately taking care of any homework while others need a break from the academic day before tackling homework. Determine what works best for your child and stick to it. This type of routine will teach your child the importance of having a schedule. Encourage your child to do the most difficult assignment or task first. With that out of the way, the rest of his homework won’t seem as hard.
Begin and End the Day With a Routine
Look around your child’s classroom. You’ll see schedules posted everywhere:
- Daily class schedules;
- Lunch schedules;
- Monthly calendars with class birthdays and special events; and
- Daily helper schedules.
That’s because your child’s teacher knows that children crave routines. It’s also a great way to start teaching them the concept of time management. Create the same structure at home in the morning and at night to help your child stay organized all day long.
In the morning, establish a routine that includes:
- Waking up, getting dressed and brushing teeth;
- Making the bed (a great daily habit to instill early);
- Eating breakfast; and
- Grabbing his lunch and book bag on the way out the door.
At night, your routine should include:
- Deciding on an outfit for the next day;
- Making lunch for the next day;
- Checking to make sure all homework is complete;
- Confirming your child has everything he needs for the next day’s activities; and
- Putting everything in a special spot so it’s ready to grab as you head out the door the next morning.
Consider making a poster or a checklist outlining each routine. Review the poster or have your child cross each item off the list as it’s accomplished. It’s a great way to introduce your child to a daily to-do list.
Stay Connected
Most schools have a website or parent portal where important dates and events are posted. Additionally, many teachers have their own sites where they post important announcements, daily assignments and upcoming test and project deadlines. Stay connected and encourage your child to use these online tools as resources as well.
Make checking each site part of your daily routine with your child.
Elementary school is a time of great learning for your child. With a little help from you, learning how to get organized will be a lesson with positive life-long implications.
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